Miscellaneous

Other diving related

Dive Operators Who Need Some Training

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I was recently privileged to be invited on a press trip to the British Virgin Islands. They wanted us to get the best material we could for the articles we were to produce and did nothing to obstruct that. All the operators, that is, except one. …
Dive operators have to keep many of their clients, some of whom have very little or infrequent diving experience, on a short leash. However, the art of dealing with people in what is predominantly a people business is to accurately assess first who you are dealing with.

Sex, Drugs, Rock n’ Roll and Diving

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There are few opportunities in life that allow almost complete and unmitigated indulgence in whatever interests you, but over the years my career in professional diving has occasionally hit a home run in serendipitous situations. For example, I was actually asked by the U.S. Navy in 1971 to volunteer to smoke copious quantities of marijuana, … Read more

The Big Difference Between Day Boats and Liveaboards? The Customers

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I do a lot of dive trips abroad, about a dozen each year. I recently enjoyed a two-week liveaboard trip in the Red Sea near southern Sudan, followed by a similar amount of time shore-based in Bali, Indonesia. In each case, my fellow divers were British, French, Belgian, German and Dutch but could have been … Read more

Sinking in a Sea of Luxury?

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For the past year we’ve been based in Indonesia working as consultants for Conservation International’s Indonesia Marine Programs, specifically in diving’s newest hotspot, Raja Ampat. With all the liveaboards here or coming here, we’re seeing an explosion of luxury — but is this what you, the real diving-public want? …