Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?
- Thread starter RJP
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I like it... and have been saying this for a while. Did you know that there are more diveable shipwrecks (recreational and tech) off the coast of NJ than anywhere else in the world? If we can't get enough local people to dive them, why not get people from somewhere else to come dive them?
If someone set up a turnkey "Come dive the Pacific Northwest" trip... I'd book it.
---------- Post added January 2nd, 2014 at 05:38 PM ----------
Right... until there's so much room that the boat goes out of business.
Is it kind of a friendly place for non-locals to come dive?
Kind of a serious question.
I know there are some places that have a "localism" problem.
I'd love to come diving there.
CT-Rich
Contributor
hmmm read the first five pages of this, and I have to say, the opener on this was spot-on hilarity. But, I have to agree with Dr Bill. Diving doesn't need to be a bank busting activity. It can be done within a modest budget. The pricing issue is out on the beaches and on scubaboard, too, not just in shops with pushy owners. Go and read a lot of the discussion threads and there are a lot people saying "spend the extra $200 because when you get into it you will want these features..."
I know a lot of that advice is given with the best of intentions to newbies, but if they get that advice on the computer, BCD, Reg and fins, and a whole bunch of stuff they should buy right off the bat, then a $1200 starting rig has ballooned to $2000 or more. Other divers re-enforce what the stores are saying and drive up the initial investment. Few people point out that a starting diver can really get by with a non-mixed gas, non air integrated wireless PDC for a well under $200. I know the old saw about they will want to upgrade in the future, but for the first couple of years most will probably only need to have depth, time, temp and "you are getting close to over staying your welcome" feature. There is a ton of good used equipment out there also. A ten year old regulator that has been serviced and wasn't totally abused can work pretty much as well as one out of the box. I love my steel tanks, but most newbies are going to take awhile to dial in their trim, so AL 80s will save them hundreds over a really nice steel tank, and they can rent for a while, also. I bought my kit piecemeal when I was between 16 and 20 years old. In a lot of ways it can be done cheaper than skiing where the lift tickets can cost $40+ (I know it is probably more, I gave up on skiing as too expensive for the trouble 30 years ago).
As for growing the sport, we have to accept that not every person that tries diving will decide to continue. I think someone mentioned a 70% attrition rate. So if you want to add a 30,000 divers to the sport, you have to get 100,000 to try it. I tried skiing for a few years, but it didn't grab me like diving did. To grow the sport, mass media is key. back in the 60s and 70s certain movies helped build the ski industry. Downhill Racer, Spy Who Loved Me, Ski Party and the prestige of skiing Aspen and Steamboat Springs made skiing sexy. And look at archery, the Hunger Games has gotten my daughters involved in a sport that was just a passing fancy before.
Scuba has not kept pace with the same sexy image building. The Undersea World of Jacque Cousteau, the early James Bond Movies, Sea Hunt all helped build the sport. But modern diving is not very sexy. Thermal protection is bulky, the gear is heavy and in movies, you want to make someone look over dressed for an activity, put him in scuba gear (look at the pool scene in The Graduate (kids, look it up)).
What diving needs is more sex appeal. Jane Russell, Jaqueline Bissett and Jessica Alba probably did more for scuba than Sea Hunt. But there needs to be a constant positive media presence. When was the last really good mainstream scuba centered movie? What is the American mecca that allows scuba divers to be associated with the elites? How many shows featured scuba as recurring plot point (always loved Charley's Angels for that)? Maybe if we had celebrities that were narrating documentaries about diving (Rihanna was snapped shark diving) or hanging out in dive locations that were getting written up in TMZ, diving would see a surge. After all, celebrities are paid to go to bars, restaurants and promote locations and products all the time.
If Rihanna was tweeting about how cool it was to be diving Barbados or how much she loved her ScubaPro dive gear, you don't think that would start filling charters or filling classes? And if celebrities were going to the sinking of a ship to become an artificial reef off of Miami and learning to cook Lionfish on Good Morning America, that wouldn't bring awareness to a valuable resource? How about Brad Pitt spear fishing in California and talking about sustainable fisheries?
Part of growing the sport is about making it accessible (cost and convenience), part is about making it relevant to the non-diving public (public access, the environment, adventure and fun). The technology to make diving a fun, safe past time has been around for decades and doesn't require a lot of the expense we sometimes lop onto it. Whether that is good for the long term of the sport is another discussion.
I know a lot of that advice is given with the best of intentions to newbies, but if they get that advice on the computer, BCD, Reg and fins, and a whole bunch of stuff they should buy right off the bat, then a $1200 starting rig has ballooned to $2000 or more. Other divers re-enforce what the stores are saying and drive up the initial investment. Few people point out that a starting diver can really get by with a non-mixed gas, non air integrated wireless PDC for a well under $200. I know the old saw about they will want to upgrade in the future, but for the first couple of years most will probably only need to have depth, time, temp and "you are getting close to over staying your welcome" feature. There is a ton of good used equipment out there also. A ten year old regulator that has been serviced and wasn't totally abused can work pretty much as well as one out of the box. I love my steel tanks, but most newbies are going to take awhile to dial in their trim, so AL 80s will save them hundreds over a really nice steel tank, and they can rent for a while, also. I bought my kit piecemeal when I was between 16 and 20 years old. In a lot of ways it can be done cheaper than skiing where the lift tickets can cost $40+ (I know it is probably more, I gave up on skiing as too expensive for the trouble 30 years ago).
As for growing the sport, we have to accept that not every person that tries diving will decide to continue. I think someone mentioned a 70% attrition rate. So if you want to add a 30,000 divers to the sport, you have to get 100,000 to try it. I tried skiing for a few years, but it didn't grab me like diving did. To grow the sport, mass media is key. back in the 60s and 70s certain movies helped build the ski industry. Downhill Racer, Spy Who Loved Me, Ski Party and the prestige of skiing Aspen and Steamboat Springs made skiing sexy. And look at archery, the Hunger Games has gotten my daughters involved in a sport that was just a passing fancy before.
Scuba has not kept pace with the same sexy image building. The Undersea World of Jacque Cousteau, the early James Bond Movies, Sea Hunt all helped build the sport. But modern diving is not very sexy. Thermal protection is bulky, the gear is heavy and in movies, you want to make someone look over dressed for an activity, put him in scuba gear (look at the pool scene in The Graduate (kids, look it up)).
What diving needs is more sex appeal. Jane Russell, Jaqueline Bissett and Jessica Alba probably did more for scuba than Sea Hunt. But there needs to be a constant positive media presence. When was the last really good mainstream scuba centered movie? What is the American mecca that allows scuba divers to be associated with the elites? How many shows featured scuba as recurring plot point (always loved Charley's Angels for that)? Maybe if we had celebrities that were narrating documentaries about diving (Rihanna was snapped shark diving) or hanging out in dive locations that were getting written up in TMZ, diving would see a surge. After all, celebrities are paid to go to bars, restaurants and promote locations and products all the time.
If Rihanna was tweeting about how cool it was to be diving Barbados or how much she loved her ScubaPro dive gear, you don't think that would start filling charters or filling classes? And if celebrities were going to the sinking of a ship to become an artificial reef off of Miami and learning to cook Lionfish on Good Morning America, that wouldn't bring awareness to a valuable resource? How about Brad Pitt spear fishing in California and talking about sustainable fisheries?
Part of growing the sport is about making it accessible (cost and convenience), part is about making it relevant to the non-diving public (public access, the environment, adventure and fun). The technology to make diving a fun, safe past time has been around for decades and doesn't require a lot of the expense we sometimes lop onto it. Whether that is good for the long term of the sport is another discussion.
I think the problem has been covered in some recent posts. If you are planning such a trip, you have to deal with the uncertainty of the weather. I tried to drum up interest in diving the wrecks off North Carolina a while ago-couldn't do it. There is apparently too much of a chance you will spend all the money to get there and find out that you you have spent all that money and dedicated all that vacation time just to get there and not be able to dive.
I got my technical instructor certification in South Florida, and the instructor trainers with whom I worked owned a dive shop, and they made sure I understood that they would be happy to work out a good deal for me if I brought my tech students from Colorado. We talked about it at length. What was the likelihood of being able to do tech dives during the winter months? He assured me that on any given day, the odds were about 60% we'd be able to go out on the ocean. He said that if the weather was bad, we could go inland and work in some deep springs. So, how do you think it will sound to my tech students if I told them we had about a 60% chance of getting in our ocean dives if we went to Florida? (We can drive 6 hours and do deep spring dives here.)
There is no way in the world I could talk our shop management into promoting such a trip--the trips to the tropical areas are so much more dependable.
That brings us to the second problem. Because we end up promoting tropical trips so much, we have a dearth of divers with the appropriate experience and gear needed to dive those sites. I would do it in a heartbeat, but I would have a lot of trouble scaring up suitable companionship.
Maybe in states where there could be destination diving someone should contact the state's board of tourism or what ever it may be called. Maybe they could advertise in some of the travel magazines or maybe a tv commercial? I have seen several states that have commercials running about the great fishing or beaches etc the state has to offer. I did know that there was a lot of shipwrecks off the coat of NJ. But that is because some information like that is often stated here on scubaboard, or implied when you read books like Shadow Diver and others. Maybe a magazine or online magazine called Destination Scuba or something as corny would help market this great sport.
If Scuba is to flourish marketing is part of the answer.
I was also thinking about how much things have changed for the scuba. How much people think it should be changed and in what direction it should go.
While I have only been in the sport for the last 5 years so I may be wrong in my assessment. I believe it used to be that the heart of scuba was the local dive shop. As I look at it now it seems the LDS has taken a back seat. I don't want to lay blame on the LDS but it seems some despise the LDS for various reasons. I also think it used to be that the LDS was where people purchased their gear and training. It looks to me like this has changed with the advent of online shopping. To my knowledge people used to book their trips through the LDS. Now a long list of internet based applications are available so that people can just book their own trip.
I have often read threads here on Scubaboard that deserved or not, made the LDS look like money grubbers and rip offs. I have already said that the shop I use does not seem to be this way. At least they have always been fair with me. That being the case, how does one market themselves? I am not saying it is right or wrong, just an observation. If diving is such a social endeavor how do you make it such when a person is able to go online, select the products they want with the click of a mouse and have it shipped to their door. In most instances never have to have contact with another person. Same way with booking a trip. From the convenience of their own home, someone can with the click of a mouse arrange plane tickets, hotel/resort, food, rental car, dive op and all the details and not talk to a single person in doing so.
Again, I am not saying the LDS does not need to change. Just saying that a lot has changed already and maybe these changes have an effect on finding the new diver or keeping the diver interested.
If Scuba is to flourish marketing is part of the answer.
I was also thinking about how much things have changed for the scuba. How much people think it should be changed and in what direction it should go.
While I have only been in the sport for the last 5 years so I may be wrong in my assessment. I believe it used to be that the heart of scuba was the local dive shop. As I look at it now it seems the LDS has taken a back seat. I don't want to lay blame on the LDS but it seems some despise the LDS for various reasons. I also think it used to be that the LDS was where people purchased their gear and training. It looks to me like this has changed with the advent of online shopping. To my knowledge people used to book their trips through the LDS. Now a long list of internet based applications are available so that people can just book their own trip.
I have often read threads here on Scubaboard that deserved or not, made the LDS look like money grubbers and rip offs. I have already said that the shop I use does not seem to be this way. At least they have always been fair with me. That being the case, how does one market themselves? I am not saying it is right or wrong, just an observation. If diving is such a social endeavor how do you make it such when a person is able to go online, select the products they want with the click of a mouse and have it shipped to their door. In most instances never have to have contact with another person. Same way with booking a trip. From the convenience of their own home, someone can with the click of a mouse arrange plane tickets, hotel/resort, food, rental car, dive op and all the details and not talk to a single person in doing so.
Again, I am not saying the LDS does not need to change. Just saying that a lot has changed already and maybe these changes have an effect on finding the new diver or keeping the diver interested.
I like it... and have been saying this for a while. Did you know that there are more diveable shipwrecks (recreational and tech) off the coast of NJ than anywhere else in the world? If we can't get enough local people to dive them, why not get people from somewhere else to come dive them?
If someone set up a turnkey "Come dive the Pacific Northwest" trip... I'd book it.
---------- Post added January 2nd, 2014 at 05:38 PM ----------
Right... until there's so much room that the boat goes out of business.
cardzard
Contributor
This is a VERY interesting thread and I thought I would toss in my 2 cents.
At the moment however I am working on World Peace which might be easier.
JUST LET OTHERS KNOW YOU ARE GOING DIVING.. you may be surprised how many want to join you.
We have a number of events here in Florida that have grown it to large event from this very Forum.
They all started from people just posting they are going to dive.
At the moment however I am working on World Peace which might be easier.
JUST LET OTHERS KNOW YOU ARE GOING DIVING.. you may be surprised how many want to join you.
We have a number of events here in Florida that have grown it to large event from this very Forum.
They all started from people just posting they are going to dive.
SanDiegoSidemount
Contributor
Hm, but most people generally don't have a problem booking expensive ski vacations months in advance with the same kinds of uncertainties, do they? I see a lot of parallels between boat diving trips and ski trips.
In the case of skiing, maybe consumers are more accustomed to taking what they get, and knowing they will have fun no matter what.
Just like with boat diving, some skiing dates and locations are more likely to produce better conditions than others. But in the end, both are a crapshoot as to what nature will actually hand you.
If the weather isn't truly awful -- outright canceling your boat day -- a good captain and DM can usually find a way to show the group a fun time.
Expectations and attitude go a long way. Enjoy the "epic" day when it happens, but learn to have fun regardless. It's what skiers have done for decades and decades.
I live in the heart of ski country. While conditions may vary, it's rarely so bad that you can't ski. You may find the snow is better on some days or another, but you will pretty much always be able to ski. I can only think of a handful of times that I canceled ski plans for weather, and every time it was because I didn't want to make the drive from my house under those conditions. If I had been staying at the slope, it would have been no problem.
Scuba is different. If you are planning a wreck dive from a boat and the wind is up, that boat isn't going out, and you are left sitting at home. As I said above, I was on the Alabama coast for an entire week last March, and there was no diving going on anywhere near there for that entire week. I go to south Florida every year for more than a month at a time, and there are many days when you can't dive at all, sometimes for 3-4 day stretches.
I just read, in another thread, that RJP works in the advertising industry. No wonder he is keen on the idea of advertising?
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