Sand Dog VII was a lot of fun as always and sorry some of you missed it. The venue for Sand Dog VIII was discussed and we decided to do something a little different next year. Sand Dog VIII is going international and will to be held on Bonaire, shore diving capital of the world. I anticipate it will be the most vintage friendly venue yet. As some of you know, I travel to Bonaire fairly often so I was railroaded…I mean elected to organize next year’s trip. Since this trip will be somewhat different in some respects I thought it would be a good idea to present my ideas for Sand Dog VIII early and get your input. The dates are open at this point but it will still be in the late March to early April time frame. This is what I am thinking about.
Due to the cost of airfare SD VIII will be a weeklong event instead of the normal long weekend. As such, the cost will be somewhat higher, esp. for those of us who usually drive to the event. Unlike venues in the past, you will also need a passport. The good news is along with the higher cost comes a lot more diving freedom than we typically have, there are not dive nannies or scuba police on Bonaire and the number of dives you can do is mainly limited to your stamina, 6 or more per day are possible.
I already have a resort in mind that I think will be a good fit for us but I am open to suggestions. It’s smaller, on the water and has a layout that is conducive to gathering together when we are not diving. There is a pool on site and a nice public beach nearby for nondiving family and the snorkeling is very good off the resort dock. There is a nice reef at the resort, unlimited air and nitrox available 24 hrs a day and an onsite dive shop. I have a spy checking out the resort soon and if he thinks it’s a good match for us, I will work on the details with the resort. I have a trip planed to Bonaire in June so I can discuss the details with the resort in person. If all works as I anticipate it will, I will announce the resort in July.
What I would like from all of you is a rough idea of how many think they would be likely to attend and how many would be coming with you. In other words, do you think you will attend and if so will your wife/children/mother-in-law be coming with you. I would like to get a rough count so I have an idea of how many rooms we will need. Obviously I do not have an exact price for the trip but I can give you an educated guess at to the cost to help you decide if you can make it. Here is the breakdown:
Room/rental truck/unlimited shore diving (nitrox is included) and taxes will be in the $725pp range for divers/ $575 non-divers
Island fees: Park diving fee $25 and airport exit tax $35
Food is on par with most major cities. The rooms I am considering are fully equipped condos so we usually buy breakfast and lunch foods and eat a good evening meal.
Airfare is unpredictable but on average from Raleigh NC I have gotten airfare from the low $500s to close to $800 with around $700 being the average.
After doing a lot of these trips, my total bill is usually in the $1500-1600pp range, YMMV.
I open to any and all suggestions. If you have questions please feel free to ask, either here, via a PM or email.
I am going to try to make this the best Sand Dog yet.