Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?

[0002s]

Maybe, but you can finance the skidoo, motorcycle, ATV, etc. with a "low montly payment".

In my area, there is much more opportunity to take advatage of using those than using dive gear. Plus, when you tire of it there are more folks looking to take it off you hands.

There is also the instant gratification of your time and $. Go to the store, buy rec vehicle (or other discretionary item) and you take it home that day and use it.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm not into spending $90 for a two tank either. Most of the places I go are $60-80 for a two tank and I find the diving at those sites preferable to Florida ocean diving.

 

[boulderjohn]

This obviously led to a lot of very miserable people: just about everyone was puking at one point or another and at least one guy got a cut on his head while boarding the boat after a dive. By the end of the weekend there were 5 people left of the 20 or so that started (and ironically the last boat was probably the best diving of the weekend). I asked one of the DM's why they didn't call any of the boat trips and the answer was basically not wanting to have to refund any money. Once the boat leaves, whether you dive or not, the money is not refundable.

But in the long run what good came out of this? How many of those new divers have been scared off because of a trip like this? (Note that we could not see the conditions of the seas when we boarded the boat, the inlet where the boat was harbored was actually pretty smooth and we couldn't see the open ocean from there). Should the charter place have at least warned us of the actual conditions (as opposed to calling them "sporty"?) It sure can't be fun sitting there puking your guts out while the boat crew / DM's joke about getting a bonus for your money (amusement park ride and dive trip all for the price of one).

On one of the trips one of the DM's joked about a previous trip like this where they had a new OW diver onboard, she had all her own gear and it was her first trip since being certified. After the second dive of a two-tank ride she apparently went to the front of the boat, took all her gear off, placed it in a pile, and stated "it's all for sale. I'm done."

I do understand that we can't control the weather, and if you ride in a boat enough sometimes it's gonna be not so smooth. But where do you draw the line between not wanting to refund money versus not wanting to send people on what you know is going to be a miserable trip?

This is a major factor in planning from people in inland areas like mine. When shops plan dive trips, they are almost all expensive trips to exotic location. They will rarely plan much cheaper trips to places like North Carolina or Florida. The reason is weather. They cannot be sure enough that the dives will go to count on it for people planning their only vacation of the year. I used to go to south Florida for a week every year, planning to dive every day I could. One week I only dived two days. In that week, I had more dives canceled by weather than in all the tropical places I have dived (and there have been a lot) combined.

Now that I am retired, I spend a lot more time in Florida. I get in a lot more dives, but I still know how dicey planning can get. Last year, my daughter-in-law and grandson came to Florida for three days during their President's day vacation so that they could complete their OW certification with me. They had three days to get in two days of diving. Those were three days of miserable weather, with no boats running. We drove up to Blue Heron Bridge to squeeze in the dives while the tides were favorable, suffering in the bitterly cold, relentless wind sweeping across the bay. We barely met the requirements in the first two days, and there was no way they were going to get back in the water on the third.

I have joked that I do not believe the famed wreck of the Oriskany exists. I have been in the Pensacola area a total of 11 days with the hope of diving it, with no boats going out on any of those days. Last year I was on the Alabama coast, a few miles away, for an entire week in March. There were no boats going anywhere that week. My dive equipment never got unpacked.

The dive shop where I work is big on dive travel--absolutely huge--but they will not plan any trips to areas like that because it is too much of a roll of the dice. If people want to go on a shop-sponsored trip, it's going to cost them thousands of dollars to a tropical site.

 

[Hawkwood]

There is also the instant gratification of your time and $. Go to the store, buy rec vehicle (or other discretionary item) and you take it home that day and use it.

My son who is an excellent diver and enjoys it (discussed in an earlier post), gets much more pleasure from his quad. It's just the way it is.

I am obsessed with the diving, he is obsessed with quadding. We both enjoy participating in the other's passion when the opportunity presents itself.

He could never get any one of his friends to try diving, even when we offered to do DSDs in the pool. Those same group of friends also think he is crazy doing the off-roading stuff. He has one group that he likes to dive with when he does it (my group of friends), one group that he goes quadding with (a completely different group, mostly from his work), and the group of friends that he grew up with and went to school with (no diving, no quadding, but lots of "socializing" and Call of Duty). Can I generalize and say that he might be typical?

Right now the water here is "hard", but not hard enough to ice dive. So, if you want to dive you have to leave and go elsewhere.

You can decide from the photos who is dreaming and who is doing.

 

[GLOCKSCUBAG!RL]

For those mentioning the cost of scuba diving, compare it to buying a skidoo, or a motorcycle, or an ATV, or a dirt bike, the numbers are about the same.

I think it's either not "extreme" enough (like kitesurfing) or it's too dangerous in the public's mind. Can't win, so might as well go back to staring at a screen.

Or we can say 'screw them! If they don't like it, then that just means more dive room for us!'


*~ Adventurer for life ~*

 

[Hawkwood]

....
The dive shop where I work is big on dive travel--absolutely huge--but they will not plan any trips to areas like that because it is too much of a roll of the dice. If people want to go on a shop-sponsored trip, it's going to cost them thousands of dollars to a tropical site.

So very true John.

Our "cheapest" trips are to Vancouver Island - wreck diving in Naniamo and diving with the Sea Lions in the Courtney/Comox area. For a long weekend trip (many two and a half days of diving), it's still going to cost you $1200 to $1500 all in, including airfare. If we drive and save the airfare, you have to spend two days on the road (round trip), vs. 3 hours by air (round trip). Once you get there, you are still at the mercy of weather and seas. The diving is best, but there is no guarantee you will always get in the water. Hence the more expensive trips to the same old tired places.

 

[0002s]

My son who is an excellent diver and enjoys it (discussed in an earlier post), gets much more pleasure from his quad. It's just the way it is.

I am obsessed with the diving, he is obsessed with quadding. We both enjoy participating in the other's passion when the opportunity presents itself.

He could never get any one of his friends to try diving, even when we offered to do DSDs in the pool. Those same group of friends also think he is crazy doing the off-roading stuff. He has one group that he likes to dive with when he does it (my group of friends), one group that he goes quadding with (a completely different group, mostly from his work), and the group of friends that he grew up with and went to school with (no diving, no quadding, but lots of "socializing" and Call of Duty). Can I generalize and say that he might be typical?

Right now the water here is "hard", but not hard enough to ice dive. So, if you want to dive you have to leave and go elsewhere.

You can decide from the photos who is dreaming and who is doing.

That's great that you both enjoy each others passion and can participate.

 

[Hank49]

So very true John.

Our "cheapest" trips are to Vancouver Island - wreck diving in Naniamo and diving with the Sea Lions in the Courtney/Comox area. For a long weekend trip (many two and a half days of diving), it's still going to cost you $1200 to $1500 all in, including airfare. If we drive and save the airfare, you have to spend two days on the road (round trip), vs. 3 hours by air (round trip). Once you get there, you are still at the mercy of weather and seas. The diving is best, but there is no guarantee you will always get in the water. Hence the more expensive trips to the same old tired places.

Hell, I live on the 2nd longest barrier reef in the world. I use 15-20 gallons of gas per dive trip, boat amortisation cost, maintenance….and I can get **** weather or dirty water too. (ok not as often as up your way…

Diving is expensive. That's why I shoot fish. At least I cover my gas bill in food savings.

 

[dmoore19]

Correct me if I am wrong. I think the majority of people who dive are vacation divers. While I have no doubt that there are many who dive their local spots in FL, WA, CA etc the number of people going on a dive vacation are vacation divers and are probably destination divers, not locals.

If Scuba is to grow then the marketing needs to grow towards that end. There is a need to market those places that people go to dive. It seems to me that if those places want to continue to survive they may want to increase their marketing efforts. Perhaps places like WA and CA need to start marketing the diving they have to offer more than they currently do.

I think would be a step in the right direction to understand that marketing is necessary to keep the sport alive.

 

[RJP]

There is a need to market those places that people go to dive. It seems to me that if those places want to continue to survive they may want to increase their marketing efforts. Perhaps places like WA and CA need to start marketing the diving they have to offer more than they currently do.

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 ----------

Or we can say 'screw them! If they don't like it, then that just means more dive room for us!'


*~ Adventurer for life ~*

Right... until there's so much room that the boat goes out of business.