Chuckitall
Contributor
I usually do 3 90 to 120 ft dives a day in Jupiter and think nothing go it. BTW in my 60's. Use nitrox for longer bottom times. You would have to be very selective to do only 30 ft dives, I choose to do all the dives.
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This is so true for me too.
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Why do you dive to 30 feet? There's plenty to see in the shallows. I did a dive the other night to a max depth of 18 feet, with an average depth of 11 feet, and it was incredible. There's no need to go deeper than that.
Perhaps you should consider not pushing it so hard and doing shallower dives.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Tigerman
Contributor
I don't. I dive as deep as I need to. There could be a specific critter, a wreck, a feature I want to see or I could be there because Its where its likely something comes by..
Actually, some do and many of them dont realize how dangerous what they do are.
I have personally seen people do 200ft bounce dives on single al80 air tanks. Or I should say Ive seen them jump in and start going down and then again while they get torn a new one by the staff on the boat when I get back up almost 45 minutes after them. I wont be going down after them to verify their computer reading correct depths..
For me it would be a waste of diving time, pretty colors & sunlight to go deep (I'm thinking below basic diver depths & down to 100-130') w/o good reason. That said, good reason could also be training or practise.
I could also see cruising the reef below basic-diver depth at a touristy location just because there would be fewer people down there.
* To fullfill a class prerequisite/requirement
* To practise making a controlled ascent/decent and practise (get a feel for) ascending at the correct speed. I've learned that if a diver has not dove deep much/ever/recently, it takes some practise to know how much air you need to add during the descent in order to keep bouyancy in control. It also takes practise to know how much air to vent & how to do it slightly in anticipation of the need.
* To pracise something else, such as switching over to and using a deco bottle
* Because some studies have indicated that it may be beneficial to acclimate yourself to deep diving before a deep diving trip (where you dive deep because that's where the sights are). According to these studies if the diver has acclimated herself to making deep dives (1) there may be less tendency for nitrogen bubbles to form if you have been making deep dives recently, and (2) there may be less tendency for/severity of nitrogen narcosis. NOTE that I say "SOME studies indicate there MAY be" => I make no stronger statement on the matter.
I could also see cruising the reef below basic-diver depth at a touristy location just because there would be fewer people down there.
* To fullfill a class prerequisite/requirement
* To practise making a controlled ascent/decent and practise (get a feel for) ascending at the correct speed. I've learned that if a diver has not dove deep much/ever/recently, it takes some practise to know how much air you need to add during the descent in order to keep bouyancy in control. It also takes practise to know how much air to vent & how to do it slightly in anticipation of the need.
* To pracise something else, such as switching over to and using a deco bottle
* Because some studies have indicated that it may be beneficial to acclimate yourself to deep diving before a deep diving trip (where you dive deep because that's where the sights are). According to these studies if the diver has acclimated herself to making deep dives (1) there may be less tendency for nitrogen bubbles to form if you have been making deep dives recently, and (2) there may be less tendency for/severity of nitrogen narcosis. NOTE that I say "SOME studies indicate there MAY be" => I make no stronger statement on the matter.
Sorry, but the original question is ambiguous, so we get people answering different questions. If the OP means "Why do people dive to the point of virtual overhead, incurring a significant deco obligation to dive below the traditional "recreational" limit of 130 feet, then that's one answer. If the OP means "why do people dive below 30 feet?", that's an entirely different answer.
I'm assuming that the answer to the first question is that there is a specific site that they want to visit at X depth, so you need the appropriate training and tools to get you there.
My answer to the second question is that over a typical open Caribbean site (e.g. a reef with relatively good visibility), I find photography conditions much better in the 60-90 foot range (less surge, more diffuse ambient light, and often clearer water) than in the shallows. I agree that pier/bridge diving is fine in the 10-20 foot range. And at home, while there are some shallow sites in the NYC area (30 foot range), it's a lot more comfortable in terms of surf/surge and the vis is usually better if you go a bit offshore, which means somewhat deeper (but still recreational) depths.
I'm assuming that the answer to the first question is that there is a specific site that they want to visit at X depth, so you need the appropriate training and tools to get you there.
My answer to the second question is that over a typical open Caribbean site (e.g. a reef with relatively good visibility), I find photography conditions much better in the 60-90 foot range (less surge, more diffuse ambient light, and often clearer water) than in the shallows. I agree that pier/bridge diving is fine in the 10-20 foot range. And at home, while there are some shallow sites in the NYC area (30 foot range), it's a lot more comfortable in terms of surf/surge and the vis is usually better if you go a bit offshore, which means somewhat deeper (but still recreational) depths.
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We read about them often enough in the Incidents and Accidents forum.
How deep you go doesn't really matter ... how prepared you are to make it back to the surface safely does ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
---------- Post added January 19th, 2014 at 06:52 AM ----------
I interpreted the question to be "Why doesn't everyone have the same diving goals and comfort zone I have?"
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Some of my favorite dives are between 160-200+ feet. Incredible amount of life, fish twice the size of any I see on shallow reefs and many species that most divers will never see. Another favorite dive is the Morro Bay T-Pier. Average depth is fifteen feet. We spend two hours looking at all the tiny animals in the muck there. I dive where I see the most and enjoy myself, no matter what the depth.
Avonthediver
Contributor
Just cause its their works for me.
But all also their are places that are not touched by divers like yourself and seem new and strange and all the best wrecks are deep. 30ft is sooooo limited and boring unless I'm hunting for fish but to each his own!
But all also their are places that are not touched by divers like yourself and seem new and strange and all the best wrecks are deep. 30ft is sooooo limited and boring unless I'm hunting for fish but to each his own!
lamarpaulski
Contributor
Rhone Man is right...look at human migration and exploration. Risk and exploration is genetically built into (some) of us. Look at a map of the Pacific and ask yourself how the Hawaiians ever got there ? Two thousand plus miles of open ocean in a canoe ? Leaving what we consider tropical paradise for the unknown. And then ask why ? Or the moon.
The danger is that we STOP.
The danger is that we STOP.
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