300 Foot Dive-How Expensive ?

[daniel f aleman]

Did anyone see "Unchartered Waters; Florida's Aqua-Caves" on Discovery last night? It appeared to me the cameraman, whose previous deep limit was 140, was suited up and given a quick overview on how to execute and then followed the dive team to 290 ffw. Surely I didn't just witness a trust me dive to 300 feet?

If so, this would have been wrong on so many levels.

 

[RiverRat]

Man alive! So just how do you guys find the time to MAKE ALL THAT MONEY AND FIND THE TIME TO DIVE YOUR BUTTS OFF TOO? I can see spending 20K no problem though. Since I started diving 3 years ago, just recreational, I've spent I bet almost 10K with my gear (more than the average vaca diver), training up to Divemaster and many local trips (gas, hotels, food, air fills, fees). I've been on 5-6 tropical trips and they usually run 2K minimum. Not a cheap sport if you want to get good training and travel around a bit. Hey not to highjack, but what do you guys think of Advanced Nitrox course for someone like me that wants to do some limited wreck penetration dives and hit extended square profiles in the 120-150 foot range? I'm thinking, at the least, it'll give me an edge and the ability to hit some of the deeper wrecks. And it can't hurt to know deco procedures correct, even if I don't have the desire to go real deep?

 

[JeffG]

If so, this would have been wrong on so many levels.

I remember GI3 saying something about this. The cameramen came over from Japan and trained with the WKPP before being allowed to do the dive. But I have no idea how much training was involved or what the "starting point" for the divers was. Chickdiver would know, but I wouldn't be surprised if we never find out.

 

[daniel f aleman]

Well, "...trained with the WKPP before being allowed to do the dive." is different than, "...was suited up and given a quick overview on how to execute and then followed the dive team to 290 ffw." I would assume that if G3 or JJ was/were involved directly the cameraman would have received enough training to make the dive safely.

 

[JeffG]

Well, "...trained with the WKPP before being allowed to do the dive." is different than, "...was suited up and given a quick overview on how to execute and then followed the dive team to 290 ffw." I would assume that if G3 or JJ was/were involved directly the cameraman would have received enough training to make the dive safely enough.

It was definitely "trained with"...I just can't remember where I saw it. It might of been in the old TechDiver list or it might of been on the DIR DVD (thats could be why I don't remember....getting put to sleep minutes after putting the dvd in

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

I would assume that if G3 or JJ was/were involved directly...

They were and I would assume so too. The way it was presented in the show made it look like they taught the guy to go from 140-290 over breakfast before the dives and made me chuckle at the thought of it.

The WKPP bloke discussing with the cameraman is like "Today we're going to be at 10 ATMs, keep an eye on your guages"

 

[billtylerjr]

Of course we cannot forget the video gear to document the dive $12,000 FX1 L&M Bluefin housing, lights tbd

 

[Mothball]

So far I'm $23k in my quest for the 300' mark and I've only been down to 137' so far. So I figger "bout another $50K an' awl be thar. Semper Fi Dave

 

[Diver0001]

Another thread got me thinking about this. What would be the total cost to go from being a recreational diver to being able to do a 300 foot dive in relative safety?

My off the top of my head guess is around $20,000 ????

Yeah, probably, but if you're starting from rec diver, then you need to spread this cost over 3 years, thats about 6 grand a year (just round it down) and then you need to deduct from that number the amount of money you would have spend on another hobby, like the jetski/boat/car/motorcycle you didn't buy or the country club contributions you didn't pay or the parachute lessons you didn't take..... that makes the number per year about $1000 and THAT is what you tell your wife.



R..

 

[padiscubapro]

The one thing I didn't see, is all the gas costs for OC.. If your doing deep training on OC your gas costs to get up to the required skill level is enormous..

Get rid of some of the OC stuff, buy a rebreather, and in the long run you will save money at get longer bottom times to boot.. for example for my OC trimix students we can do 300 for about 10 minutes max(gas limits), my CCR students we usually do 30 minutes...

You don't need the OC programs to get the RB certs.. In fact its easier for me as an instructor to get divers with less experience on OC.. The more experience you have the harder its for me to break the persons bad habits!

From the types of dive I do, I figure each year I dive my RB it has basically paid for itself.. (meaning I could have bought another unit with the money I saved on gases) plus I would never had been able to do real dives (not a bounce) 50% deeper (and then some) than the goal of this thread..

For the average mix diver its a 2-3 year cycle...

For training beyond basic (without OC ratings)
$300 CSU (andi's nitrox) (2-3 days)
$800 service tech + Gas blender (4-5 days)
$1600 for CCR training (5 - 6 days)
$1300 for basic CCR deco training (6-7 days)
$2500 for CCR trimix training (14+ days)


This above does not include a minimum of 25 no deco dives between basic CCR and CCR deco class then 25 dives between the CCR deco level and starting of a trimix class.