July 17, 2021, PADI Woman Diver Day
Tri-City Scuba
travel
St. Lawrence
Virginia Beach
Hatteras
classes
SSI/NAUI/PADI Cavern Diver
SDI Solo Diver
TDI Intro to Tech
TDI Advanced NITROX
TDI Decompression Procedures
Basic Open Water and Advanced Open Water classes
Classes for SSI, PADI, NAUI, SDI and TDI
Instructor Training Center for Health & Safety Institute (HIS)
ASHI
Medic First Aid
Members Travel
Debi -Sea of Cortez
Treasurer’s Report
Checking $3675.00
Savings $2247.00
Total $5922.00
Diver Days -EVERYONE attending (Divers, swimmers, visitors) must be listed on RDC registration so they can be included on RDC manifest.
· July 18, Sunday
· July 28, Wednesday
· August 15, Sunday
· August 25, Wednesday
· September 12, Sunday (Member Appreciation Day)
Surface Intervals
Mariner Museum, Virginia Beach Aquarium, Wildlife Center of VA, Outside Concert…
Education Moment
Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) Deployment -do you know how? When was the last time you practiced? Lake Phoenix offers the perfect place to practice.
Board elections are approaching -those interested in club leadership, reach out to a board member -the year of transition
Tonight’s Program
Wayne Brown -Aggressor Adventures
The Aggressor fleet started in 1984 as oilfield crew boats. Eventually one boat was transitioned into a scuba boat and became the Cayman Aggressor
Wayne’s first Aggressor trip was aboard a 2005 Galapagos Aggressor. In 2006 he was aboard the Belize Aggressor, by April 2007 Wayne had purchased the fleet. This was followed by the purchase of the Dancer fleet. He has since added Safari lodges and River cruises to the Aggressor Adventures portfolio.
Aggressor Adventures are operating at approximately 60%
Q/A WITH WAYNE BROWN
- What sets Aggressor apart from other companies? -customer service
- Typical schedule -5 dives/day -4 during the day and 1 night
- Percentage of repeat customers -normally 57%
- What’s unique about Aggressor boats -redundancy for non-repairable items, FREE beer/wine, bath robes, Aggressor logo items
- Staffing -staff love their role
- Promote from within -absolutely
- Corporate vs. licensed boats -Aggressor Adventures owns no boats. Wayne does personally own a few of the boats through small companies
- Is the Bahamas Aggressor the original Aggressor boat -yes.
- Aggressor Adventures has a wonderful website -ARC does assist with travel arrangements. They have 2 staff (Bob/Lisa) dedicated to arranging travel for folks who need assistance.
- Is it possible to have single rooms? Revenue, you’re gonna end up paying for a double.
- The week goes by so quick -there may even be the possibility of getting staff to find other activities.
- Security in certain parts of the world (Egypt) -the boats operate in tourism areas. Governments understand this and are protective.
- Lithium-Ion Batteries -what’s being done -charging stations are all outside/or isolated from areas from areas of flammability. Anything plugged in will be unplugged at 10:00pm. For new vessels much of the fire-retardant materials are purchased in the US.
- Deals -website has a discount and specials page. Most customers book 6 months – 2 years in advance. Staff primarily rely on tips for wages so a full boat is preferred.
- Favorite Location? I don’t necessarily have one -a consistent destination color/clarity/temperature is Cayman
- Recommended first trip? Anything in the Caribbean.
- It would be nice to see a list of what is likely to be seen in different locations -I really depends more on the location
- Wild Harvest is shooting on the Belize Aggressor III (October)
Aggressor Adventure areas COMING SOON
- Palau will open in Sept. ’21 -Palau Aggressor has been approved as a restricted environment
- Kona Aggressor in Hawaii also to open in Sept. 21
- Philippians Aggressor -coming 4th quarter of 2021
- Safari/river cruises -May of 2022 (volcano/zip-line) -try to add cultural elements to river cruises
- Contract signed for West Coast of Australia Ningaloo Aggressor (Navy Pier) -flight through Perth
- BVI trade license has been awarded -potentially later this year (2021)
- Belize Safari lodge -birds/cultural tours -mid 2022
- A 3rd vessel will permanently be added to Belize
- Thailand River Cruise -cultural tours (Shipyard delays)
- 2nd river cruise will be added to the Nile (Cairo to Luxor)
Aggressor Adventure areas Under investigation
- Saudi Government has asked for a liveaboard among the Farasan al-Kabiris Islands
- Islands off the west coast of India North of Maldives (always closed to tourism)
- Cambodia/Vietnam -potential for a vessel to move between the two locations. Also, potential for a river cruise, maybe…
- Bengal sea -Bangladesh potential???
and finally…Next meeting Tuesday August 10, 2021
****Next meeting will be IN PERSON at O’Toole’s 7:00 8/10/21****
Socializing begins at 6:00PM, Meeting begins at 7:00
Richmond Dive Club