Dive insurance in Israel

[sambo]

Last time I was in Israel, dive insurance was required.
Can anyone tell me if it's still required, can I get it for 2 weeks and how much?
I may just end up getting DAN before I go if the cost is close.

Thanks for the help

sam

 

[djkpsu]

Yes, it is stilll required. Most places accept DAN. I had some confusion one day at Aqua Sport, where the one person said they didn't accept it. So I bought the local insurance (~$20), but then later someone said they did accept DAN.

 

[TEERLKAY]

Last time I was in Israel, dive insurance was required.
Can anyone tell me if it's still required, can I get it for 2 weeks and how much?
I may just end up getting DAN before I go if the cost is close.

Thanks for the help

sam

As DJK said - it's still required and cost about USD20. It's good for a year and supposedly is accepted in Egypt and Jordan.

 

[Jai Bar]

Last time I was in Israel, dive insurance was required.
Can anyone tell me if it's still required, can I get it for 2 weeks and how much?
I may just end up getting DAN before I go if the cost is close.

Thanks for the help

sam

One can not dive without such an insurance. All clubs can issue such an insurance from various companies,including DAN EUROPE. Most of them are valid for one year, but there are some companies which offer a one-two month insurance for a lower fee which is aimed for people who dibe only in vacations.

You will be asked to present a logbook for proof of diving within last six months (except for DM and above). If you don't have such a proof, you may be asked for a refresh dive.

 

[sambo]

Thanks for the responses, only going to get to dive 2 weekends so I'll see what the
shops have to offer for insurance.

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

Thanks for the responses, only going to get to dive 2 weekends so I'll see what the
shops have to offer for insurance.

I'll be in Eilat in mid-September.

Sambo, when are you going to be there?

Anyone, what will the water temperature be like in September?

Israeli friends, do you wait some time before driving back north? There are some altitude increases along all of the routes home, yes?

 

[djkpsu]

The water temp right now is about 27-28, and I doubt it will drop that much by mid-September. The coldest it gets is about 22 in the winter.

You are correct that there some altitude increases on the routs back north. I was actually just starting to look into this today, because when I was in Dahab yesterday, they told me that I would have to wait 6 hours before leaving. I think that was a little overly conservative.

Check out this post as it has some interesting info on driving after diving.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=86431

I normally have been waiting a few hours after diving before driving home, but not intentionally. My route takes me through Ramon Crater wich tops out at about 900m. So I guess I will have to look at this in more detail.

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

The water temp right now is about 27-28, and I doubt it will drop that much by mid-September. The coldest it gets is about 22 in the winter.
.
.
.
Check out this post as it has some interesting info on driving after diving.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=86431

I normally have been waiting a few hours after diving before driving home, but not intentionally. My route takes me through Ramon Crater wich tops out at about 900m. So I guess I will have to look at this in more detail.

Thanks for the post and the link, djk.

I guess a 3mm wetsuit and hood or beanie will be plenty for 3 or 4 days of multiple dives.

I'll be driving back to the Modiin area, so I can either go up through Mitzpah Ramon and Beer Sheva or up along the Dead Sea then make the climb to Jerusalem. The second route will give me a few more hours before I climb to any altitude.

Regarding your research into driving to altitude, I did a quick search on "driving" in the "Ask Dr. Deco" forum. There is a ton of stuff on flying and driving in there, and I have only started to read some. One item that immediately came to my attention was this post.

This is direct from DAN with regard to AIR dives, which calls for a minimum of 18 hours following multiple tank dives which is apparently what you are planning. I do not know of any good research on Nitrox rather than air, but a 9 or 10 hour interval seems too short:

Revised Flying After Diving Guidelines for Recreational Diving - May 2002

The following guidelines are the consensus of attendees at the 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop. They apply to air dives followed by flights at cabin altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet (610 to 2,438 meters) for divers who do not have symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The recommended preflight surface intervals do not guarantee avoidance of DCS. Longer surface intervals will reduce DCS risk further.

For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.
For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.
For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.

I'll probably plan my last dive for Saturday evening and start driving back Sunday midday. That will give me a nice long surface interval after a few days of repetitive dives before I drive up through Jerusalem.

For locals just coming down for the weekend, the wait would be kind of limiting. It's all a risk/reward issue, I guess.

I'll have to look further into this, but I wonder if the slow climb in a car would be a lot less dangerous than the relatively fast pressure change while climbing when flying.

Hey, by the way, is there a deco chamber in Eilat?

 

[DesertEagle]

The local insurance is a good deal. I let my DAN insurance lapse, so it was convenient to buy insurance right at the dive center. However, they put the wrong year on the form! Ask Limor at Aqua-Sport how many people that happened to.

 

[djkpsu]

Hey, by the way, is there a deco chamber in Eilat?

Yes, there is a chamber in Eilat. It's in the Yoseftal Hospital.