What does the underwaterworld mean to you?

[drbill]

Diving has been a significant part of my life for over 50 years now... even more so the last two decades. It has been a major source of wonder as I continue to try to understand the intricate ecological relationships within my local kelp forests as well as other ecosystems when I travel. It has been a source of peace (not that the topside world has been all that turbulent in my life). It is a major part of my profession as a marine biologist. It has also been a source of great "reward" (non-material) when I share that world with those who don't dive by writing my wekly newspaper columns and producing my cable TV show and DVDs.

 

[fjpatrum]

What a way to start a thread, DCBC! I'm a late bloomer, so to speak. I've always liked the water, but didn't really live anywhere where it was convenient except a year in Monterey CA and a short time in San Diego. In Monterey I went snorkeling for the first time at 19. In San Diego, I went surfing for the first time at 32. I started diving at 39.

I can't say it's changed what I want to be when I grow up (if that ever happens) but it has given me something new and different to look forward to, which is never going to be the same twice. I am a rock climber, and I've found, as much as I love climbing, doing the same climb over and over, while not boring, doesn't really offer me anything new or exciting. Diving will never be that way, just as surfing and snorkeling never are. Each experience is wholly unique and that is beautiful to me. Whether I'm swimming in the local quarry or I get to go to BHB 100 times, it will never be the same experience. It will never be the same sequence of movements (as climbing often is) and never become "routine" even for a routine dive.

I have not had the fortune to see truly pristine reefs, and perhaps never will, but I do enjoy what I get to see. Interaction with creatures other people never even see, watching a world that is as alien as mars, in many ways, learning about that, about myself, and about my everyday world, though that interaction, is a wonderful, irreplaceable experience.

I hope to dive as long as I'm physically able.

 

[JamesK]

Diving has given me an empty back account.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I started diving late in life ... having received scuba lessons for my 49th birthday. I'm almost 62 now, and have logged over 3200 dives ... spending more than 100 days out of the past 13 years underwater. I think it would be safe to say that scuba diving has had a profound influence on those years.

I've always loved the water ... then again, I'm an aquarius, so that stands to reason. Before diving I enjoyed snorkeling ... a lot. But snorkeling and freediving opportunities are limited where I live, and those limitations make you constantly aware that you're an outsider looking in on a whole 'nother world. Scuba diving makes you a part of that world ... and it's become a part of me. I can't imagine my life without scuba diving. It helps me relax ... giving me a feeling of gracefulness I was never able to achieve any other way. It satisfies my artistic side, giving me wondrous subjects to experiment with as I learn the art of photography. It stimulates my exploratory side, providing a seeming endless variety of different environments and challenges. And it's brought to me a social circle unlike any other recreational activity I've ever participated in ... almost to the exclusion of all the people I've known who don't scuba dive. In short, it's an addiction.

Pretty much everything I do outside of my day job is somehow associated with my scuba diving habit. It absorbs my bank account, determines who I'll spend my social time with, and has taken me to places in the world I didn't even know existed until I learned how to scuba dive. Every room in my house has pictures that are one way or another related to the underwater realm. My garage and closets are stuffed full of scuba gear. I have running accounts with diving businesses both local and not-so-local. I have friends who don't even recognize me unless I'm wearing a drysuit. Hell, at my local mudhole I think even the fish recognize me by sight ... certainly they aren't the least bit skittish when I show up with my camera ... again.

I got it bad.

So I guess to answer the original question "What does the underwater world mean to me" ... I'd have to say it's my chosen way of life. At 62 I figure I've got 10-20 more years to enjoy it ... probably in a diminishing capacity as those years roll by and my strength and health fade away. I have every intention of squeezing the most underwater time I can out of every one of 'em ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[kimbalabala]

I think I may have said this somewhere else before but ... I love that diving requires me to be self-sufficient. I have learned that as the "sc" in scuba stands for "self contained" the "self" is ME! I have gained a great deal of confidence from learning how to literally keep myself alive in an underwater environment, which requires a fair amount of technical know-how and a whole lot of self-control (learning how to rely on my training and not to panic). The confidence I have "earned" in diving carries over into other aspects of my life. Honestly, while I know that there are dopes out there who dive I don't believe that just any dope can dive safely for long. I have learned better focus, teamwork with my buddy (husband), attention to detail, and self-reliance. There is an incredible "high" associated with knowing that *I* am responsible for *ME* and that I have now successfully seen some of THE coolest things in the world and kept myself and my buddy alive for over 100 dives. I just feel more reliable for mySELF and for others. I guess, in a way, it's been a very positive therapeutic process for my adult growth. And diving has added a whole new dimension of fun things for my husband and I to discuss - whether it's gear, dive locations, or what we experienced/saw on a dive - we have this new world to talk about and it's always changing, never stale.

 

[highdesert]

Earth is "the water planet." That's the crux of diving for me. As a diver, I have the means to leave the planet we cope with (almost) every day, and go to another world.

Try this ... got Google Earth? If you don't, you should. Anyway, type "Palmyra Atoll" in the search box and hit "Search." When you're zoomed in to Palmyra, with it centered on your screen, now zoom straight out until you see the whole Earth. What do you see? Right ... almost nothing but water covering that entire hemisphere of Earth. The oceans cover 71% of the Earth, and contain (or at least contained) the preponderance of non-human life.

As divers, we're capable of exploring that life, the life in the water portion of the water planet. As much as we as humans have ravaged the oceans, it's still a place of peace, beauty, and tranquility ... and a place where I can fly on my own. I would hope my daughter and her kids could see it like we do, but I have my doubts. I'm just thankful that I can do it.

But I think Dave Barry said it better than I have, in my signature line at the bottom of this post.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Earth is "the water planet." That's the crux of diving for me. As a diver, I have the means to leave the planet we cope with (almost) every day, and go to another world.

Here's fun exercise. Got Google Earth? If you don't, you should. Anyway, type "Palmyra Atoll" in the search box and hit "Search." When you're zoomed in to Palmyra, with it centered on your screen, now zoom straight out until you see the whole Earth. What do you see? Right ... almost nothing but water covering that entire hemisphere of Earth. The oceans cover 71% of the Earth, and contain (or at least contained) the preponderance of non-human life.

As divers, we're capable of exploring that life, the life in the water portion of the water planet. As much as we as humans have ravaged the oceans, it's still a place of peace, beauty, and tranquility ... and a place where I can fly on my own. I would hope my daughter and her kids could see it like we do, but I have my doubts. I'm just thankful that I can do it.

But I think Dave Barry said it better than I have, in my signature line at the bottom of this post.

...bmoogle ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[j2s]

Mental health, which has allowed me to participate in society as a good natured cynic....

 

[lamarpaulski]

Just saw the movie "Gravity"...I feel about diving like the George Clooney character feels about space. A ticket to another world full of strange creatures and wondrous sights.


Excellent movie btw.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Growing up in a family of seven kids living on an Army Sergeant's salary I knew I would never be able to travel to exotic places or take time off to backpack Europe. I watched every nature documentary on television. Wild Kingdom and the Jacques Cousteau specials captivated me. When I began living with my first wife at 29 she taught me to snorkel. It was a struggle at first, but before long we were free diving every cove in Southern California. No goat trail could stop us. One day I saw a batray and a leopard shark. Once I learned they were harmless I knew I wanted to spend more than a minute at a time underwater.

Scuba opened my eyes to the incredible diversity of life just beyond the shore of Los Angeles. While others were stuck on the 405 freeway, I was beginning to feel like the explorer I dreamed of becoming. Among the millions of animals I had never known about I found a few that are quite uncommon. I've found reefs and shipwrecks that few had known about. I began documenting my local underwater paradise with a camera so I could share these finds with others, just as the makers of those old documentaries had done before.

After saving as many pennies as I could, I have been able to make a couple of warm water trips. While it is nice to dive without the weight of my "real" gear, I could be completely happy to dive my local mudholes forever.