Where did your Scouts/Venturers dive today?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Thank for the support. Boy is this more complicated than I thought! I'm an experienced, albeit infrequent, diver and thought we'd get the crew through open-water cert and then go do some easy dives as a crew.... NOT.

First, BSA requires a Divemaster present. OK, I meet the prereqs... Got this GREAT instructor who is also a merit badge counselor... Since he's doing it anyway for another scout leader he invited me in to re-take Rescue at a great rate... Books (Rescue, Divemaster), update my gear (nothing fancy mind you), etc... now I'm spending substantially more on my training than both my boys combined... OUCH, but it will be well worth it to open this world up to the crew.
 
There are some interpretations of the tax laws that would make your DM expenses tax deductible...
 
Troop 555
14 youth, 4 adults
Went diving at a local pool and practiced basic skills and rescue techniques.
It. was. cool.:D
 
Thank for the support. Boy is this more complicated than I thought! I'm an experienced, albeit infrequent, diver and thought we'd get the crew through open-water cert and then go do some easy dives as a crew.... NOT.

First, BSA requires a Divemaster present. OK, I meet the prereqs... Got this GREAT instructor who is also a merit badge counselor... Since he's doing it anyway for another scout leader he invited me in to re-take Rescue at a great rate... Books (Rescue, Divemaster), update my gear (nothing fancy mind you), etc... now I'm spending substantially more on my training than both my boys combined... OUCH, but it will be well worth it to open this world up to the crew.

I don't know about complicated. Expensive is the word that comes to my mind! We meet the Divemaster requirement by "renting" one from one of the dive operations we deal with. Most are willing to give us some what of a deal on this, especially if we are renting equipment or doing a charter through them. How ever it does add to the cost. I am trying to get our membership to do some kind of fund raising to help offset some of these costs, got any ideas?

I am also thinking about getting my Divemaster rating to help make our outings a little more flexible as far as cost and time limitations. But, as you mentioned it is a BIG financial/time commitment for training as well as insurance.

And you are right about it being worth it! It is great diving with our Crew members and listening to them as they talk about the dives afterward. :cool3:
 
Troop 555
14 youth, 4 adults
Went diving at a local pool and practiced basic skills and rescue techniques.
It. was. cool.:D

Very glad that you had a great time! :D Are all of your group certified like you or are they just starting out? I also noticed in your bio that you are a female. What is your affiliation with the Troop?:confused:
 
I don't know about complicated. Expensive is the word that comes to my mind! We meet the Divemaster requirement by "renting" one from one of the dive operations we deal with. Most are willing to give us some what of a deal on this, especially if we are renting equipment or doing a charter through them. How ever it does add to the cost. I am trying to get our membership to do some kind of fund raising to help offset some of these costs, got any ideas?

I am also thinking about getting my Divemaster rating to help make our outings a little more flexible as far as cost and time limitations. But, as you mentioned it is a BIG financial/time commitment for training as well as insurance.

And you are right about it being worth it! It is great diving with our Crew members and listening to them as they talk about the dives afterward. :cool3:

We thought about "renting a DM" but we are a very low budget crew. Couple of things I'm learning. First, I'd go for the DM rating. You will be a much better leader on these events as a result, not to mention I think every adult should take a REAL class (in anything) every 10 years or so. You will also be a much better diver as a result. Cost is substantial, but there are several options. If you are doing this for the benefit of the crew/troop it should be tax deductible. That is the way I'm going. Books, tuition, transportation to/from classes or required dives, etc. Another way is to have your unit help pay some/all of the cost. I don't know how much hiring a DM is, or how often you go, but after a few trips it will probably pay off to the crew/troop.

I figure my deductible cost will probably end up being about $800. Tuition is $400, Books $140 2011 version (the LDS gave us a great scout discount), to/from training, PIC card $20 (Rescue - I'm retaking), PADI fees, and insurance about $80 through the LDS.

Another thought on insurance. BSA liability should cover if you are conducting a BSA approved trip. I'd check with National before counting on that.

Last thing. The recent double youth fatality in Monterey has me doing a lot of soul searching and what ifs. It hit way to close to home; it happened where we're certifying, ages, youth outing... Since our crew will be brand new OW divers, access to a few <100 dive adults, and a newly minted DM - we are going to be conservative. Each buddy pair or triple will have an experienced diver. Group dives with typical Monterey vis isn't practical. The newbies may have to dive in shifts. We'll also probably hire our instructor to take them on PADI Adventure dives. Keep the training going.
 
Raftingtiger
Dive master "rentals" in this area are in the $20.00 per hour range. So, for a morning or afternoon of diving we are usually in the $80-100.00 range. Three dive outings per year, $300.00. It will take 2 1/2 years, maybe three to recover the costs of getting to Dive master from my current level of AOW. I know my Troop/Crew would not want to make such a large investment with that long of a period of time to reach the break even point.

My reasons for getting Dive master are mostly personal. While helping the Troop/Crew hold down the costs for their dive trips is part of my reasoning, I mostly am thinking about it so I will be a better diver, maybe make a few bucks (very few!) to help with the costs associated with my personal diving, and to see if being a dive professional is for me. I am thinking about possibly becoming an instructor so I have a fun part time retirement job when that day comes.

It is my understanding that the BSA liability insurance that is in force with an approved Tour Plan is a secondary policy meaning that they will cover any losses NOT covered by the primary insurance such as that carried by the Divemaster or the Dive Shop he is working for. As the Guide to safe Scouting does not explicitly say if the Dive Professional supervising the dive needs to be insured it does make for an area of confusion on the question of insurance. I always have tried to be conservative and go with known insured supervision. If someone can clarify this please do so.

The safety of the youth is always job one. Being conservative with your diving is the best way to go. Most of them are not going to be comfortable with "deep dives" (dives to the max. depth recommended for their level of certification) anyway until they get several dives under their belts first. Depth and time limits need to be well within training experiences until they are more experienced. Most of our diving is in local quarries and Lake Michigan (for the more experienced divers) so viz. for us is not grand either. Small groups with each adult is the way to go, two to each adult is about max. STRESS the buddy system and the idea that each group moves no faster than its slowest member.

Just as a point of reference. Our dive trips cost each diver about $90.00. This includes Equipment rental, two tanks of air, entrance fee, Dive Master fee, lunch, and transportation. It is a lot of money but what an experience!
 
Crew 1904 in Stafford VA is looking to do some training in June. Open Water for some and AOW for others.

In July, a few of us are going to Mexico to participate in a Lionfish research expedition.

Then in SEPT we will be at SCUBAJAM-VA.ORG

Mike
 
Crew 512, Woodland, CA certified 3 divers this weekend at Folsom Point on Folsom Lake near Sacramento, CA. The three new OW divers include one youth from Troop 131 and soon to be a new Crew member (14 in August), one 18 yo youth member, and one adult member. We have two more youth - who for various reasons - were unable to dive/complete their dives to finish. They are 14 and 16 respectively. And finally their Advisor completed all the OW portions of Divemaster and has a few more workshops to finish.

Troops 68 and 464, also from Woodland, were also certifying scouts. All told about (I didn't count) 6 scouts (from barely 11 to 18 years-old), 1 sibling, and several parents certified.

Folsom lake was OK, viz between 10-12', water temp about 50F, but no surge or surf. Nothing to see except 3 fish all weekend.

We intended to certify in Monterey, but the conditions were poor. Our instructor has offered to lead a no-charge Discover Local Diving to Monterey when conditions improve. He is also offering a 3 dive Adventure diver outing to another (and clearer) local lake in about a month. I'll encourage my youth to go.

Originally Crew 512 planned on a San Diego Scuba super adventure. With a crew of 9 active scouts and only 4 attempting scuba at the end - they decided to change the focus and complexity of the trip. While I am personally disappointed, they made the right decision (one that would have been made for them). Not enough fund-raising, planning too complex for now, and the paucity of divers.

Finally I have a question for all the diving units out there. My two remaining youth would benefit by more pool time (actually they all would), but pool time is BORING. We need some games or activities that can be done in a small (read backyard) pool. I'm told there are waterproof card and board games available. We can practice buoyancy (swim through hoops), and maybe play some torpedo tennis. Additionally I plan on having them do some underwater basket weaving (spoof merit badge requirements are: 1. First aid and emergency procedures, 2. Complete Discover Scuba Diving, 3. Complete one basket entirely at a depth between 6 - 20'.) Any other ideas? Once I have completed both DM and DSD Leader I have our instructor's full support to work with these youth independently to get them ready to resume OW.
 
Got my Divemaster now. Parts of Troop 68 (Dad and son), Troop 464 (Dad and 2 sons), and Crew 512 (Advisor and 1 youth) went to Monterey on a non-BSA dive with their OW instructor. We did Breakwater for 2 dives. Conditions were very calm and viz was decent at 20'. The kids had a ball. There was tons of life to see. One of my youth still working on OW took the opportunity to snorkel in the ocean. She found it helpful in calming her discomfort.

Also if you want a laugh check out my post on DIY, making gear, craziest lift bags. Found myself in the position of figuring out how to salvage the BSA summer camp's much needed barge on short notice. The scouts are now told to put their trash in the lift bags that look like garbage barrels.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom