Budget Diving

[HBDiveGirl]

I'm more selective about which boats I'm going on... a couple are offering excellent direct "open boat" dive days and I'm looking for those first.

$100 or $110 is easier that $140, that's for sure. These boats are diving Catalina, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and the local oil rigs. Good stuff to be enjoyed there.

I probably won't dive the farther-out Channel Islands as much since the fuel cost has driven the cost up dramatically.

Beach diving is always fun, so I'll keep doing that.
I've always done 2 SoCal live-aboard trips (2 or 3 days each), and I'm still going to do those. It's a 'round-the-clock celebration of diving, and worth the extra $$.

~~~~
Claudette

 

[Stu S.]

Back to the question. I've avoided financial disaster during this economic slowdown. Me and my wife are still employed, own our home, and our savings are intact. Anything else would mean no diving.

Good for us, but we still have the higher food and fuel prices. This year's gas prices have added $15 to our round trip to Jupiter, FL. The boat ride went up $5 each, too. I can handle the extra $25 for the trip with my daughter. Ten of those trips is not that expensive compared to what I read folks spend on gear or resort vacations.

Gas prices have changed my shopping habits. 50 mile round trips to buy a $20 item make no more sense. The new hose I got came by UPS. Same with that flashlight. But the UPS man can't get us to the dive site, so we drive it.

By the way, I read where airlines are slowing down to save fuel. Not Florida motorists. This week's trip on I-75 and the turnpike show that 80 mph is still about average. Go 70 and you'll get run over.

See you diving.

 

[El Orans]

What are you doing to be able to keep diving without putting to much of a dent into your budget?

Local (mostly shore) diving. Trips to the Caribbean etc. are unaffordable due to airfare.

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

I'm also pretty lucky. Cold water, low (or no) vis are not an issue to me. I drive 60 miles to a lake that is usually a pretty good dive. LDS gives air fills for free if you're not a dive pro and I got some great deals on purchasing my tanks. I own all my gear so no rental fees. All it costs me is the price of gas to drive there and back and $5.00 to get into the lake. I get to dive almost every weekend. If I only dove at warm resorts in gin-clear waters I wouldn't be able to dive at all. Somebody here said that as long as they could blow bubbles and get neutral they were happy. I second that.

 

[beester]

Company car... so I do not 'feel' the fuelcosts as much... I do about 10000 to 13000 miles a year for diving so this quickly adds up.

Fuel costs will stay on the rise obviously...This is one point were the strong € is beneficial (since fuel is rated in $).

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

for me I am giving up any new equipment for the year and saving that money for training or travel expenses. I have lots of fairly local lakes and mine pits but I would like to get out on the great lakes more and thats about $220 a day all said an done when you include meals, travel, boat gas, etc. Air for me is free but oxygen certainly isn't and nor any other mixes. For me to take the course I want this summer its looking like $700 for the class and $700 for the boat fees so thats $1400 for advanced nitrox/deco class where last year it would have been half that.

 

[spectrum]

I snapped up a couple of used AL80s at a very attractive price.

Often times with 7 cylinders for 2 divers I'd find myself driving to the dive shop to get a few fills just in case we made a certain optimistic number of dives. Oftentimes we would have had enough cylinders without making the trip and could have then made a single trip to fill all or most of what I own. Now with 2 more I can cut it a little closer knowing that even if the AL80 is not my preferred cylinder I will have air if all goes perfect.

I actually bought them last year for that reason and now it's especially valuable.

Pete

 

[pawclaws]

The economic stimulus checks ought to help us pay for some trips or gear.

 

[sglake]

We are going to forgo a few equipment upgrades and stick to the local shore dive here which is only a short drive.

 

[seaducer]

I'll be hitting my local quarry hard, plus shore diving. I live on the beach and have to drive 2+ hours to the quarry, pay tolls, and it is still cheaper than the boats. I'll get out on the boats a few times, and do some inlet dives, but while I took 3 vacations last year, this year only one, and it is finished...