How long have you been diving?

[SueMermaid]

First certification in 1992. Don't get to dive nearly enough though due to work, $$ and choice of geographical location.
Note to self: Must rethink priorities.

 

[ibnygator]

at the age of 33. I've been your basic once a year vacation diver for all that time going every August/September to the Bahamas or Florida to dive. Came back after last year's trip and decided I had to learn to dive up north and dive more often. AOW last October, doing nitrox class right now. Planning on DIR F in May and a dry suit class this spring.

I learned about diving 41 degree water in a wetsuit this weekend at Dutch Springs

 

[Barracuda2]

I bought my first wet suit, tank, and reg (BC's were not thought yet) at a hardware store in 1958. My first dive was in an inland lake - Wampers Lake in MI. Most of my early diving took place at White House Quarry, Salisbury Quarry - both around Toledo, Oh and both non-available to divers today. My first salt water dive was off Miami in 1961. The older I get, the more I want to dive. I've been at it for 45 years!

Barracuda2

 

[scuberd]

Got my padi jr. open water in 1996, and NAUI advanced through DM all in the last year. Not enough dives though, a little better than 100

 

[Tractor Tom]

...in Hawaii while stationed with the 25th Infantry Division (Gimlets Sir!)... Dove for about a year there, and later in Georgia and Florida and then got out of it about 1980. Took a refresher course a couple years ago in St. Croix and have been diving ever since. Next stop is my Drysuit Class later this month and some serious diving in the Great Lakes. Mostly because I can't afford to fly down to St. Thomas and dive with the guys down there in the warm water, when ever I want to dive...

 

[Diver0001]

ZoCrowes255 once bubbled...
I'm just curious. I like places like this because you can run the spectrum from dinosaur to newly certified. I am a relative newbie myself (compared to others.) I started diving in 1995 at the age of 12. Right now I have my NAUI Divemaster and my I am heading out for my ITC in less than an hour.

How about you guys?

19 years almost to the day. I moved from the interior of British Columbia (that's a province in this place called Canada) to the west coast to attend university in the fall/winter of 1984. I got certified, (actually dragged along with my uncle who was doing post-graduate work in Marine Biology at the same university) a few months later, in the spring of 1985. Diving with a marine biologist was mixed blessing. On the one hand I've layed shivering on the bottom (often in the middle of the night when these things tend to happen) to witness the complex and ever-so-exciting mating rituals of more little crawly things than I can remember... but on the other hand for the first 4 years my gear was never dry either and I've had some unusual animal experiences.

These days I'm a PADI DM and I live in the Netherlands, where every dive is an exercise in limited visibility, compass navigation and currents. If nothing else it keeps your skills sharp. I volunteer (if you can call working for free gear and air volunteering) at a dive club. I've never really felt the need to become and instructor (although recently ....) but I like being involved in the training. It does lead to situations where I'm older and more experienced than instructors that I assist (we always train in teams) but nobody at our club cares, least of all me.

I've been diving in BC (duh), Mexico (west coast and Gulf), Africa, The Med, the North sea, Indian Ocean and a lot of stops in between but I've never been to the South Pacific or the Red Sea. I might go to the Red Sea this year for a week on a live aboard if I can get away.... Anyway I should stop babbling before this starts to sound like a resume.....

R..

 

[radagalf]

certified in 1995. But didn't feel confident in my skills due to the instructor and some of his decisions. He has since had his instructor rating stripped from him.

Didn't dive until 2000, at which time I recertified my open water (almost same cost as a refresher, and I knew there was something I hadn't learned in the ow course, so why not?). Did a few dives off the BC coast. Going to Saskatchewan.

Summer 2001, advanced course, Saskatchewan style. Didn't see much, enough said.

Summer 2002, going to do my rescue course... which was then followed by divemaster course.

Unable to complete it as quickly as I would have liked, due to 3 ear infections that kept me out of diving for 2.5 of the 4 summer months (Uni summer... ). That sucked.

Going to University, needing some money, shop needs some instructors. OK... PADI OWSI in November 2002.

Have taught quite a bit starting in January, should hopefully only be getting busier. Over this Easter weekend, I'm going to be doing my Nitrox books, and after April 29 (last final) do the dives and finish the Nitrox course. Finally, nitrox.... I just can't wait.

Future plans: new equipment first....

So all in all you can say I've been diving for 8 years... but officially I would only say 3.

 

[catgirldiver]

My husband and I are just baby divers. We were open water certified Memorial day weekend 2002. We have dove in Pensacola and Panama City and have a liveaboard trip scheduled in June to Bimini. I am woried about seasickness.

catgirldiver

 

[Lawman]

at the age of 61. Certified that year, and got AOW, Nitrox, Rescue,
Wreck and Deep [SSI] 2 weeks before turning 62. I'm 62 now so I guess that makes me a newbie. I've been wreck diving in Lake Superior, Thunder Bay, Tobermory and done the reef in the Keys and Cozumel. I'm trying to get as much diving in as I can before going to live in the Old Folks home. I'm going to sign up for Dive Con this September.:doctor:

 

[cudachaser]

!964 when I was 14. Guy who taught me to dive was my head life guard, I was a Jr lifeguard. He had a tank, Healthways double hose, single stage regulator with a Dacor D backpack. He rowed me out to the middle quarry in our lifeguard boat. Then he tied a rope around my waist and said: "If I stop seeing your bubbles, I'll pull you up, you'll be fine!" (first BCD?).

Of course I was hooked...when my mom found she kinda freaked out....made me take a real dive course....no agency, just a local couple guys who where well known in the area for teaching diving.

It was till 1972 that I got a real card...YMCA

Now I'm a Master Instructor, Instructor Trainer along certification from the Handicapped Scuba Assoc