Lake Rawlings for Sale

[Randy g]

A better bet would be to run a year around 6 pax out of Virginia beach at a reasonable price. You would make a killing if Rawlings shuts down. 2 trips a day on the weekends, on a 30ft boat with outboards=low operating cost. It just has to be done the right way.

But why have all the boats left, is what I think when I think about a dive op business venture. I have seriously thought about starting one and spoke to Joe at DQ about it. He want's no part of a dive boat operation, for a reason.

After dealing with the CG and results afterwards on dive boat accidents/fatalities. I don't think I want any part of commercial dive boat op here in VB. I have seen first hand how they (USCG) operate and how they deal with situations internally.

I was actually solicited by a CG captain to get a boat and come to work "for" them offshore here in VB. They will pay pretty good dough to run a private boat for them here. They give you coordinates and you run a pattern and locate what they are searching for and report back.

 

[button]

You are an hour closer to Dutch Springs than you are to Lake Rawlings....with better facilities once you get there and you don't have to deal with Erol.

I wanted to try out Dutch Springs when I started diving but never got around to it. Perhaps I will give it a shot! I dove Rawlings in a 5mm in September, then layered over a 3mm hooded vest in late November. Do you think that would work at DS? Is the vis comparable to Rawlings? Better?

 

[tomfcrist]

But why have all the boats left, is what I think when I think about a dive op business venture. I have seriously thought about starting one and spoke to Joe at DQ about it. He want's no part of a dive boat operation, for a reason.

After dealing with the CG and results afterwards on dive boat accidents/fatalities. I don't think I want any part of commercial dive boat op here in VB. I have seen first hand how they (USCG) operate and how they deal with situations internally.

I was actually solicited by a CG captain to get a boat and come to work "for" them offshore here in VB. They will pay pretty good dough to run a private boat for them here. They give you coordinates and you run a pattern and locate what they are searching for and report back.

There were never a lot of boats in VA beach. The ones that were there lose business to the NC shops because in all reality its better diving down there. What nobody has done is market the charter for the right audience(instructors w/students). In Florida it is not uncommon for shops to comp an instructor who is bringing even 1 student. If you make it cost effective for the instructors, they WILL bring their students.

As far as CG douchebaggery, there is no way around that. All I can tell you is that ALOT of people run uninspected vessels very successfully all over the US. The rules are the same everywhere. The real question in deciding to start a charter operation is going to be CUSTOMERS. Can you rely on a steady, reliable flow of charter customers based on how you have marketed your operation? Can you make a reasonable profit in a seasonal industry(I don't think you will run too many times over the winter here)?

 

[GW06]

I haven't been to Dutch Springs in about 5 years. The facility was nice but the water was so green the viz was no more than 5 feet. Has it gotten better?

 

[Mscdex]

i was there last october and had great visibility but very cold.

 

[telemonster]

Just found out about the Rawlings ordeal via Reddit. Years ago I posted a Rawlings customer service thread on here that blew up. But never quit going, and everything seemed to improve as far as I could tell. Never had issues after that.

With regards to them bulldozing it, think of it from the point of view that you build a business, sit in a hot tin building year after year dealing with customers, and basically give the land it's value. Then the owners want to dork you over on the lease of the land. It's probably in their contract that the property has to be returned to the original state, and I'm sure the owners are unwilling to buy the improvements.

The company I worked for prior to my current job switched offices in an office building and the lase was similar, so I had to tear out all of the cat5 cabling that was professionally installed, a huge loss to whoever the next tenant would be (still empty I'm sure.) And had to re-do it for the new space because... the prior tenant had to tear it all out. It seems crazy but real estate people aren't generally very logical but you have to deal with it.

Another question, if they found a piece of land with granite they could buy for $50K, how much would it cost to make a new quarry of similar size?

The loss of tourism might hurt that area as well. Not sure.

Sad to see it go. I moved from Norfolk to Northern Virginia and have heard Millbrook is a cold dark place :-/

 

[novasquid]

it looks like they recently updated their website to say they're going out of business. a few days ago it did say they would honor air fill cards, but even that's gone now. that sucks.

 

[Allison Finch]

All camping closed....all bathhouses and other buildings/bathrooms closed........

 

[Pedro Burrito]

This is posted on their website now:

Lake Rawlings

[h=2]What's Happening at Lake Rawlings[/h]Special Message from Lake Rawlings
It is with sadness that I must tell you our company is on the losing end of negotiations for the continued use of the Rawlings Quarry properties after March 31, 2015. Negotiations to purchase the properties were tilted too far to the side of the landowner, and the family owners would not give us a long term lease or sell their properties to us.
The following changes will remain in effect until April 1, 2015:

• A reservation and payment in full is now required to dive Lake Rawlings through March 31, 2015, by going to lakerawlings@hotmail.com, or by calling 804-478-9000.
• Scuba admission for groups led by a dive shop, an active Scuba Instructor or an active Divemaster is $25.00 per diver. Scuba instructors and divemasters must be insured.
• Group discounts with eight or more paying scuba divers is $20.00 per diver.
• Scuba instructors receive complimentary admission with four or more paying divers. Divemasters also receive complimentary admission with four or more paying divers, and two divemasters will receive complimentary admission with eight or more paying divers.
• We can no longer allow tent, RV or cabin camping through March 31, 2015. The bathhouse is closed, and the electricity is turned off everywhere except for the Dive Shack.
• Porta-pots must used for changing, etc. (Back to days of old).
• Air fills will be limited. We will not do the onesy-twosy tank fills on demand, but rather group fills of four or more scuba tanks. The cost of a single air fill is $9.00, and the group fill rate (eight or more tanks) is $7.00 per fill.
• To reduce energy consumption, all use of the bathhouse, RV hook-ups and cabins is suspended through March 31, 2015.

In addition, all dive shops MUST come prepared with sufficient scuba tanks and safety equipment to fulfill their diving needs.
It has been a pleasure to serve the diving community of the mid-Atlantic area.
Errol Duplessis,
CEO, Lake Rawlings


Off Season
The scuba park is closed through March 15, 2015. Camping is not permitted, and a reservation is required to dive or camp.


Reservations
Please send reservation requests to LakeRawlings@hotmail.com, or call us 804-478-9000.


Off-the-Street Swimmers


Off-the-Street Scuba Divers cannot dive without being on a Diver Manifest. All scuba diving must be with scuba instructor or divemaster led groups.

 

[SubAquatix]

All I can tell you is that ALOT of people run uninspected vessels very successfully all over the US. The rules are the same everywhere. The real question in deciding to start a charter operation is going to be CUSTOMERS. Can you rely on a steady, reliable flow of charter customers based on how you have marketed your operation? Can you make a reasonable profit in a seasonal industry(I don't think you will run too many times over the winter here)?

It's a question I have pondered a lot. There are some challenges, however. As an unlicensed operation, you are not legally allow to charge for the use of the vessel. This includes pure costs. Fact is, if I invite some buddies to go fishing, I cannot charge them for their portion of the fuel. So, I understand lots of people do it, but the second you do, the charter capt next to you, whom you're taking money from, has every right to report you to the USCG. Bye bye boat, hello court costs, and yes, it does happen.

No problem, lets take a risk. I have a 21 Sea Ox Cuddy w/a 200 HP engine and Sea Tow, fitted out for diving, including ladder, tank racks, overboard winch and boom. I have Chirp and RADAR along with two high end GPS, one a chart mapper, so I can put you in the same spot, time after time. I have solid numbers for 12 wrecks, and a lot of chase numbers for the fun of it. I trailer, so I don't have to pay marina fees or Gas (though I have to use premium for no alcohol).

So, to costs. My annual insurance and Sea Tow are around $400. over the past 9 years I have owned a boat, my annual maintenance (Trailer and Boat) has averaged $1300 a year and annual updates of around $600. I can go inshore or offshore, so my number of trips per year can be pretty high, last year, I did about 70, with an average fuel use of 58 Gallon. So, $16000 in Fuel plus costs are $18300 for an average trip cost of $265 last year. This year, fuel has come down, so it will be $206 per trip. Divide that by 4 (Instructor and Capt ride for free) and costs are $52 per person, reasonable margin of 40% , that's $87 pp for a no frills go cheap boat ride.

When, I look at all that $140 per day, $17.50 an hour versus the risk of lawsuit (not if, when)- I'm not sure it works.