I guess it is the busy season!

[Tortuga James]

There hasn't been much activity in this forum for quite a while. I have a much needed break this week, but have been fairly busy.

I still notice the impact on diver's spending habits from the economy and possibly anxiety over the gulf situation. Serious divers are still diving, I am getting far less activity from casual divers. There seem to be quite a few last minute cancellations happening, I have only experienced a couple. I had one last weekend and really tried to sell the days last minute once they opened up and hardly got a nibble. 2 flat calm June days in NC and all I can put together is a Captain's fun day (which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way). That is frustrating.

I am interested to hear how others see things.

 

[Dr Dive]

Hi Capt.,

Dr Dive here on the Gulf Coast at Pensacola. We were hard hit by the oil situation in the Gulf, but suffered (and still do) more from bad press than from the oil itself. We have had "credible sources" reporting that the Gulf of Mexico was "closed", that the oil was "a foot thick" and that the water was unsafe to dive in. We never stopped diving. We had a few days we had to divert from planned destinations to alternate destinations due to visible oil in the water, but it was few. Cancellations have been rampant, with people more willing to cancel on short notice than before. We've had perfect weekends with minimal sign-ups. Very sad since we've had some of the best water conditions we've had in years. We were disappointed in the sensational media coverage and the willingness of local "experts" to jump on the doomsday bandwagon. Truth is, the Gulf is beautiful, conditions are great and we are diving. We hope folks can see past the hype and get back into diving. Call us for details. Better yet, book a trip and see for yourself.
Capt. Jim
Dr Dive
www.drdive.com
drdive@drdive.com