Adding my 2 cents to this, I was aboard the Deep Obsession on Monday, 3/1/99
for a leisurely morning trip.  2 relatively shallow reef dives.
- The boat is in immaculate condition.
- The divemaster was courteous and efficient.
- Jim Abernathy was hospitable, polite and determined that everyone aboard
have a great diving experience.
- The total load for this trip was 15 divers...no crowding and no hassle.

Jim, his boat and his crew will get my money the next time I'm in W. Palm.
His business is a rarity and a relief in a very competitive market.

Michael Graham
"Actions speak louder than words"
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Volker <dlv@ga*.ne*>
To: Erik C. Schmidt <cavedivr@uf*.ed*>
Cc: cavers@cavers.com <cavers@cavers.com>; Randylabel@ao*.co*
<Randylabel@ao*.co*>
Date: Monday, March 01, 1999 2:34 PM
Subject: RE: diving the Princess Anne


>Erich,
>I have been diving on Jim's boats for many years. There have been a few
>weekend dives where some shop has booked 6 people, 12 show, and Jim makes
>room. Typical full load is still limited to more like 22 or 23, and the
boat
>will certainly hold 30 legally.
>But the  feeling of a cattle boat is NOT what typical Abernethy dives leave
>you with---normally, you leave wishing all other boats could run trips like
>Jim does, and create even half the excitement level. I would really suggest
>you try again, and as I said earlier, Jim's boat  Tranquility is a better
>boat for someone as advanced as "residence" on the cavers list would
"imply"
>:-)
>I will also add that I and many other divers will go out on Jims larger
>boat, the DEEP OBSESSION ( the one with onboard compressor and Nitrox) ,
and
>we bring our own Nitrox or hyperoxic trimix, and Jim is only to happy to
>accomodate.
>
>I really think you should discuss the incident with Jim, and my experiences
>on his boat would suggest he would go way out of his way to prevent you or
>any other divers from ever having anything short of an ideal dive.
>His e-mail is jasa@ga*.ne*   and his phone is 561-691-5808
>Regards,
>Dan
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Erik C. Schmidt [mailto:cavedivr@uf*.ed*]
>Sent: Monday, March 01, 1999 11:59 AM
>To: Dan Volker
>Cc: Randylabel@ao*.co*; cavers@cavers.com
>Subject: Re: diving the Princess Anne
>
>
>Sorry guys, but I have to speak out against Abernathy's...
>
>First of all, (it must have been one of his larger boats) there must
>have been 30 people on the boat.  There was no room to breathe much less
>set up gear.  We were told that since they had tanks and fills on board
>we were NOT ALLOWED to bring our own tanks on board.  Even though we
>(myself and my group of certified divers) already had our own nitrox
>mixed and analyzed, we had to pay a higher price to use their tanks
>because they would not allow ours on board.
>
>I was teaching an Open Water class of seven students on this trip.  On
>our second dive (the students second dive - EVER) the boat left us in
>the water.  We surfaced after our dive and the boat was gone.  I spent
>the next 15 minutes explaining to my students that this was normal (to
>prevent panic) before the boat did a head count and came back for us.
>Not too cool...
>
>I will never dive with them again, and I recommend that others don't
>either.
>
>-Erik
>
>Dan Volker wrote:
>>
>> Go with Jim Abernethy Dive Adventures. Most enjoybale will be if you want
>to
>> spend a few extra dollars and go on his boat called tranquility--a boat
>> which could easily hold 18 divers, but he limits to 6.
>> This allows you more freedom to get exactly what you want out of each
>dive.
>>
>> I believe its about $55 on Tranquility, and on his larger boats, (18 to
24
>> divers) he charges more like $45, and this includes air and tanks ( which
>he
>> pumps on the boat). Nitrox is also availble on his boat.
>> His e-mail is jasa@ga*.ne*
>> Dan Volker
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Randylabel@ao*.co* [mailto:Randylabel@ao*.co*]
>> Sent: Monday, March 01, 1999 6:54 AM
>> To: cavers@cavers.com
>> Subject: diving the Princess Anne
>>
>> to all,
>>    We (6-10 people) are planning to dive the Prinncess Anne out of West
>Palm
>> Beach on March 19th and 20th and again in April and we need some
>> information.
>> First and foremost is a dive boat, either a charter or price per ticket.
>> Second is a room for a night, cheaper the better.  The thought of staying
>at
>> Dickerson State Park has crossed our minds, does anybody have a phone
>> number?
>>
>>    Thanks in advance,
>>    Randy LaBelle
>

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