© Copyright U.S. Dive Travel Network.

U.S. DIVE TRAVEL NETWORK's  TM
LIABILITY RELEASE & WAIVER

Please read this document carefully, then sign all four sections; & have your final signature verified by a notary public. You'll easily find a notary -- who likely will perform this service free of charge -- at your local bank. If you have any questions about these documents, feel free to call your agent at U.S. Dive Travel: 952-953-4124. Please forgive this pre-trip paperwork, but it is essential to our planning the safest & best-value dive vacation possible for you. When you sign this release, USDT is better able to keep liability insurance costs at a minimum. Then we can afford to keep our prices low & our service level high, to directly benefit you & all future clients. As our part of the bargain, we at U.S. Dive Travel promise to provide you with quality vacation services in a timely & professional manner. Thank you for your business & your trust. Have a wonderful dive vacation!   -- The U.S. Dive Travel Planning Team.

[Section 1: AFFIRMATION that CLIENT FULLY UNDERSTANDS the HAZARDS & RISKS that ACCOMPANY this U.S. DIVE TRAVEL VACATION TRIP.]

I, ______________________________________________________,
                      CLIENT PRINTS FULL LEGAL NAME HERE

by my signatures on all four sections of this liability release & waiver document, do hereby verify that I am a client of U.S. Dive Travel. I also agree & affirm that by requiring me to read & sign all four sections of this liability release & waiver, U.S. Dive Travel has thoroughly & responsibly advised me about the hazards & risks of scuba diving, snorkeling & skin diving (free diving without scuba) associated with this dive trip. Throughout this entire document, "dive trip" will be defined to mean this particular upcoming tropical vacation package (any scuba trip or non-scuba trip), which is sold to the above-named client by U.S. Dive Travel (hereafter in this document referred to as USDT) such that the client runs his or her own vacation with no USDT staff personally guiding them overseas. As a properly certified scuba diver (or a skin diver/snorkeler) who has a thorough understanding of the accepted rules for safe & responsible diving, I hereby affirm that I completely understand & agree with all of the following facts & USDT advisories:

• That scuba diving & snorkeling (also known as skin diving or free diving) are physically strenuous sports that require me to be in excellent health & physical condition in order to safely perform them; & that when safe-diving rules are followed conscientiously, as I have been trained to do, scuba diving & snorkeling are exciting & enjoyable adventure sports that offer many lasting rewards to me.
  
  
• That breathing compressed air underwater through a regulator, on this upcoming USDT dive trip, involves medical risks & the possibility that I may sustain serious or fatal injuries, or debilitating medical conditions, from accidental or unforeseen events including but not limited to coronary & cerebral air embolism, ruptured-lung injuries such as mediastinal emphysema & subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax (collapsed lungs) & decompression sickness (commonly known as "The Bends").
  
  
• That scuba diving, snorkeling & skin diving in tropical ocean waters, on this upcoming USDT dive trip, also carry the risk that I may sustain serious or fatal injuries, or debilitating medical conditions, from heat stroke, heat exhaustion, hypothermia, tropical infections, tropical illnesses such as malaria, & other harmful events that relate directly to my health.
  
  
• That scuba diving, snorkeling & skin diving in tropical ocean waters, on this upcoming USDT dive trip, also carry the risk that my acquatic gear & other personal property such as underwater cameras may be damaged, plus the risk that I may sustain serious or fatal injuries from natural forces beyond any human control. Such forces include but are not limited to deepwater or shoreline currents, tidal currents, ocean surge, high swells & waves, breaking surf, riptides, storms of any kind that may sink oceangoing vessels, & unforeseen natural disasters such as typhoons or floods, & the aftermath of such disasters.
  
  
• That scuba diving, snorkeling & skin diving in tropical ocean waters, on this upcoming USDT dive trip, also carry the risk that I may sustain serious or fatal injuries from marine life forms such as sharks of various species, barracudas, aggressive pelagic fish, jellyfish, Portuguese Man-of-War organisms, lionfish, turkeyfish, scorpionfish, stonefish, stingrays or skates, cone shells, sea urchins, sea snakes, moray eels & other eel species, crown-of-thorns sea stars, fire corals, various other species of corals & many other types of venomous marine flora & fauna.
  
  
• That while I'm scuba diving or snorkeling or skin diving on this USDT dive trip I may be in a remote location, which might be several days removed from the nearest hospital or recompression chamber; & therefore it may not be possible to quickly evacuate me in the event that I experience a severe dive-related mishap such as a lung-expansion injury or decompression sickness. I fully understand & accept these risks & dangers of overseas scuba diving, snorkeling & skin diving on this upcoming USDT dive trip.

Because USDT has given me a thorough & good faith introduction to the risks & hazards that exist when I scuba dive, snorkel or skin dive anywhere, especially in remote or isolated areas on this upcoming USDT dive trip, I hereby affirm that I freely assume all responsibility whatsoever for any & all health & medical risks, & also for any & all accidents, mishaps, property damage, monetary loss, injuries, loss of life, or any other harmful events associated with this upcoming USDT dive trip, which might befall me.

____________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF CLIENT

_______________________________
SIGNING DATE

[Section 2: CLIENT ACCEPTS COMPLETE LEGAL & FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL RISKS & HAZARDS on this USDT VACATION TRIP. CLIENT ALSO FOREVER WAIVES ALL RIGHTS to LITIGATE for INJURY, ILLNESS, LOSS or DEATH that may OCCUR on this USDT VACATION TRIP.]

Being fully aware of the risks & hazards of scuba diving & skin diving on this upcoming USDT dive trip, & being of completely sound mind & body as I make this declaration, I hereby affirm that I alone am responsible for my own health, safety & well-being while on this dive trip. Therefore I assume all known & unknown risks myself; & I further assume full legal & financial responsibility for any & all risks in connection with this dive trip, & also full legal & financial responsibility for any personal injuries, illnesses, property damage, & for any manner of death, which may befall me while I'm participating in this USDT dive trip. Therefore I forever hold harmless, discharge & release in advance, U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also all of USDT's associates, agents, representatives, employees, contractors & sub-contractors, & family members from any & all liability, whether known or unknown, & whether it occurs in the past, present or future.

• Furthermore, with full awareness of the rights that I permanently waive by my signing this document, I hereby forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also all of USDT's associates, agents, representatives, employees & family members from any & all forms of litigation, actions, causes of action, claims, debts, demands of every kind or nature whatsoever, including all litigation & claims arising from my death, personal injury, illness, property damage, inconvenience, pain, suffering, distress & discomfort which are related to any & all diving activities, or related to any & all non-diving activities that I may experience on this upcoming USDT dive trip, & which may hereafter accrue to me on some future date as a result of my participation on this dive trip. I agree that every provision of this release & waiver holds forever, whether or not any of the above-listed mishaps are foreseeable or preventable by U.S. Dive Travel or by USDT's owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, or by any of these two firms' family members, agents, associates, representatives or employees.
  
  
• Furthermore, I agree to forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also their family members, associates, agents, representatives, employees & contractors, generally & specifically, from any & all liability, & from any & all claims or litigation, & from any & all judgments for damages, which are related in any way to my death, personal injury, illness, property damage, pain, suffering or discomfort -- arising from my training for this upcoming USDT dive trip.
  
  
• Furthermore, I agree & affirm, with full awareness of the rights that I am hereby waiving forever, that all of my acknowledgments, waivers, releases & assumptions of risk in this document will also be forever binding on all of my attorneys, heirs, assigns, relatives, associates, partners, friends & agents.
  
  
• Furthermore, I fully & forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also all of USDT's agents, associates, family members, employees & contractors from any & all other legal damages, general & special, including but not limited to damages arising in any way from loss of compensation, loss of services & loss of consortium, on account of any bodily injuries or property damage, or any manner of death I may suffer -- arising from this USDT dive trip.
  
  
• Furthermore, I freely declare that this release extends to & includes any & all unknown, unanticipated & unsuspected injuries & damages from this upcoming USDT dive trip, & all consequences thereof. Therefore I freely & expressly waive my inclusion under any federal or state code or law to the contrary; & I declare all such codes & laws to be null & void & of no effect as they relate to me, now & forever, as far as all provisions of this release & waiver document, & all parties mentioned herein, are concerned.
  
  
• Furthermore, I hereby agree & affirm that all terms & provisions of this release & waiver are contractual, & are therefore legally binding upon me; & that this release & waiver also is binding upon all of my family & representatives, & is not merely a recital. I further affirm that I have carefully read all provisions of this document, & that I clearly understand & agree in full with the meaning, purpose & intent of this document.

________________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF CLIENT

__________________________________
SIGNING DATE

[Section 3: CLIENT TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY for his or her OWN HEALTH & SAFETY DURING ALL RECREATIONAL TOURIST ACTIVITIES on this USDT VACATION TRIP.]

By my signing of this section I hereby personally assume any & all risks & liability, which are related to all of the below-mentioned travel sites, vehicles, vessels, places of lodging, excursions & activities, which I may encounter during the course of this upcoming USDT dive trip. By signing this section I also forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John & Susan Hessburg & also all their family members, associates, agents, representatives, employees & contractors, from any & all liability, & from any & all claims, litigation, actions, causes of action, debts, & demands of every kind & nature whatsoever, related to all of the below-mentioned items of this section:

• All of my non-diving vacation activities & excursions, including but not limited to all ethnic meals & feasts, all cultural festivals & celebrations, all meals at restaurants or from sidewalk vendors, all types of hiking or exercise anywhere, all sightseeing trips in taxis or rental vehicles, all forms of photo trips, all excursions to look for artifacts or gifts, all other side trips in any land vehicles, all boat trips of any form whatsoever & all forms of land-based or water-based recreation, exercise or entertainment.
  
  
• Any & all non-scuba-diving sports such as snorkeling, windsurfing, bicycle riding, motor scooter or motorcycle riding, horseback riding, swimming, jogging or running, mountain or cliff climbing, cave exploration, sailing, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, body surfing & all other forms of outdoor or indoor sport that I may undertake at any time while I'm on this USDT dive trip.
  
  
• All personal activities whatsoever inside my room, or anywhere inside or near the hotel, resort, live-aboard vessel, guest house or any other form of lodging where I stay on this USDT dive trip.
  
  
• All forms of transportation that I use at any time on this upcoming USDT dive trip, including but not limited to all forms of airplanes, all taxis, limousines, buses, vans, mini-vans, cars, motorcycles, motor scooters, boats, yachts, dive tenders, live-aboard dive vessels, fishing vessels -- regardless of whether I rent said transportation mode myself, or it is rented for me by USDT.

Furthermore, regarding all scuba diving equipment & other diving-related gear, & all other types of sporting gear which I choose to rent while on this USDT dive trip, or which I rent in preparation for this dive trip, I hereby freely assume full financial & legal responsibility for any & all accidents, injuries, debilitating medical conditions, death or other unforeseen mishaps that might befall me as a result of my renting said equipment in connection with this upcoming USDT dive trip.

Therefore, I forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also all of their family members, associates, agents, representatives, employees & contractors, from any & all liability, & from any & all claims, litigation, actions, causes of action, debts & demands of any kind whatsoever, which may arise from property loss, property damage, accidents, injuries, or death related to my rental & use of said diving or sporting equipment on this upcoming USDT dive trip.

_________________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF CLIENT

__________________________________
SIGNING DATE

[Section 4: CLIENT VERIFIES SCUBA DIVING QUALIFICATIONS. (Or, if not a scuba diver, initials in the margin beside this paragraph stating "Non-Diver"). CLIENT ALSO VERIFIES LEGAL AGE of CONSENT, POSSESSION of CURRENT HEALTH & DIVER-ACCIDENT INSURANCE, POSSESSION of PASSPORT, & FULL ACCEPTANCE of all USDT TERMS & CONDITIONS.]

• Furthermore, if I intend to scuba dive on this USDT vacation, I hereby affirm that I currently hold, & I agree to maintain throughout the time that I train for & participate in this USDT dive trip, complete health, medical & emergency evacuation insurance that is sufficient to cover even catastrophic injuries in foreign countries. I further agree & declare that it is my sole responsibility to keep & maintain such medical insurance at a level that will cover any & all emergency expenses related to my diving & snorkeling activities overseas. Therefore I hereby forever hold harmless, discharge & release U.S. Dive Travel & its owners John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, & also all of their family members, associates, agents, representatives & employees from any financial or legal responsibility for providing or paying for said insurance coverage.
  
  
• Furthermore, I state that I am of lawful adult age, & am not a minor in my home state or province, & that I am legally competent to sign this document, & that I have signed it of my own free will, without any form of outside pressure or coercion whatsoever.
  
  
• Furthermore, if I intend to scuba dive on this USDT vacation, I affirm that I have been completely & properly trained in at least basic open-water scuba diving, & that I have received & now hold at least a current valid Open Water Certification Card from PADI, NAUI, SSI, YMCA or another internationally recognized diving certification agency. (PLEASE NOTE: If you are a non-scuba-diving client -- for example a vacation traveler who only will be snorkeling -- then simply write "N/A" in the margin next to this provision, & initial it. Thank you very much.)
  
  
• Furthermore, I affirm that I have a valid passport & visa if needed, & that I have received all necessary immunizations for this upcoming USDT dive trip, that I have received a formal consultation plus approval from my personal physician if I have any medical conditions that might affect scuba diving safety & that I will take with me all proper scuba gear, in good repair, as recommended by USDT.
  
  
• I hereby affirm & verify that I have received a copy of this agreement. And I further affirm & verify that I have read all Provisions, Terms & Conditions of this agreement with USDT. I also have read all other required USDT pre-departure documents, & I understand all of these documents in full. I accept, & I agree to abide completely by all of these Provisions, Terms & Conditions of my contract with U.S. Dive Travel. I accept & agree that this waiver & release contract shall be interpreted, construed, enforced & administered according to the laws of the State of Minnesota, USA -- superceding the laws of all other states, nations or territories.

____________________________________________________________________
DATES & DESTINATION of VACATION (Dates / Country / Place of Lodging / Resort / Live-Aboard / or Dive Operation)

____________________________________________
SIGNATURE of CLIENT

__________________________________
SIGNING DATE

____________________________________________
SIGNATURE & SEAL of NOTARY PUBLIC

____________________________________________
SIGNING DATE

 
Email: divetrip@bitstream.net .