fdog:
Thanks for the write-up mrpat!
There's been quite a bit of chatter on the technical forums of the overall condensending treatment and "my way or the highway" treatment very experienced technical divers have received there. Did you see any of this? The overall implication is that the operation is geared to babysitting very inexperienced divers, and hence well developed skills get you nothing (and mostly discomfort at questionable proceedures).
Congrats on making a trip that most would consider the trip of a lifetime!
All the best, James
I was in Bikini with a group of divers from the Washington DC area back in August of 06. Definitely worth the $5000 price tag for the weeks worth of 12 deco dives. At that time in August we had the option of wreck penetrations thru some of the wrecks including some major penetrations into the Saratoga...nothing was falling apart at that time...the stern area was damaged and slowly falling apart. The bridge area was quite intact while we were there.
I did not find Jim or Gennifer or the staff at Bikini condescending in any way...and we were all well trained / technically oriented divers...we were all diving doubles with BP/Wing setups. I understand that the DIR crowd might not like the idea of diving air to 180ft...with a Bikini staff tour guide hovering and indicating the sights / artifacts. Quite frankly, I found the previews, history lessons, and guided dives on the wrecks quite informative and worthwhile. Dive groups that make it out there do not realize the inherent circumstances, the remoteness, the lack of not having helium so far from civilization (for trimix)...the remote characteristics, no phones, no cell phones, no short wave radio, no tv...there is only a sattelite phone of emergencies...one has to understand these circumstances and accept that Bikini is very unique in this way.
Arrogance on the part of the staff or on the part of any dive group serves no one...when you visit Bikini it serves to have a big ear, to put one's certification cards /tech prowess aside and live and learn. The staff will work with the dive group if they see that the dive group is flexible and accessible.
The staff have to live and work in this remote area with only two breaks a year...it is not easy to have some tough minded, tech crowd of divers push and shove their way around an area that they no nothing about...the staff monitors the wrecks every week, they realize the dangers etc. Believe me, the staff at Bikini have plenty of stories regarding arrogance and mouthy divers...the staff only wish to provide the best sort of guided dives based on the skill level of the dive group.
As we all know...there are divers and then there are divers.
Just my O2 about Bikini.
