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Pt. Lobos recently sent the following letter about changing their scuba reservation rules. Their email address is ptlobos@mbay.net.
I am writing this letter in response to some problems we have been having with the dive reservation system at Point Lobos. We set up this reservation system in October 1995 as a response to problems divers were having with the Mistix reservation system. The goal of our reservation system was to have a simple fair system that paid its own way. We adjusted the system a few times and it has worked well for five years.
A problem has arisen because of our own laxness in abiding to three of the original standards.
A normal dive team consisting of two divers.
Reservations are made under the name of one of the team members. Reservations are not transferable.
An example of the problem was this last weekend. Among the fifteen dive team reservations were two fairly large groups of divers. One group consisted of nine teams. The reservations were made under nine different names. That was just fine. The problem was that four of the ``team leaders'' didn't show up. The nontransferable reservations were transferred to four other people. The second group had two reservations. The divers did not arrive as a group. They trickled in. Each person would say they were on such-and-such reservation and that the person who had made the reservation was unable to come. In the end the person who made the reservation did come but three earlier arrivals had use all three spaces on the dive team. We concluded with having a total of seven divers on two teams.
Rather than getting a bigger hammer, we are going to step back a few years and do a better job of making the reservation system work. The system was originally set up as a service to all of the divers, not just the individual teams or the clubs. There is no reason it can't continue to do so.
When you make a reservation, make it for two divers. There will be occasions when a group of three friends want to dive together. We don't want to stop that group from diving at Point Lobos so we will reserve for a team of three divers. If a group of six people want to dive together, they will need three reservations not two. (You may think that this is a way for us to make more money. It isn't. We will be just as full with fifteen teams of two as we would be with fifteen teams of three.)
Two months is a long time to plan ahead. If plans change and the dive team leader is not going to be able to make the dive date, give Judy a call at Point Lobos and we will substitute a new team leader. This has been greatly abused by dive clubs. Try and do better and give Judy a week or so of notice. She doesn't work every day. If the dive date comes around and the team leader doesn't show-up, that reservation will not get other divers in to the park.
I would appreciate your comments on the Point Lobos Diver Reservation System. If it does or doesn't work for you, let me know. This system was first developed based on divers suggestions. The basic rules for diving at Point Lobos such as buddy teams and restrictions on fishing will not change but the operational problems can be addressed by the Rangers here at the park.
blurb@alacosta.org