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TF Divers???


Achilles
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Hi to all...

Forgive me posting in General Discussion, didn't know where to post this... So Admin, go ahead and place it where you deem appropriate....

I've been looking around through the internet to find out if there was any agrupation (non prfit oriented) of divers in Bangkok for meeting up, gathering together for weekend or 4 day long trips for the single purpose of diving...

I reckon that here in TF we should be quite a few and perhaps it would be a nice way to enjoy our common hobby, discuss the best sites, get better prices from the Dive Clubs and liveaboards and at the same time, meet new people...

In principle there would be no prerequisites in terms of age, sex, nationality, religion, subway favorite sandwich or anything of the like, just be a PADI certified diver (or any other qualification) and have the will and commitment to the rest of the group we could shape....

Let me know your thoughts, or whether if you do know of a divers association and we can pick it up from there on...

See you under the waves....

Wadee ja...

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It's a great idea that you have! Here in Calif. I have a group of about 10 of us and we book entire vacations around diving (Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, etc) and get a good deal from the dive shop and some small hotel.

I want to try to get back to do a dive over Christmas, either Krabi or Koh Samui. Maybe a thread about what dives have been most enjoyable for TF members, and which dive shops and boats are the best? I used Sea Bees in Phuket and the divemasters and boat were top notch.

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By way of example, my previous instructor, Steve Wessel, organises live-aboards in the Similan and Surin islands. I think that he has two trips organised 15th ? 22th December this year and 29th April ? 6th May next year. The price is circa. Baht 35,000 baht per person, this includes up to 25 dives, dive equipment, food and accommodation on the boat.

Two ways for TF members to organise a trip together. 1.) With an existing operation and negotiate a discount for group booking; or 2.) Charter our own boat.

The second one could be attractive, provided we can secure the services of a skipper we can trust, clean tanks and scuba kit, working compressor and dive master. And of course, that our clientele turn up as they promise. I have not costed it, but does anybody have an idea for the break-even number of divers and the price necessary to make option 2.) feasible?

Robert Stockfis

# 481498

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good idea, count me in.

Best spots in SEA are in the triangle around southern Philippines (Mindanao and Palawan) east of Sabah and northern Sulawesi in Indonesia. Sulawasi offers outstanding visibility and unique marine life but its a bit hard to get to from Thailand. Similan and Surin islands in the Andaman sea are said to be the best divespots in Thailand (as far as I know). Unfortunatly when I went there on a 4 night live-aboards trip there was a bad storm so the trip wasn't fun at all. But I'd love to try the Similans again.

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...

A big enough group (maybe 8 people) would make it possible to charter a boat and possibly negotiate the price even more and of course give the liberty to plan our own schedule

Sounds good - getting up to 8 folks shouldn't be too hard.

What would be the costs then?

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lil_messy_jay don't worry about the fact that you are only an OWD. There are likely to be divers of all sorts of abilities and whoever is to take overall responsibility of the dives, they will need to make sure that buddy teams dive well within their limits.

It is worth pointing out that whilst you can be certified OWD after 4 dives and AOW after 9 dives, that does not make you an experienced, or an "advanced" diver, by any stretch of the word. Even experienced divers/instructors would normally take a familiarisation dive before leading others around a site. So you would likely be diving with not only your buddy but also with someone who is experienceced and/or knows the site. Usually that would mean those diving in a group with someone who is a Dive Master Trainee, or who has a Dive Master or Instructor rating.

If TF divers want to get this idea up and running, we need to make sure there is a sufficient compliment of DMTs,DMs and/or Instructors to make sure it is safe and as far as I am aware, this issue has not been raised.

They could be existing TF members ("anyone there?") or alternatively contracted in, but either way we would need to pay them and this needs to be costed.

Best regards,

Robert

# 481498

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