Minneapolis now requires an annual permit to SCUBA dive

@Stoo

I’ll be in Toby for a long weekend in July. It’s damned out of the way! Driving to Toledo, then meeting up with the folks from the shop sponsoring the trip, and carpooling. 10 hours total, I think.

 

@Stoo

@Marie13

"I’ll be in Toby for a long weekend in July. It’s damned out of the way! Driving to Toledo, then meeting up with the folks from the shop sponsoring the trip, and carpooling. 10 hours total, I think."
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You are one who is becoming "Dedication to diving..." don't burn out as so many have ,,,

I look out the many windows of my home on a hill over looking the Pacific Ocean in California ,
to determine if I want to go diving, surfing or beach walking.

Generally diving, So down stairs to the garage, grab my dive gear out of the dive locker, toss in my dedicated dive pick up,drive to the end of the street which has a even greater panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. turn right down the hill 640 feet and less than three minutes at the ocean.

And that's the way it is in California.... where recreational diving began so many years ago

Life is good -- and no sleet or snow

SDM

 

Sam, I am at my place in Tobermory right now. Admittedly, it's chilly, but I am about 70' to Georgian Bay. There are three little wrecks about 300 yards away, and the ramp to launch my RHIB is about 200 yards in the other direction. The sexy bowsprit below is about a 10 minute ride away, at a good clip. It's ideal for a dusk dive with Mrs. Stoo, followed by an adult beveridge on the lake. It's not horrible.

It's almost like we arranged our lives around diving, isn't it?

 

Hey Stoo...

Thanks...you and your group are to be congratulated...

The objective of my above posts was to stress the point of contributing to the protection of our resources regardless of how that protection is attained...beit...volunteers...donations...pay for play...or whatever...

There are so many users regardless of whether it diving or something else...who feel it is their right to play for free...and use...and often abuse the resourses...and then complain in ultra high volume when the privilage...and it is a privilage is removed...

This all has to do with respect...and we as a race tend to respect what we work and pay for...

Annual ''tourist generated garbage cleanup'' alone in Tobermory is a big number...it has to be done...and it has to be paid for...

Tobermory is not unlike any other ''tourist attraction''...you have the choice of paying for all the provided services...and enjoying the time spent...or not going...

Best...

Warren

 

I wont go as far as to say that diving is a right, but to call it a privilege is not acceptable either.

The fact of the matter is that many private individuals went in and put an effort forward to find these sites (natural, wrecks, local lakes, etc,) and have given them away (wrecks) on their own or the area was free public space to begin with (lakes, reefs, caves, etc) and spent the time and effort to explore and document the site. For the government to impose fees or restrictions on them is BS.

Tobermory is in a class of it's own and to my knowledge a one of kind in hemisphere as being the only shipwreck oriented marine park that needs a permit system. However that is the decision of the people of Ontario and the government of Canada. Not saying that there are not any benefits to having fees in place but dont boast that they are the way to go when diving (whether you are a tourist or local) and in the long run can have the negative impacts of driving away visiting divers. Stoo's work on stabilizing the Sweepstakes probably saved her for a fee decades to come vs if they stopped him and his group it could very well have collapsed like the Arabia and Sandusky are today and TB loses its central gem to tourists who dive and dont dive.

Here in the US most take a measure of pride of having a small government on both the federal and local levels and when one advances to permit a small percentage of the population to dive has always been a preamble for more fees and restrictions ETG: slippery slope theory. NOAA and its marine sanctuaries here in the US has began down that slippery slope with fisherman. What can they implement on divers?

No insult to Warren or anyone else. I understand the different points of view people have on this issue. But I am waaaaay to cynical to believe that the government always has the best interests of the people in their mind when they implement permits and fees.

 

Jared...

You are correct...no arguement...diving is not a privilage...having said that...I look at Fathom Five Marine Park...the same as I would look at Universal Studios/Disneyland...

They all belong to someone else...be it Government or private enterprise...or some conglomeration of both...should you so choose to avail yourself of the services...you have to pay...there is no fence around this small section of Georgian Bay...but don't be caught there with no permit...

As I posted earlier...the annual permit is only $20...a hell of a lot less than Disneyland...

Best...

Warren

 

I'm not sure that "ownership" has much to do with it, but in Tobermory's boom years... early '80s... We had 7000 divers registered each summer (and many if not most would return several times a season). When I managed the shop over on Big Tub, on a busy long weekend, we might do 400 fills on a Saturday night. Our campsite was packed and there wasn't a free hotel in town.

Along with that number of divers, and dives, came a proportional number of "incidences". One summer I was there, we had six fatalities if memory serves correctly. There was a legitimate need for an emergency response service. There was a chamber in town, but relying on a converted fish tug/dive boat to get someone to it in time wasn't working.

Almost all of the wrecks' locations were known, having been found by fisherman, or in some cases, there were eye witnesses to the sinking.

Anyway, as Warren points out, it's a token fee. I admit that one year I forgot to register, and no SCUBA Police came knocking.

 

This doesn't surprise me at all, they voted for more government, and they got it

 

Hey Stoo...

You're right...the Scuba Police do seem to have disappeared...

I clearly remember my first trip to Tobermory...when uniformed Park Officials boarded every charter prior to departure to verify everyone had their token clearly visible...that doesn't seem to happen anymore...

And yes...the annual numbers are definately not what they used to be...

I've called to confirm a charter booking more than once in recent years...and was advised that on my planned dates...no-one else had booked and that they would not be going out...

Once last year...Kelly didn't want to turn me away and made it a shop crew dive morning...I think there was nine of us on the Proteus...I was the only ''paying'' customer...and this was a beautiful July mid-week day...

Best...

Warren