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

[Diving Dude]

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

l think not.

This has been bugging me for a while, so here goes.

As of now, 10.30pm, Thursday the 4th Aug, we have 3706 members; all supposedly divers. Now this being the middle of the 'diving season' (for those that have a season) l'd guess that at least 25% will be diving this weekend = approx 1000 divers.

Now is every boat that the above 1000 people are diving off full?

If not, why aren't the spare boat places posted in the Spare Boat Places forum? (SBPF)

This has come to light because l've had a couple of PM's regarding people wanting to dive on the south coast and asking if l can help; they should've been able to look in the appropriate section and find spaces to dive with YD'ers anywhere in the UK.

YD was set up by Jay and Andy to form a group of divers/friends that go diving together; as the forum has expanded, instead of more boat spaces appearing there seems to be less.

For example, say someone who is clubless wants to go diving this weekend:
they look in SBPF and what do they find? Helen's gig on the Sunday the 7th at St Abbs and other spaces for Sat and Sunday at St Abbs also.

Try the following weekend, the 13th and 14th Aug, and it's good old Helen again with a St Abbs gig, and Fiona with an Anglesey gig.

OK in between there's Mike with a couple of Sky trips out of Swanage - but yippee feckin' doo: what a great choice, go to Handbagnet's Spare boat spaces and you will always find more spaces.

FFS there are 3706 of us, l should be able to open the SBP Forum and pick out a dive almost anywhere in the UK, so why is this not happening? Why aren't peeps on here posting about boat places so that other YD'ers can take them?

Is it because there are a fair few people who moan about an intro. and won't fill out there profiles so anyone offering boat spaces doesn't know anything about them?

Maybe some peeps are too quick to criticise skippers when they post about boat places so they shy away.

So what l'm really saying is, if you're diving and you have spaces please post them on the SBP forum.......................now lets all have a group hug.

[Jules]

well said that man!

[jptaylor9]

[Andy the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

This has been bugging me for a while, so here goes.

As of now 10.30pm Thursday the 4th we have 3706 members, all supposedly divers, now this being the middle of the diving season (for those that have a season) l'd guess that at least 25% will be diving this weekend = approx 1000.

I was thinking the same just the other day, and was chatting as a group on the boat over coffee....
Charter boats normally go out too early for some, but not to early to get up and drive to a frigging lake to do training and polish up on bloody drills and skills. Surely, this can be done in the winter months and get in REAL DIVES during the summer, but i suppose sat in a club / pub in September with all your kit packed away or at service until April talking a good dive is the norm nowadays.

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

Now is every boat that people are diving on full? If not why aren't the spare boat places posted in the Spare Boat Places forum? (SBPF)
This has come to light because l've had a couple of PM's regarding people wanting to dive on the south coast and asking if l can help, they should've been able to look in the appropriate section and find spaces to dive with YDers anywhere in the UK.

I can't talk for other skippers, but mine is 90 % of the time, the other 10 % of the time is a restricted number of Divers i only want..... NO, not doing sneaky stuff, but if i have a school , wanting to do some training , i limit the numbers for safety reasons.....

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

YD was set up by Jay and Andy to form a group of divers/friends that go diving together, as the forum has expanded, instead of more boat spaces appearing there seems to be less.

And what a good forum it is

Dude, that could be taken another way , mate.... You wouldn't believe the number of YD'ers of forum readers i have had on the boat during the past 10 days ....

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

For example, say someone who is clubless wants to go diving this weekend,
they look in SBPF and what do they find, Helens gig on the Sunday the 7th at St Abbs and other spaces for Sat and Sunday at St Abbs,
Try the following weekend the 13th and 14th and it's good old Helen again with a St Abbs gig, and Fiona with an Anglesey gig, ok in between there's Mike with a couple of Sky trips out of Swanage but yippee feckin' doo what a great choice, go to Handbagnets Spare boat spaces and you will always find more spaces.

Know what ya saying .... but as i'm also a handbag net advertiser, we get the space on the web included,,,,, not many of the skippers there are YD members....... shame that .... perhaps i'll add YD in there somewhere on my next post

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

Maybe some peeps are too quick to criticise skippers when they post about boat places so they shy away.

Them sort are the ones with only a couple of sea dives or muddy puddle experts.

[Finless]

Originally Posted by Diving Dude

Maybe some peeps are too quick to criticise skippers when they post about boat places so they shy away.

So what l'm really saying is, if you're diving and you have spaces please post them on the SBP forum.......................now lets all have a group hug.

Who's ever complained about skippers posting about spare places?

I don't know about anyone else but I had pretty much booked my dives from May to the end of August. I would only advertise spare places if it was a club dive, otherwise it's up to the skipper?

Am I missing the point? Dude, have you got sand in your vagina again....you seem a bit tetchy. Don't tell me the colours in your your multi coloured dry suit have faded?

[Mr T.]

Very fair post H mate!

And I'm guessing that there are, as with all these things, perhaps more individual answers than actual boat spaces available

Why don't folks/skippers post their available or spare spaces? Perhaps because they fill them with other Club members or other non-YD bodies? Perhaps - as with most divers - they are happy just to attend and dive on trips and not organise them, and therefore don't really care if the boat's are full or not, as they don't feel it's their job to fill them? Who knows, although I'd be as interested as you to find out.

I doubt the 'post an Intro or risk criticism/Scaring off Skippers' reason you suggest carries any real validity - as, as Admins, we make a point of encouraging skippers (new YD members, old and non-YD members) to both join YD as members and post all their available places on here - as long as they don't go into some massive selling job on their company in their first or every post - which few actually do, if I'm honest. All skippers can go large and do a pucker selling job - free of charge - in as much detail as they like in the Members' Business forum.

We also make a point of shifting any new Skippers' posts (and there have been a number recently) who post their current and future boat/weekend availability in the Planned Trips section in error. They get bumped up to the Spare Boat Palces to Fill forum in short order so those looking for buddies or weekend availability can have first shout.

The irony is that we'll invariably see a raft of quick trip reports from someone complaining that "we had a brilliant time, viz was great, great wreck, loads of sealife, top skipper....pity the boat was only/less than half full..."

I guess it might come down to building on the community spirit of YD - the more folks feel part of it, the more they'll be happy to promote the site to boats/Skippers and in turn, turn round and promote spare boat space here.

All we can do is ask


([Edit: NB - you've posted this in the Non-Diving section mate. I'll leave it here for the time being so it attracts the user traffic this new 'Rant' section seems to be attracting, but I'll then move it to the Spare Boat Places forum and make it a sticky so that folks can keep eyes-on and post on it accordingly. ])

[Narked@50]

Hey Dude - Lay off the coffee! LOL

You are of course right, but there are also a few threads running in the buddy adds and planned trips, so there are still plenty of dives going on round the country.

At this time of year I would be surprised if there were actualy that many "spare" places for boats at a weekend, some of the skippers I use are booked up till the end of next year, just look at Soveregein in the Farns.

The fact that people are PMing you looking for diving is strange, you are not the dive organiser for YD in your area, although you do a lot of good work, you should not feel "put on". There is nothing stopping these same people organising something themselves or posting in the buddy adds looking for places?

I don't mean to detract from the message - With such a large forum we should have more advertised spaces and I take your point about scaring people away for inefective intros. Perhaps we could set up the registration so you needed to fill in the info? and put in some guidelines about what is required? We could also send out a generic e-mail to all the boats advertising in the dive mages and invite them to join up and offer there wares?

James

[Rick Huggins]

Is this open to everyone?

What support, gases and plan do you have in mind? LOL

[Andy the Coastie]

I put out that i had spaces for Mon - Tue - Wed ... and knowing 2 certain divers who wanted to dive on a Mon or Tue as it's there normal day off ...this is how fucking annoyed i get, when it costs me money sending text messages.
Just for info both divers live in the same village only 25 minutes away from Dover.

Text from Taurus Diving to diver A ... " Leave time 07:00, going to Dungie, NUNIMA ,,, 35 mt max ".

Text reply. " Sorry mate, retirement party night before and a bit of a early start for me ".

Text from Taurus Diving to diver B ... " Leave time 07:00, going to Dungie, NUNIMA ,,, 35 mt max ".

Text reply. " no can do, promised diver A to go to Stoney. Can you wake me by phone call when you finish diving on the Pride of Canterbury at 02:45 & can you leave your road atlas book at the office".

[Finless]

Originally Posted by Mr T.

....pity the boat was only/less than half full..."

What diver has ever complained about that (unless they have to chip in to make up any shortfall)?

Loads of space ..... kit spread out all over the place ..... mmmmmmarvellous .