Ginnie Update - 4th of July

[Brent]

Rather than drag out my previous post on Ginnie, I'll start fresh.
As most of you know, the Ginnie website says NO diving on the 4th, however, I have an update for everyone.
Yesterday at Ginnie, we told the staff that we wanted to dive EARLY on the 4th and we would be out of the park before sunrise. Early for us is around 2-3AM arrival time, 3 hours in the water, and then out of there before the masses take over the park. The Ginnie staff was agreeable to this and I have to say, that if you work with them and be as polite as you can, it will go a long way. Remember what those folks have to deal with the entire weekend! We got the armbands and we're good to go. Now having said all the above, it's very possible that you talk to a check in agent who has no clue about what I've mentioned. A lot of those guys and gals behind the counter are relatively new so good luck with that! One more comment: it looks like Ginnie is going to extend the annual pass due to the shutdown a while back, but nobody we talked to could give us the exact number of weeks/months of the extension. At least it's being talked about. So there you have it. My work here is done. See you hardcore divers at 2AM tomorrow!!

[rddvet]

Wish I was able to dive that early. I agree the staff at ginnie can be great if thry know you and you?re polite since so many people they deal with aren?t. The problem is half the staff are clueless to alot of things. So your answers highly depend on who you talk to. Good to hear they?re amenable to requests.


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[Draker]

Two great dives today at Ginnie. No issues getting in or getting parking at 8am.
Staff were still smiling when I left.


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[rddvet]

Two great dives today at Ginnie. No issues getting in or getting parking at 8am.
Staff were still smiling when I left.


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That smile is from a second-hand smoke high. If you're really hungry right now, you know why.

[MarkR]

Had a really nice dive at Ginnie yesterday too. We chose to just bypass the gate and grounds all together.

I saw one pair of OW divers at the surface, but we had the cave to ourselves!

A little cruise on the river pre and post dive was fun too!

[cavewoman]

Rather than drag out my previous post on Ginnie, I'll start fresh.
As most of you know, the Ginnie website says NO diving on the 4th, however, I have an update for everyone.
Yesterday at Ginnie, we told the staff that we wanted to dive EARLY on the 4th and we would be out of the park before sunrise. Early for us is around 2-3AM arrival time, 3 hours in the water, and then out of there before the masses take over the park. The Ginnie staff was agreeable to this and I have to say, that if you work with them and be as polite as you can, it will go a long way. Remember what those folks have to deal with the entire weekend! We got the armbands and we're good to go. Now having said all the above, it's very possible that you talk to a check in agent who has no clue about what I've mentioned. A lot of those guys and gals behind the counter are relatively new so good luck with that! One more comment: it looks like Ginnie is going to extend the annual pass due to the shutdown a while back, but nobody we talked to could give us the exact number of weeks/months of the extension. At least it's being talked about. So there you have it. My work here is done. See you hardcore divers at 2AM tomorrow!!

Simple landowner relations. Ginnie doesn't have to allow divers, I think we all need to remember that. Asking please and saying thanks go a long way.

[CHartmann]

Beth told us they were not going to extend annual passes. Ours just expired in early June and we had to pay to enter. Do not hold your breath for an extension.


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[Brent]

No other hardcore ( or stupid divers like me ) around at 0200 today! Actually we got there a bit later than 2AM, but not much later! Needless to say, the park was quiet and no other divers were present. The cave was empty! Not a bad thing for sure. Hung around a bit after the dive, shooting the breeze and so on, and by the time we left Ginnie, the traffic was starting to back up on the Ginnie Springs road. It wasn't backed up to Hwy 340 but it was still early in the day.
Now for more news. I met Mark Wray last night in one of our local restaurants and we talked about the annual pass extension. I read the comments from CHartmann about his conversation with Beth, and knowing the family as I do, it's entirely possible that she will have the final say on this matter. Maybe it's a done deal with no extensions offered, but at least I got Mark to say "we'll talk about it" As CHartmann said, "don't hold your breath"

[rddvet]

I'm not sure why anyone would expect an extension to their annual pass. I know we've been spoiled because companies like DAN have extended coverages due to Covid, but I think to feel as though it's owed to you is nutty. Ginnie's a business serving a ton of people every week. If they extend passes for one they have to do it for all. I could only imagine the headaches it would cause extending the passes. You can pretty much guarantee if they extended them all 1 month someone would show up 6 weeks later complaining a month wasn't long enough. As someone who has to deal with the public regularly, I completely get why they wouldn't. What's an annual pass $400 a year. So the 4-6 weeks we couldn't dive Ginnie equals about a $35 loss. In the grand scheme of things it's nothing.


Now if Ginnie started banning diving on the weekends regularly like they do on holiday weekends then I'd expect some sort of discount or extension since I bought my pass knowing I pretty much can only dive weekends.

[Brent]

I'm not sure why anyone would expect an extension to their annual pass. I know we've been spoiled because companies like DAN have extended coverages due to Covid, but I think to feel as though it's owed to you is nutty. Ginnie's a business serving a ton of people every week. If they extend passes for one they have to do it for all. I could only imagine the headaches it would cause extending the passes. You can pretty much guarantee if they extended them all 1 month someone would show up 6 weeks later complaining a month wasn't long enough. As someone who has to deal with the public regularly, I completely get why they wouldn't. What's an annual pass $400 a year. So the 4-6 weeks we couldn't dive Ginnie equals about a $35 loss. In the grand scheme of things it's nothing.


Now if Ginnie started banning diving on the weekends regularly like they do on holiday weekends then I'd expect some sort of discount or extension since I bought my pass knowing I pretty much can only dive weekends.

Good points. The numbers speak for themselves. Once again, an extension may happen, but don't hold your breath!!