flots am
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- I just don't log dives
The recent thread on the folks who might quit diving prompted me to ask this question. (I couldn't begin to think how to search for other threads on this - sorry).
My husband and I are 59 and 53 (respectively) and have no immediate plans to quit diving, but I'm wondering if there is a general age when the body begins to fight the rigors of diving.
I'm 57 and yes, there are things I don't do because I now consider them too risky, and yet more I don't do because of current injuries or the desire to avoid additional injuries. I know that I'm in prime heart-attack territory, so I keep a close watch on my exertion level underwater. A DM that wants me to fin against the current is likely to get a prime view of my middle finger. If I can't make it back to the up-line or get blown off a wreck, I'll shoot my SMB and wait for pickup by the boat. I have no delusions that I can fight a stiff current over a significant distance, or any desire to do so.
While all the disks in my back are still whole and functioning, I decided to give my doubles to my buddy, who also gave them away, and I've switched to side-mount for dives that are safer with more than one tank. I can put the tanks on in the water and take them off before climbing the ladder.
The perspective I've taken is exactly what I tell the students in OW class. "If it hurts or is dangerous, you're doing it wrong"
I have absolutely no intention of quitting SCUBA, and if I happen to drop dead underwater, all I can say is it's a better deal than doing it in a hospital hooked up to a bunch of equipment. I do what I can to make it safer, but whatever minimal risks remain are just fine with me.
flots.
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