Is there an instructor crisis?

[Nick_Radov]

The Escapade might as well be a private boat , especially for tech stuff.

BAUE runs tech charters on the Escapade every month. And the boat can also be booked for private charters.

I think Phil Sammet is also back to running private tech charters on his small boat. He's often busy taking video crews around but give him a call and check availability.

Phil Sammet

 

[lostsheep]

BAUE runs tech charters on the Escapade every month. And the boat can also be booked for private charters.

I think Phil Sammet is also back to running private tech charters on his small boat. He's often busy taking video crews around but give him a call and check availability.

Phil Sammet

And who exactly is welcome on those tech charters?

Last I asked Jim the Escapade was booked out over a year and it’s basically only two dive shops or BAUE that get to book it.

 

[berndo]

Yes, attorneys are opportunist predators who have made a big business out of screwing people, which was in more cases than not gets paid by insurance companies. The best defense against not getting shook down by a predatory attorney is just not to have anything. No blood in the water, no feeding frenzy.

The lawyer just play on the field they are given, IMHO. The problem in the US seems to be the legal system where you can just sue people left and right for no reason. Here or in another thread I posted an article about a women who caught an STD from her boyfriend in a car and she sued the car insurance company. This is insane. I thought that was a fake story at first. Why are lawsuits like this even possible? No wonder that insurances get so much more expensive when you have stuff like this going on.

 

[berndo]

Look how many are riding around on $8K mountain bikes or playing video games on $5K custom PCs. They can afford scuba diving but the industry isn't reaching them.

How would you know how many people have 5k PCs and 8K MTBs?
Wages haven't gone up nearly as much as cost of living has in most of the western world AFAIK. You might live in an area in California with higher than normal wages or just are from a family with money and don't realise it but people with normal jobs don't buy 8k mountain bikes and 5k PCs, not in Europe and I doubt they do it in the US. Go and look what a police man or fire man make in your area and than look how much % they would have to spend on rent or buy a house or appartment. And than compare it with the numbers 20 years ago.
In the other thread a guy from NYC wondered why people just don't buy another boat.

 

[scubaozy]

How would you know how many people have 5k PCs and 8K MTBs?
Wages haven't gone up nearly as much as cost of living has in most of the western world AFAIK. You might live in an area in California with higher than normal wages or just are from a family with money and don't realise it but people with normal jobs don't buy 8k mountain bikes and 5k PCs, not in Europe and I doubt they do it in the US. Go and look what a police man or fire man make in your area and than look how much % they would have to spend on rent or buy a house or appartment. And than compare it with the numbers 20 years ago.
In the other thread a guy from NYC wondered why people just don't buy another boat.

I think it is obvious who ran your country last 20 years. I live in Germany and I see a lot of expensive stuff all over the place, people driving MB or Audis costing 80k+, you could buy a boat for that money. I was doing a luxury liveboard on Scubaspa in Maldives where I met a German policeman who was recently retired and was very happy with his life. I also know a fireman from my local (non diving) club, he rides a brand new Harley Davidson and owns a >70k worth RV. He was also happy with his life. If you look into purchasing power development of Germany, it is indeed in slow decline but not as sharp as you have suggested, real decline has been from 50ies through 80ies.
Diving industry is in an equilibrium, dropping demand in one part of the world is often compensated by growing demand in another part of the world. I agree with overal theme @Nick_Radov suggested; uw fauna is changing pretty quickly and not for the better, that is the greatest danger for the diving industry over mid term.

 

[Nick_Radov]

How would you know how many people have 5k PCs and 8K MTBs?

I know because I see them and hear people talking about them.

Wages haven't gone up nearly as much as cost of living has in most of the western world AFAIK. You might live in an area in California with higher than normal wages or just are from a family with money and don't realise it but people with normal jobs don't buy 8k mountain bikes and 5k PCs, not in Europe and I doubt they do it in the US.

Yes, average wages are relatively high in the San Francisco Bay Area. I know a lot of people are struggling with difficult economic circumstances, and I sympathize with them, but that's a separate issue. The point is that there are a lot of people in this area who can well afford to dive but choose to pursue other hobbies. Why is that? Alpine skiing / snowboarding is just as expensive as diving when you add up all the travel costs but the Lake Tahoe area resorts are packed every weekend during the season.

As a general worldwide trend I agree that the decline in scuba diving is largely due to the cost of living rising faster than wages, but diving has also declined in affluent areas where people aren't struggling as much. The scuba industry will have to do a better job on marketing and customer experience to reach those people.

Go and look what a police man or fire man make in your area and than look how much % they would have to spend on rent or buy a house or appartment. And than compare it with the numbers 20 years ago.

It's funny but my neighbor is a county firefighter and he just bought a pair of expensive e-bikes. He also has a garage full of other toys. So he seems to be doing OK...

 

[berndo]

I also know a fireman from my local (non diving) club, he rides a brand new Harley Davidson and owns a >70k worth RV. He was also happy with his life. If you look into purchasing power development of Germany, it is indeed in slow decline but not as sharp as you have suggested, real decline has been from 50ies through 80ies.

And how old is this fireman and the police men that has retired?
The boomers (like your police men) could still buy a house for 60 grand made good money, safe money and could live of one income. The cost of housing and general cost of living haven't risen by the same rate since the 80s compared to wages. The same house that used was build for 70 Mark goes for +450k Euro these days in my area. A police men could buy it than but can't buy it now.
The official inflation numbers you have linked to are a joke. You just have to look at the increase in engery cost over the last 20 years. Electricity alone has more than tripled in the last 20 years.
You 'seeing' expensives car on the street doesn't mean anything.

 

[berndo]

It's funny but my neighbor is a county firefighter and he just bought a pair of expensive e-bikes. He also has a garage full of other toys. So he seems to be doing OK...

So what?
You don't know how many people go into consumer debt to buy crap.
Just looking at what people have doesn't mean anything.

Look up what the median income is an area and than look at how much housing and energy is. Than look at how much wages have risen in the same area over the last 20-30 years.
That's a meaningful metric. Seeing people buying stuff isn't.

The notion that younger people these days are lazy and just spend too much on iphones and 200 pants is a right wing talking point made up by old people who could feed a family and buy a house with one working class income.

 

[Nick_Radov]

And who exactly is welcome on those tech charters?

BAUE members with at least GUE Tech 1 certification are welcome on those charters.

BAUE Membership Information

Technical Diver Level 1

The GUE Tech 1 course prepares ambitious divers to begin their path to technical diving safely, with confidence, and with a base of solid skills and knowledge. This course also paves the way to GUE rebreather courses, to advanced technical GUE training, and to GUE project and exploration diving.

www.gue.com

 

[berndo]

And who exactly is welcome on those tech charters?

Looks like it's only for members of the one true church.
Who would have guessed.