Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[tridacna]

If they changed their model to accomodate “more reliant” divers, (put a DM in n the water etc), do you think they would attract more divers? Sounds like these ops are doing their best to deter divers and succeeding quite well too.

 

[drrich2]

The viz. averages lower in California diving vs. some of the more popular Caribbean locations. That could make keeping a group together difficult. I like the idea of providing low cost (or 'free') guides. That might help get people into the scene, including local residents.

I wonder how many California residents get certified in warm water destinations, or go there very shortly, and get accustomed to, say, Roatan or Cozumel, then don't see the point in local diving? Maybe if they were reached earlier?

Richard.

 

[runsongas]

outside of global warming really affecting the waters off the coast, you will not see a huge increase in numbers.

the water is too cold for most to consider it for a vacation. the vast majority of divers out there are looking for good vis and warm water. you aren't going to get many takers to spend money on dives in 5 ft vis and 45F water up the coast. outside of the dive club, 90% of the divers I have met randomly are vacation divers only even though probably half were initially certified in monterey.

The cost is pretty darn low, but the value proposition for most is just not there.

 

[runsongas]

If they changed their model to accomodate “more reliant” divers, (put a DM in n the water etc), do you think they would attract more divers? Sounds like these ops are doing their best to deter divers and succeeding quite well too.

doubtful to me. biggest barrier is the water temperature and visibility. a few of the local shops run local shore dives with a DM leading and the turnout still isn't good. the attrition rate after initial certification is really high. the low cost of travel makes it harder too. You can fly to thailand, the philippines, or indonesia for 600 or less from SFO.

 

[Marie13]

The viz. averages lower in California diving vs. some of the more popular Caribbean locations. That could make keeping a group together difficult. I like the idea of providing low cost (or 'free') guides. That might help get people into the scene, including local residents.

I wonder how many California residents get certified in warm water destinations, or go there very shortly, and get accustomed to, say, Roatan or Cozumel, then don't see the point in local diving? Maybe if they were reached earlier?

Richard.

I'd say it's probably the same with states on the Great Lakes. People just have no idea what they are missing.

 

[tridacna]

We have identical issues in NJ. Water is dark and cold. And it takes serious commitment. Up at 4:30am to get to the boats by 7am to be brought back at 3pm. Of all the divers we certify, less than 1% ever make a Jersey dive. Some join us on a warm water trip but most seldom dive again after that planned first trip.

A LDS closed near us; Zero extra traffic for us. He catered for cold water divers; we focus on wam water Caribbean wusses like me. $500 gets me to the Caribbean in about 4 hours. No drysuit required and I can see more than 4 feet in fromt of me.

I honestly get bored of explaining the whole schpiel about how long it takes to become a diver. And how much it costs. It’s not trivial nor should it be. But it’s a serious commitment nonetheless with a high barrier to entry.

 

[mdb]

Diving in a Kelp Forest off a 3 day liveaboard California dive boat is my favorite diving.

Great food, terrific diving, good boat crews, no babysitting, lots of fun.

I have been diving in the Keys, Cozumel, the Bahamas, the Caymans, other warmer
water dive destinations.

I'll take California Diving as a personal best choice.

 

[scubadada]

I wonder why I don't see California marketed more heavily as a dive destination for tourist divers from elsewhere in the U.S. Instead of thinking of it as place people dive locally, or leave from to dive elsewhere, what's keeping it from becoming more of a place people from elsewhere travel to for a dive trip?

I get that it's cold water; so is the Galapagos. I don't expect California to knock Cozumel, Bonaire, Roatan, Belize or the Florida Keys off the top of the local charts, so to speak. But the seasoned diver who's been at least 3, maybe 4+ of those places, might be open to try something different. Yes, it's cold. Therefore, you've got kelp. And sea lions & harbor seals are a nice appeal. Diving in a different ocean is a perk!

If you're cold-tolerant and hit southern Cal. the right time of year, you can get by with a 5-mm wetsuit & gloves, plus hood (my hood & boots were 7-mm). Not so much, go 7-mm all the way. You don't have to be dry suit-capable to enjoy some California diving. It's expensive out there, but skip land-based & go multi-day live-aboard, and it's relatively cheap! More rustic than Caribbean live-aboards, but cheaper.

I doubt it'd be most dive tourists' frequent repeat destination. Not a Buddy Dive Resort (Bonaire), CocoView (Roatan), Rainbow Reef Diver Center (Key Largo), Scuba Club Cozumel, etc... But every few years for a mixed group or new & repeat divers, all seasoned? Why not?

Richard.

I learned to dive in Southern California in 1970 and dived quite a bit there until I moved away in 1980. I still dive out of San Diego whenever I visit. But, I'm not going there for a dive vacation, way too many other places to visit where I haven't been. Nobody else in my family would dive with me there, I dive with my wife, son, and daughter whenever I can. If I lived in California, I would certainly take advantage of the great diving, just like I did, back in the day

 

[boulderjohn]

Yes...but not by PADI. ANY store can ask you to complete a medical for any reason. PADI only requires a doctor’s sign off for training. Finis.

PADI only requires it for training because that is all PADI does. PADI does not run dive operations. It only does training. Dive operators run general diving. Some of them are requiring medicals for ALL diving.

Finis.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

California was the birthplace of diving certifications in the USA and had always been heavily represented in training manuals and magazines. The conditions are an ideal representation of the environments in which a sport diver should be trained. Lessons from CA divers translate to almost every underwater environment most Americans enjoy. The first diving manual I read was The Golden Guide to Scuba Diving published in 1968 which was the year I was born. It was almost entirely Cali-centric. The same was true for the Jeppesen manuals PDIC used for my OW and AOW training, Sports Illustrated's Scuba Diving, and magazines such as early versions of Skin Diver and ScubaPro Diving & Snorkeling. When I think of CA, I think of it as the recreational diving capital of the world. That's why I was blown away to start seeing California represented as an "advanced" destination in magazines. Resort diving had always been a place for DSD's, kooks, barnys, and super low stress easy diving for real divers. Now, resorts are "challenging" for many. Not that any water should be disrespected and not to say that conditions can't turn paradise into hell. As standards have been dummied down I've met many more divers who live in places like CA and New England who ask me what their home waters are like because they only dive on vacation. These same divers point to lack of confidence in their training and abilities to conduct their own dives and the idea that diving is about seeing pretty fish as to why they've never ventured into the own backyard seas. Which is ironic because some of the prettiest colors I've seen have been in CA and RI.