What makes a Good Dive-charter Operation? The User Speaks.

[Angleseyskipper]

sorry narked at fifty it didn't come out as i had intended .
still people are getting into the swing of things
basically its ya personal top 10 of what hits the spot.
lets hear it ,the good and the bad!
cheers elfyn

[Tim Ingmire]

1. Space.
2. easy to board, from the the water and at the dock I hate climbing up and down steep harbour walls at low tide wearng my twins.
3. Tea / coffee / soup
4. be on the spot with the shot
5. A good safety briefing
6. Biscuits (preferably choccy covered)
7. Nearby B&B (eg the proximity of the Mostyn Arms to the pier at Menai) - closer if possible.
8. Close parking if I'm doing a day trip.
9. Helpful crew (even better if they look like Sophie Anderton)
10. Easy access to the head.
11. Spares eg mask, fins / straps, bungee, tie wraps etc etc.
12. Gets me there and back

And finally,

Offers a good choice of divesites and is happy to rotate them ie. we don't keep going back to the same old same old cos it's easy for the skipper.

Did I mention Sophie Anderton? No ginger hair tho.

[Jules]

Good skipper, not grumpy, helpful, knows his marks and shot's them right, will honestly tell you what conditions are and when not to bother. Gets you in and out safely, knows where all his divers are.
o2
Hot drink ready when you need it.
Decent kitting up area, especially for twinsets.
good briefing
a cabin to keep out of the weather when it's shit
decent ladder, (Billy's at st abbs for example vs Pete's )

jules

[Narked@50]

Good:

1. location
2. sea state
3. vis
4. knowlegeable crew
5. finding the site (the one they intended!)
6. boat space
7. kitting up facilities like seats, benches for twins
8. access/recovery from sea
9. shelter
10. clean toilet

Bad: Opposite to good realy:

1. if the location is poor, no one would visit anyway.
2. if the sea is too rough, you wont even get out.
3. no vis, no point.
4. having no confidence in a crap crew is no fun, probably a danger.
5. can't find the site and dive a 30m sandbank.
6. too cramed, no fun at all, rather pay extra £10 and dive with 10.
7. kitting up is the hardest part of the dive, for me at least.
8. a 5 foot drop is not so bad, but an 8 foot poor recovery ladder is a bind.
9. I know we get wet in the water, but shelter from wind and cold is nice.
10. Should be clean facilities available that work and you can swing a cat in.

Hopefully more on tune?

James

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by angleseydiver

Its obvious No.11 is ready for uk wet... have you seen forecast for next 5 days?
Actually, we've a few sites diveable in S or SW hoolie but we've had loads of rain so the vis is shite- as soon as vis gets to 3-4m we'll be doing a bit

Hi Terry,

can you drop me a PM when you are out from the 24th Jan please mate, Cheers

Safe diving,
Steve

[Angleseyskipper]

get the picture narked at fifty .
i'll have to edit the clean toilet as being a low on the bad points as if that gets out you'll have a s--t house straight out of the young ones on most boats!.
looks like you've had some real bad luck with only 2m , would be intrested in a few details of ya diving on anglesey time of year ,size of tide ,sites dived etc
cheers elfyn

[Ian@1904]

Shelter from the wind and sun.
Clean toilets
Choice of hot drinks
B&B contacts
Lunch (I use Storm in Plymouth as they offer a package of diving B&B and lunches)
Friendly and knowedgable crew
Decent ladder or a lift
Decent seating kitting up facilities

[Sandman]

In no particular order.

A decent amount of kitting up space - nothing worse than having mountains of kit all over the deck and usually an accident waiting to happen.

Stablility - having a stable platform while kitting up and de-kitting is nice if you can get it. Strictly no rock-n-roll.

Engines - I don't want to be chugging out to sea for hours so a good turn of speed is essential, always amazes me how boats seem to go twice as fast going back to port.

Skipper/crew - Really needs to be on top of his/her game and when they say we are diving XYZ wreck I don't want to be hitting the sand and not the scrap. If it takes a bit longer to get hooked in so be it. Also nice if they are willing to help kit up divers and get them in and out of the wet stuff. Being honest about the weather and conditions and being prepared to call dives off the day before always scores highly.

Apres dive - A warm drink of anything is always welcome as is some form of chocolate type snack.

Entry/exit - Getting in is not usually a problem unless it involves free falling backwards from altitude. Getting out up a short steep ladder is a pain in the bum, a lift is nice but a decent ladder is a must.

Cheers

Simon

[Helen F H]

Safe procedures & boat - O2, skipper qualified etc.
Good ladder. I will gladly not dive a second dive if the ladder is bad.
Knowledge of skipper.
Wide benches (for those of us with wide arses).
Crew who know what they are doing and help you without you even needing to ask.
Ease of loading the boat.
Compressor on board (a luxury but a good one)

[angleseydiver]

Porg,

You forgot the fishing-rod/s in case the dive is canned