DIVING OVER 50 YEARS OLD

[DocVikingo]

Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a helicopter flight seems like a lot. Why the astronomical fees?

Hi James,

It depends on the services provided. Bills certainly do not typically rise to anywhere near the amount that I cited, but if the dive accident is very serious and complicated, such as one that:

(1) Involves multiple lesion DCS of the spinal cord, cerebrum & cerebellum, as well as major barotrauma to the pulmonary & vestibular systems, and;

(2) Requires air evacuation from a very remote foreign location to an advanced stateside treatment facility, and;

(3) Requires a low-altitude flight with several medical attendants on board,...

...costs can indeed be astronomical.

Cheers,

DocVikingo

 

[Akimbo]

While I can understand your consternation, I cannot support it. I have seen many older folk who don't keep fit and still think they can put on their gear once a year without refresher or preparation...

True, but what about all the young vacation divers who are blubber butts from playing video games?

In general, I avoid diving with any vendor that imposes this kind of requirement. It says that they will not treat passengers like adults and I hate diving with a boatload of incompetents. Polices like this will reduce the quality of the divers they attract and drive the good ones away.

 

[Lorenzoid]

In general, I avoid diving with any vendor that imposes this kind of requirement. It says that they will not treat passengers like adults and I hate diving with a boatload of incompetents. Polices like this will reduce the quality of the divers they attract and drive the good ones away.

Another possible outcome is that policies like this will weed out people who feel they can't be bothered with extra work such as getting a doctor's letter. Maybe being healthy enough to dive and wanting to dive with this particular operator enough to persevere and obtain a doctor's letter are characteristics of a "quality" diver? I might like diving with healthy and serious-minded people.

 

[LariatAdvance]

Just what I'd want to do. Go pay a $75 doctors visit before I can get a letter from mommy to be able to dive with you.
Don't expect your dive shop to be in business much longer. At 50 years old, a person is a grown adult. Grown adults make their own decisions. Let them answer the damned form and if they lie, you've done your due diligence. Trying to be the SCUBA police isn't good for the SCUBA sport or your business.

 

[Akimbo]

Another possible outcome is that policies like this will weed out people who feel they can't be bothered with extra work such as getting a doctor's letter. Maybe being healthy enough to dive and wanting to dive with this particular operator enough to persevere and obtain a doctor's letter are characteristics of a "quality" diver? ...

Maybe, but why would I want to dive with this particular operator when there are so many others out there? I don't want a babysitter. Just get me to and from the dive site and leave me alone. But then I also won't consider a boat that does not allow solo diving.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Part of it is that they are trying to make money, part is that they are expensive to operate. They have crew ready to go 24 hours a day, so you have a lot of people being paid good money to crew one helicopter, and you need multiple helicopters to provide 24/7 availability due to the required maintenance, They also are expensive to buy, expensive to fly, and they require a lot of maintenance, so you also have a team of mechanics and constant expensive parts. A new PHI Eurocopter AS350 B3 was destroyed in a crash followed by a fire on our roof a few years ago. That was as it took off after delivering it's first patient ever, everyone survived the crash. I have no idea what it cost, but looking around I see them for sale used for $2 million. Another provider lost another aircraft (and crew) a few months later.

Well, a one hour tour on Hawai'i costs a few hundred bucks. Perhaps they need to do tours too and just make sure they have a seat empty for emergencies.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Maybe, but why would I want to dive with this particular operator when there are so many others out there? . . . .

The OP is located on Little Corn island, Nicaragua. I suspect there are multiple dive ops there, but how many? From what I understand, Little Corn is a fairly remote place. What if this particular dive op has an amazing reputation? There are plenty of dive ops in the world that divers seek out over others, due to their reputations. Maybe the OP is one of them.

 

[DocVikingo]

The OP is located on Little Corn island, Nicaragua. I suspect there are multiple dive ops there, but how many? From what I understand, Little Corn is a fairly remote place.

I believe that there are 3 ops there: Dive Little Corn, Dolphin Dive & The Little Dive Shack by the Sea (on-site at Derek's Place).

Given the frequent use of the word "remote" across this thread, it may be helpful to be a bit more specific. Little Corn is 40-45 miles from the mainland coast of Nicaragua; ~215 miles from the country's capital of Managua. There are multiple flights a day between neighboring Big Corn Island and Managua; the boat trip from Little to Big Corn is 1/2-1 hr; the flight from Big Corn to Managua is ~1 1/2 hr with a stop in Bluefields The single daily flight from Bluefields to Puerto Cabezas is a little less than an hour.

The nearest recompression chamber is in Puerto Cabezas , a ~4-5 hr high speed boat trip. Several of Managua's private hospitals are considered as among the best in Central America. Air Ambulance Nicaragua serves pretty much everywhere in the country, including the Corn Islands.

Is Little Corn remote? Somewhat so. Are there other dive locations that are more remote? Heavens, yes, e.g., much of the Philippines, much of Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Galapagos, Vanuatu, Cocos Island, Madagascar, Cook Islands, St. Helena, Reunion Island, Kiribati, Easter Island, Tonga, most of the Maldives, Palau, and the list goes on.

Cheers,

DocVikingo

 

[Akimbo]

The OP is located on Little Corn island, Nicaragua...

The competition for my travel dollar is world-wide. I have plenty of places to choose from that are not geared toward vacation divers that probably shouldn't be in the water in the first place... which is exactly what this policy screams out loud and clear.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Okay okay. Little Corn is one of many places around the world that are on my bucket list. My point was only that if a diver is determined to dive in some bucket list-type location, and there are, say, all of three dive ops there, and one of them consistently gets better reviews than the others (speaking hypothetically here--I know nothing about the Little Corn ops), I might be willing to jump through an extra hoop that the dive op asks of me. Most of the places on my bucket list aren't what I would call "geared toward" casual vacation divers. Places that take some effort for a diver to reach are generally not frequented by casual vacation divers. To reiterate my point, more generally, places that take some effort/resources to dive might just attract a more determined, more experienced clientele. Perhaps asking divers to jump through extra hoops might make a place seem more exclusive. A dive op could turn this into a marketing tool "We don't let just anyone dive with us"!