Min hjemmeside

Fellow Divers, Greetings:

This letter is to let you know the status of our planned warm water dive for 2009 and what you have to do
if you want the club to sponsor a long range dive trip for 2009. We are currently looking at going to
either to Raja Ampat or to Cayman Brac. Your response to this letter by no later than the DDC meeting
of Wednesday August 6th will determine whether we as a club will have a warm water trip in 2009.
Remember not responding in time, waiting to see what happens, etc. are all the same as a "no" vote for
even having a warm water dive trip in 2009. So far the response to the DDC Newsletter article on this
subject has been tepid. I need to decide whether even to go forth with a planned dive for 2009. Please
respond to this letter ASAP.

The 11 day dive trip to Raja Ampat is a bit pricy because of its remote location and the devaluation of the
US dollar. But in my opinion it is currently probably the world's best dive site. The trip as defined below
will be about $5,100 including airfare, meals, ground and boat transfers, lodging, and diving. Non-divers
will be $4,350. It will be a little cheaper if we cut down the time in Bali as defined in the itinerary below.

The 7 day dive trip to Cayman Brac will be about $1,800 including airfare, meals, ground transfers,
lodging and diving. This price might be reduced even further with a group. Non-divers will be a few
hundred dollars less. This includes 3 tanks per day off the boat, night dive, beach dives, and at least a
couple of tanks diving Little Cayman during the course of our stay. There will be an optional follow-on to
Grand Cayman at a slightly additional price for those so interested. This will give you the opportunity to
buy a t-shirt saying "I Dove the Diver's Triangle" (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman). I
don't consider this trip to be world class diving but it still would be a lot of fun for a gang of DDC divers.
However I did think that the Bloody Wall in Little Cayman was a world class dive site. And this trip is a
lot less expensive than Raja Ampat.

Both trips would be scheduled for the middle of March time frame of 2009. If you prefer a different time
please so indicate in your response. I'm not going to include an extensive write-up on either site in this
letter as that information has already been published. Contact me if you want a write-up on either dive
site. I do want to include the itinerary for the revised Raja Ampat dive however. Here is the new itinerary
with the China Air flights (instead of the Singapore Airlines flights):

2009
Mar 16 Depart Los Angeles on China Airlines flight # 7 at 12:10am to Taipei.
Mar 17 Arrive into Taipei at 5:40am.
Connect to China Airlines flight # 771 at 8:15am to Bali, arriving at 1:15pm. We will be met and
transferred to our accommodation.
Mar 18-22 4 nights at Alam Shanti up in Ubud (cultural capital)
3 days (1 full & 2 x 1/2 day) touring and exploring
22 Mar Depart Denpasar on Garuda to Makassar and then connect to Merpati to Sorong.
We will be met and transferred by car and boat (approx 3-4 hrs) to Kri Island
Mar 22-02 Apr 11 nights Kri Island Resort
Apr 03 We will be transferred by boat and bus (approx 3-4 hrs) to Sorong and our hotel. Depart Sorong
on Merpati flight # 875 at 3:05pm to Makassar, arriving at 4:15pm. Connect to Garuda flight # 545 at
6:00pm to Denpasar, Bali, arriving at 7:15pm
We will be met and transferred the short distance to our hotel
2 nights Pat Mase in Jimburan http://www.pat-mase.com/
Apr 05 We will be transferred back to the airport. Depart Denpasar, Bali on China Airlines flight # 772
at 2:25pm to Taipei, arriving at 7:30pm
Connect to China Airlines flight # 8 at 11:25pm to LAX, arriving at 7:50pm the same day

This airline change and revised itinerary has taken over $1,000 out of the original cost estimates. Some
has been put back in because of the stay in Bali. The time in Bali can be reduced for even greater costs
savings. Keep in mind that we will be staying at the Kri Eco dive resort consisting of cabins out over the
water. An upgrade to the plusher more expensive Sonodo Bay Resort would be an additional $2.250 for
those so interested. The $5,100 quoted above includes: Round trip airfare on China Airlines from LAX
via Taipei to Denpasar, Bali & taxes; Round trip airfare on Garuda/Merpati from Denpasar via
Makassar to Sorong; 4 nights Alam Shanti with round trip airport transfers, breakfast daily, tax &
touring days (1 full & 2 x 1/2 days); 11 night Kri Eco Resort in a twin share over water bungalow fan
cooled room with share bathroom facilities on the beach, all meals, round trip transfers from the Sorong
Airport, tax and 20 tanks for the divers with weights, belts, boat & guide (additional dives would be
slightly extra or we can consider the unlimited dive package); 2 nights Pat Mase in a 4 bedroom Villa
with round trip airport transfers and tax (no meals).

Please submit your responces to me on or before the August 6th DDC meeting so that we can decide
which direction to go. I would appreciate your response even if you've already submitted one as so many
of the responses I have gotten so far are kind of wishy-washy (I'm interested, sounds like fun, let's see
what my money situation is, etc,). I need responses from those who are seriously interested in one or
other of the two trip concepts. In the case of the Raja Ampat trip you should feel fairly confident that you
are ready to lay down a $1,000 deposit. Contact me if you have any further questions (714) 842-0109.
Thanks.

Walt Glowski