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Never look back at the cost, just enjoy the ride.
"Hero" is PfcAJ's term --not mine. If it's something you can do & enjoy then great --if you can't or don't want to accept the risks then don't marginalize & minimize those who can and do. . .Fixed that for ya. There's a difference between a trip that's expensive and one that's particularly challenging to one's skill set in addition to one's bank account. Either one of us could apparently afford the $50-75k to have a bunch of sherpas drag our arse up Everest -- neither one of us would be in a position to brag about our expedition climbing as a result, though.
Then again, Truk is apparently about all you can handle before forgetting how to execute an ascent without bending yourself. Maybe it is a "hero" dive for you.
. . .And Bikini Atoll; and Sunda Strait Indonesia; and South China Sea: and east coast Sri Lanka. . . all "hero" WWII wreck dive expeditions above & beyond your means & comprehension AJ.
"Hero" is PfcAJ's term --not mine. If it's something you can do & enjoy then great --if you can't or don't want to accept the risks then don't marginalize & minimize those who can and do. . .
Don't knock it if ya never done it Holmes!
you forgot 3. the inflated figure you post on scubaboard $$$$$$$$$$After tallying up all your tech gear, you end up with 2 distinct figures.
1. First figure reflects the actual cost. $$$$$$
2. Second Figure is the amount you tell your Wife or Girlfriend. $$$
Last year's Bikini Atoll Liveaboard (M/V Windward) open circuit gas costs for 17 dives over eight days including crew gratuity: $3.8k. (Helium $5.66/cuft, Oxygen $1.70/cuft). Excess baggage total fees charged by United Airlines (each way -each flight leg!): $1.2k. My X-scooter itself cost $400 as check-in luggage
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Your most-boasted-of diving is generally a bit shallow for me, Kev, but nobody's knocking those dives and I fully agree you've spent a lot of time on some wrecks that are well worth seeing.
So try to remember that it's not that your itineraries aren't impressive for their remoteness and underwater history/scenery...it's your attitude of there being something particularly risky, complicated, or demanding about such dives. Simply being a well-traveled tourist doesn’t make you an impressive technical diver to people who routinely dive deeper and stay down longer.