Posted by Ken Kurtis on July 25, 2002 at 13:11:13:
In Reply to: Re: A little different Poll posted by Jon on July 25, 2002 at 09:16:35:
Thjought I'd give a response to this. And just FTR, I consider Jon a friend so in no way am I taking this as a shot at the store or anything like that. Just a difference of opinion. There's no question that our policies may not suit everyone's needs. But I did want to address this:
Jon said: (he avoids) " . . . Reef Seekers (not so much for no nitrox, but their gate times are too restrictive)."
Our goal on each trip is to get in four dives at four different sites. This is baed on customer surveys we've done that where our customers (hoipefully you) say they would rather have four dives than three.
BUT . . . the dive time window (thte toal time we have available to dive on a given day) - usually around 6 hours - doesn't change, so something has to give.
And for those not familair with how Reef Seekers operates, we have a half-hour gate-open time (so you can enter anytime during that 30 minutes), and ask everyone to be back no later than half an hour after the gate closes, regardless of when you went in. So if you want to do an hour-long dive, be the first one in. If you want to do a half-hour dive, you can be the last one in (or anywhere in between).
Our experience with our divers (based on our logged in/out times over the years) is that most dives will last 30-40 minutes.
Here's our sked:
DIVE 1 - 7:30 - 8:30A (gate closes at 8, be-back for everyone is 8:30). We then allow a half hour surface interval at which time we also do a move. (Bear in mind that not everyone enters at the same time and not everyone stays out until 8:30.)
DIVE 2 - 9:00-10:00A (gate closes at 9:30, all back by 10)
DIVE 3 - 10:30 - 11:30A (gates closes at 11:00, all back by 11:30)
DIVE 4 - 12:00N - 1:00A (gates close at 12:30, all back by 1)
Maybe I don't have the right perspective on this, but it seems to me you could do 4 1-hour dives with 30-minute surface intervals . . . or . . . 4 30-minute dives with 1-hour surface intervals . . . or . . . 4 45-minutes dives with 45-minutes surface intervals.
I guess I just don't see that as restrictive. But,I freely concede it may seem a bit more hectic and that it does require the diver to plan out his/her day a bit, because if you just sit around figuring you can go in whenever you want to and get out whenever you want, it certainly won't work.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA