Flower gardens

[scubasamurai]

Originally Posted by awap

Price range is around $450 for a 2 night (7 dives) trip to $650-$700 for a 3 night (11 dives) trip. I'm not sure what you mean by "they seemed to be real tough on the divers". The rules are rather minimal but strictly enforced. Big no-nos are busting depth limitations (130 on first dive and 100 on subsequent dives each day) and running out of gas. Conditions can run anything from flat and mild to "Damn that hurt". When the conditions get somewhat challenging, it is no place for the trepid diver.

well if you are a well trained diver you know what to do, i know the lawyer letters and all are required, but their little information pamplet sounds like they are there with the whips and chains and are real hard arses thats all. i know getting bent or other medical emergencies out in open water far from shore really decreases your chances for survival, things do go wrong, but if they are that concerned they should require advance and a minimal dive level certifications ( if i missed it i didn't see it) for these dives. granted deep and strong current will challenge even the most hard core diver. just seems like they are hell bent on the do as i say rule. but from what i am reading it seems the lawyers wrote the pamplet and the dives are actually pretty good.

[awap]

[quote=scubasamurai;46998 i know the lawyer letters and all are required, but their little information pamplet sounds like they are there with the whips and chains and are real hard arses thats all. i know getting bent or other medical emergencies out in open water far from shore really decreases your chances for survival, things do go wrong, but if they are that concerned they should require advance and a minimal dive level certifications ( if i missed it i didn't see it) for these dives. granted deep and strong current will challenge even the most hard core diver. just seems like they are hell bent on the do as i say rule. but from what i am reading it seems the lawyers wrote the pamplet and the dives are actually pretty good.[/QUOTE]

I thought their release form is pretty typical. If they had required any more certification than OW, I would not have been able to make the 15 or so trips that I have made with them.

[rtrski]

I didn't find their rules too draconian. 130ft limit first dive, 100 thereafter for the day, and they usually pick the mooring points so the local topology 'helps' you meet those limits. Violate that or blow deco, sit out 1 dive. Out of air, sit em all out. The latter sounds kind of rough, but when you're diving 100 miles from home with nowhere closer to run to for help but a CG evac, I can understand that perfectly. BTW, they define "out of air" very liberally, as "unable to take a useful breath from your regulator", not as 300 psi safety limit or whatnot. So you have to F-up pretty bad to get into that situation.

I will confess to have gotten a bit caught up in attempted photography and making it back to the boat with well under 300 psi left on one dive...but even then, I could've used the reg they provided on a downline to finish my safety stop if I didn't have enough, or surfaced and swam some of the way back in if I couldn't even get that far (current and wave conditions permitting...and had this not been a flattish sea trip I'd certainly not have been so easily lulled into complacency). So what I'm saying is even if I had been another 200 psi shorter yet, there still would've been 'alternatives' to surfacing "out of air" and getting the dunce cap. While they don't LIKE picking you up in the Dinghy of Shame, it doesn't count as "out of air".

The conditions are somewhat spartan in terms of bunking, but so what - you won't be below deck except to change your skivvies and sleep, and you'll be tired enough after 4 or 5 dives a day to sleep, guaranteed. Food ain't 4-star but is good and there's plenty of it. I probably gain weight every trip...between every single dive there's food to be had.

I've been on the Fling twice and the Spree once now, all in the last 14 months or so, and am looking forward to many returns. For around $500 for 7 dives (2 day trips) with food/bunk included and no airfare required from the DFW area, I don't think the price can be easily beat. The 3-day trips (5/4/2 dive days) are even better with 11 dives for around $650 (Spree price, with Nitrox). And this is GOOD diving. Or at least it ranks up with some of my more memorable sites like Saba, never having been to the ABCs, Belize, or South Pacific.