March 2005

Vol. 20, No. 3   What's this?

Paradise Sport

from the March, 2005 issue of Undercurrent  

Mike Ball, who sold the majority shares in Mike Ball Dive Expeditions to a Japanese company in 1990, recently bought back control of his company. Before our reviewer boarded the Paradise Sport, we had heard reports of changes in the works since Ball’s return. We contacted Mike Ball to see what our readers might expect from him now that he is back at the helm. A condensed version of his reply follows. Ball did mentioned he was willing to offer a money-back guarantee for 2005 if he fails to perform to the service level paid for.

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During the 2.5 years I was away from the business, some of our services have deviated from my philosophy. I’m actively returning things back to normal:

1) More rental pony bottles for solo divers are being added;

2) Streamlined Nitrox protocol: guests analyze the Nitrox and simply write the oxygen percentage and MOD on the tank tag. On entry, diver shows computer’s settings to the divemaster;

3) Deco limits are only addressed once, as follows: “We recommend a 5-minute buffer inside the no-deco limits, a 2-minute safety stop at 33 ft., and a 3-minute stop at 15 feet”;

4) Paradise Sport is currently having its comprehensive annual refit with particular attention being given to the airconditioning system.