sandpit

Question
QUESTION: I am wanting to know your input if a 100 plus acre sandpit would be a good place to run a dive place. I've seen on the net that others have done this.  The lake is 40 to 50 foot deep and is very very clear. I live in a city with over 500,000 people. I'm not a diver but have always had interest. I ideally trying to figure out how i could generate revenue to pay for this awesome piece of land.
thanks

ANSWER: Hi Chad,

Land speculation is always a risky business so I won't advise you to purchase, either pro or con.  However, I'll be happy to give you some thoughts you should consider in making your decision.

You don't say where this quarry is located.  If it's in an area with lots of diving opportunities (seaside or lots of other lakes or quarries) then you'll have to make your quarry more attractive than the other dive sites.  If you're the "only game in town" then you don't have to worry about competition and can be a little more conservative in setting things up.  Either way, it needs to be attractive to divers.  With a customer pool of 500,000 people, you should have no problem finding divers and students to utilize a quarry facility.

Things like adequate parking with easy access to the water, changing rooms and bath facilities along with easy entry and exit from the water are the key features you need to provide.  Beyond that, you can consider paved and shaded areas near the water for gearing up, air fill facilities or a minimally equipped dive shop.  If you elect to put a dive shop on site, you might want to sublease to a dive shop operator to handle that and have him pay you rent and/or a commission on sales.  He would handle air fills and possibly rental gear (dive equipment, masks, snorkels, fins and wetsuits) for divers and snorkelers.

To make the quarry more attractive to divers, consider placing interesting objects in the lake for divers to explore.  Some of the more common items are automobiles, buses, aircraft and boats.  Smaller items like bicycles, lawnmowers, bathtubs, toilets, motorcycles and the like are also attractive.  Spread them out and mark them with surface buoys so divers can use them for underwater navigation exercises.  Of course they all need to be thoroughly cleaned of contaminants prior to sinking them in the quarry.

Stocking your quarry with fish and turtles will make it much more attractive to divers and snorkelers.  Resist the temptation to allow fishing in your quarry.  I've been in some which allowed fishing and, eventually, the fish populations are decimated and the lake becomes fouled with discarded fishing line, lost fishing lures, empty bait containers and general trash.

Also, keep outboard motors out of your quarry.  They are a real hazard to divers.  Keep a couple of boats with electric trolling motors available for quarry maintenance.

Dive shops will want to use the quarry for training purposes so placing a few training platforms on the bottom of the lake will permit them to teach classes without worrying about students stirring up the bottom.  Typically these platforms should be at least 12 feet on a side and elevated at least 2 feet off the bottom.  They can be made from wood planking or other suitable material for constant submersion in water.

Most divers will have to drive some distance to get to your quarry so provide shaded picnic areas for them to relax between dives.  That way your quarry becomes a destination and they can spend the day diving and relaxing.  While they're there, they'll need supplies like ice and snacks so be ready to provide them and it will add to your profits.

Chad, I think you get the idea from this brief description.  If properly handled, I think the profit potential is there but don't expect a quick payback.  The better the facility, the more attractive it will be. Of course, the better it is, the more it will cost and the longer it will take to recover your money.  Get into something like this for the long term and don't overextend yourself.  Add to the facility as your profits permit.  Start with the basics I've described and then add bells and whistles as your business grows.

As you pointed out, there are successful examples of this type of project all over the country and you may very well have the opportunity for another one.  Consult with a couple of local dive shops to see what divers in your area would like and also to see if any of them might like to relocate to your quarry and handle the diving operations.  Local divers are generally happy to assist you in placing training platforms and other sunken objects in your quarry so don't overlook this ready source of assistance.  Most divers would welcome the opportunity to "dive with a purpose".  

If you have the opportunity, visit one of the quarries that have done what I've described and talk to the owner to see what worked for him.  Of course don't visit a nearby quarry because the owner might not welcome your competition with open arms!!

I've only touched on some of the highlights for this project.  Things like water, electricity and sanitation must be provided as well as obtaining the necessary permits and liability insurance.  These are the less glamorous aspects of the project but are necessary nonetheless.

Chad, I hope this information will provide you with the insight you need to make a sound decision on whether to proceed on your project.  If you decide to go through with it, I wish you the best of luck and I just may see you in your quarry some day!!

Sincerely,
Mike Giles
Mike's Dive Center
mikescuba.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Do you think on this 115 acre sand pit/lake could somehow make power boaters and divers comingle with each other?  For example the first 100' all around the property is to have no boating retained for scuba diving only?  Trying to figure out how it might work for both types of people?
Thanks
chad

Answer
Hi Chad,

I've seen this sort of thing tried before and the result is that divers will leave the lake for safer sites.  In close quarters, power boats and divers just don't mix.  There have been too many accidents involving divers and power boats to make this sort of thing feasible on such a small body of water.  As you might imagine, the diver always loses this contest.  Divers (myself included) will not dive in a lake of this size if there are power boats operating in it.  The problem is that divers may surface at any time and boaters just cannot determine where they may be.  Many divers (especially students) get lost underwater and then surface to see where they are.  Even a moments distraction by a boater can have fatal results if a diver surfaces in his path.  While 115 acres seems large to a diver or a kayaker, it's very small for a power boat, especially if there are several boats in the lake at the same time.  Trying to segregate divers and boaters in a lake of this size just cannot be done safely.  There will always be some errant diver or boater who strays into the territory of the other and the results can be catastrophic.  Not only that but your liability insurance will probably go through the roof if you mix the two in your lake.  That's why I recommended in my first answer that outboard motors be kept out of the lake and only a couple of small boats with electric trolling motors be allowed to serve as maintenance craft.

I think you're going to have to choose between power boats and divers.  Just to give you something to think about...a power boat going 40 miles per hour can cross a 115 acre lake in less than 15 seconds (depending on it's shape).  What happens when several of these boats converge on each other, especially if they're pulling water skiers or wake boarders?  There just isn't enough room to maneuver.  Jet skis, even though very maneuverable, are subject to the same problems.  Operators will eventually miscalculate and a collision may be the result.  Two jet skis each going 50 miles per hour towards each other have a closing rate of 100 miles per hour and only fractions of a second to take evasive action on a 115 acre lake.  Mix that with a few beers and I think you can see the potential consequences.

Chad, I hope this helps with your decision process.

Mike