Is the Spare Boat Places forum being used to its full potential?

[Helen F H]

Originally Posted by Fiona

I was in a club but they didn't do enough diving either so I left now I only dive with YD, so I probably miss out on the days out, I get plently of weekends away.

I was the same, and again do probably miss out on the occasional dive. I think we might get into the situation which occured in the past when i was in the club where it was the same few people doing the organising and everyone else was happy to just sign up, turn up and dive.

I started organising stuff because there was no point sitting on my fat backside complaining there was nothing i could get to or was qualified to join.

[Gareth J]

I was suprised when I posted spare places out of Lyme a few weeks ago that I didn't get a single response or enquiry. I know it was a bit adventureous for some 40-50m. But with the number of people on the forum I expected some interest!

[resting rifleman]

i post space availability but must admit to a certain reluctance about it, this forum is a place that i have come to treat as almost having a bunch of friends in the living room, and it feels a bit "offish" to keep on "punting my wares" to my mates!
being part of the new set up at divers down and having another boat available, means we have plenty of dives available to suit all levels of diver, practicality means that if someone rings the shop to book a dive on so and so we try to entertain them, and then post to try to make up the numbers. i also must cater for the courses run by divers down, (although they are VERY flexible) so it's a bit of a juggling act, but for what it's worth we go to sea every day that the weather permits, and all you yd'ers are always gonna be welcome aboard!
mike.

[Mark Davies]

The reality is, if you want to go diving don't sit around waiting for spaces on a trip to come up, organise it yourself. It really isn't that difficult.

And what goes round comes around. You organise a trip and someone comes on it. When they organise their own trips you get invited along. Before long you have developed a circle of diving friends and you're getting out regularly. Some of us just don't get along too well with the politics of clubs (I get far too much of that shit at work!), but they are not necessary when you have a resource like YD.

As I said before, I think what we need to do is to try and get more skippers advertsing their wares here. If people can clearly see the diving opportunites they are more likely to organise something. There can be a perception that all the boats are booked up months or years in advance. That isn't always the case.

Mike, please feel free to post your availability. I don't think it's 'offish' at all. You're doing us a service!

[Fiona]

I must say though being in the NorthWest isn't a great place to be if you want dive trips at short notice. I would dive every weekend if I lived a lot further south, I would also be prepared to travel quite a distance if I thought I could get a dive maybe 1 weekend in 2.

When we were at Selsey Howard mentioned that he can even get evening dives in something I couldn't do, short of moving house.

[Clare Gledhill]

Originally Posted by Mark Davies

Mike, please feel free to post your availability. I don't think it's 'offish' at all. You're doing us a service!

Agreed... we've just booked loads of weekend dives through to the end of the year (Ouch - credit card now smoking ) Booking for three rather than a club is harder at weekends - and there have been some dates which we haven't been able to find boat spaces for. It would be great if there were more advertised on YD.

[Finless]

I have stuck up a number of 'spare place posts' on YD (and all the other fora I am a member of) and have met with mixed success. Sometimes there are takers and sometimes there aren't - I'd put my success rate at about 35%.

Surely, at this time of year, those that do regularly dive in the UK will already be booked up and have their dives planned so there are unlikely to be many takers for spare places?

I was only a member of my dive Club in order to keep in touch with some people as I would hardly ever see them were it not for Club nights. I certainly didn't need to be a member to go diving locally.

Furthermore, the dives advertised, for the most part, are usually deeper and for the more advanced diver? This is only to be expected, a newbie is not going to know the ropes, have the contacts or the experience to arrange a dive and would probably want to know someone experienced would be on the boat to help with dive plans etc? I know I did when I first started boat diving in the UK?

In terms of arranging a complete charter that needs lots of planning. Unless you are doing a midweek you need to be booking in September for next year locally.

Lastly, there is the failure factor. It often happens that people bail out at the last moment and don't want to pay because they gave 2 weeks notice and then how do you get the money. I seem to recollect Mr T got stuffed on something of this nature a year or two ago?

[wreckweasel]

Originally Posted by Finless

I have stuck up a number of 'spare place posts' on YD (and all the other fora I am a member of) and have met with mixed success. Sometimes there are takers and sometimes there aren't - I'd put my success rate at about 35%.

Im finding much the same, we run trips for our ex-students (to keep them diving) but offer spare spaces on forums like this one.

Our last spaces were punted onto here for August 20/21 (prime diving season) with zero response. I guess sometimes you're lucky, others, you're not!

Still, its nice to see spare spaces being concentrated and made available to all


/Z

[Clare Gledhill]

Originally Posted by wreckweasel

Our last spaces were punted onto here for August 20/21 (prime diving season) with zero response. I guess sometimes you're lucky, others, you're not!

Response could be due to the fact that it is prime holiday season too

I would have gone on this trip - but am being forced to go prod fish in the Maldives instead of enjoying the delights of Lyme Regis.

It's a hard life - but someone has to do it

[Jules]

Originally Posted by resting rifleman

i post space availability but must admit to a certain reluctance about it, this forum is a place that i have come to treat as almost having a bunch of friends in the living room, and it feels a bit "offish" to keep on "punting my wares" to my mates!

mike.

Punt away mate, no-one would have any objection to you regularly posting a message letting people know what boat places you have for the next 7 days. I work down south (in winchester) occasionally and want to get some dives in down there but don't know who the skippers are and which ones are likely to have spaces.

jules