Diving Communities

[simbrooks]

As i drive around to and from work etc i cant help but see billboards and hear radio ads about golfing communities (this is central FL after all). I was wondering what might happen if someone were to develop a diving community - somewhere specifically built around the needs of the avid diver. So what would you need for such a place, communal facilities and private facilities - location, location, location is always a factor.

Communal facilities:
Air and nitrox filling station
Dive gear maintenance facilities, either DIY or from a technician
Boat maintenance areas
Dive group meeting place to hold seminars, get-togethers, classes and discuss trips
Dive club style teaching
Dive boat
Dive transport vehicle, for those rare out of the community days
Artificial and natural reefs offshore and at beach diving range
No jetski and limited idle zone for the beach diving area

Private facilities:
Large wash down areas and drying areas
Private boat dock
Actually i cant think of that much more you would need

So what could anyone else add, i would reckon depending on the quality of the housing they could go for $500k-1M or more, the obvious areas would be around the shores of FL, PNW and the like, others are more offshore only - of course it might work in a springs type of area as well for the cave divers among the crowd.

 

[ASUPaula]

I'm not sure I have anything to add to your delightful plan, but I definitely like the way you think!

 

[scubafool]

DiveBunny, you need to get out of the engineering field & into the development field. I can handle the construction managment part for you. LOL.

 

[aquaoren]

Where can I sign up for a nice condo with ocean view?

 

[jepuskar]

Bonaire is a diving community..well sort of..

 

[grazie42]

I´d just like to add that the filling station should be able to handle helium as well...for tri-mix
Oh and I hope artificial reefs means wrecks...otherwise that would have to be added too

 

[drbill]

Funny- several of us ancient divers (nearing retirement) were talking about just such a thing a few months ago. One of the suggestions was that we buy "condos" on a ship cruising around the world instead!

Doc

 

[simbrooks]

Maybe due to the cost of oceanfrount property these days, we should all just buy a fleet of yachts with a support ship and travel around the world diving every locale - at least it wouldnt get boring seeing the same coral or wreck every week!

Artificial reefs - wrecks and other such debris that have been placed (either by storm/war or a scheduled sinking/dumping) as opposed to natural reefs.

 

[AzAtty]

There's some pretty substantial legal documentation you need to put together for this sort of community. Golf communities here in Arizona are quite similar in concept.

Another challenge, if you're doing it on a coast line, is the fact that many coastal states hold the beaches in trust for the public, so you can't restrict beach access. Furthermore, your land ownership rights usually extend only to the waterline. Therefore, restricting use of the great things you sink for community members out in the water or the pristine reef will be troublesome. Build it around a spring or lake, and you'll have an easier time of regulating access.

I think it's a wonderfully creative idea. Look into the practical challenges you face. Your best option might be to buy a private island and build timeshares on it.

 

[simbrooks]

I think it's a wonderfully creative idea. Look into the practical challenges you face. Your best option might be to buy a private island and build timeshares on it.

Ok, so i just need some people to finance this deal - lets see, can i buy out a small island somewhere...... BTW, thanks for helping with the legal legwork, a realist always takes away from the master at work when he is imagining and visualising