What inspired you to start diving?

[ZKY]

This is kind of a poll I'm taking to find out if there's a common denominator on how and why people start diving. I want to know what you saw, heard, or what it was exactly that planted the seed in your mind to become a diver. This is not an official poll, rather something I just have an interest in personally.

I'll start.

I grew up in Monterey California back in the early 60's. We used to go to the beach quite often because my parents were european and the real outdoorsy type. We were either at the beach or hiking somewhere in the wilderness every weekend. My mom however was terrified of water and never let me body surf or get in the water past my knees.

One day we were at Carmel river beach and I watched a guy swim in on the surface in full scuba gear and get out of the water. I vividly remember the chrome 2nd stage and the metal backpack he was using. I realized later from memory that it was probably a Conshelf or Dacor and a Voit snug pack. He was a tall guy, about 45 years old, skinny, in excellent shape. All the kids ran up including me and started asking all sorts of questions, "Hey mister, what do you see down there, what's that for, ever see a shark?". Skin divers and scuba divers were considered really cool back then and anybody that could do that and brave the cold and all the sea monsters was a real hero in our minds. Like a real life GI Joe. I remember the long knife he had on his belt. He told us about all the cool stuff down there and told us a few harrowing stories, probably for our enjoyment. This was about 1966.

A few years later Jacques Cousteau had his show on TV and I remember thinking how cool it would be to be able to do that. I never saw Sea Hunt, that was a few years before my time, unfortunately.

Fast foreward to about 1973. My mom gets remarried to a guy who has a boat moored at the Monterey Marina.
He takes us out almost every weekend to go ocean fishing for rock fish and whatever else. That opens up a whole new world that I never would have participated in otherwise. I am now hooked on fishing and love to be out on the ocean on a boat. I loved everything about it, the fresh salt air, the birds and the mystery of what was beneath the waves.

Early 90's. I was married with a kid and was living in Sonoma County. The ocean is much more remote and wilder than Monterey but offers some good fishing off the rocks. I take up shore fishing again to get away from the wife for a few hours a few times a month. While I'm out there I see abalone divers coming in with their tubes and abalone. Mmmm Yumm Abalone! I flash back to the diver coming out of the water in 1966.

Next thing I know I look up all the dive shops around my area and start shopping for skin diving gear so I can be part of this abalone diving thing. I get all the stuff and happen to know a few guys that are into it, so I start going out to the ocean with them. As stuff get's lost or I need something better I start hanging out at the LDS more and more. Next thing you know I'm checking out the regs and other stuff and getting nauseous looking at the price tags. But after acclimating to what everything costs and what's involved I sign up for open water. They tell me it will only improve my freediving so that's what sold it (A line of BS but it worked) There was no online gear stores, everybody went to their local dive shop, paid the price and that's how it was. The dive shop was a center of activity then and I started meeting more people who went in there. I talked to many good people and had a lot of fun standing around waiting for a tank to be filled.
Class after class got me up to DM and I did some tech stuff too.

I've come full circle. Now I dive just like that guy I saw coming out of the water in 1966.

[RJP]

What inspired you to start diving?



You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

:eyebrow:

[ZKY]

You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

:eyebrow:

Well come on man, let's hear it!

[N2DeepInAz]

Always grew up around a pool or lake here in Az. Always loved the water, my parents couldn't keep me out of the pool, even in December. I could swim like a fish and hold my breath for almost 2 minutes as a kid.

Got older and moved out of my parents house but never had a pool anywhere I lived on my own, still don't. Better yet, I have a boat and access to the lake anytime I want now.

I have a bunch of friends who had been hassling me about needing to learn to dive, just never had the money. Finally made the time and funds to learn to dive and I've never looked back. I did it to shut up my buddies, never knowing it would have this effect on me.

I love it and very much plan on doing it forever. Once I find a sport that I'm this passionate about, I'll do it as much as I can. I skip meals out at lunch to save for air fills for the weekend.

[mdb]

The ocean waves every night in La Jolla, CA. Steps from the beach. A reef with Lobster and Abalone just offshore. Good instruction-five open water dives in the basic OW course, after weeks of pool and classroom work, and another 50 dives in the next six months, taking AOW, rescue, night dive, etc.

[NWGratefulDiver]

Aging ... I promised my (then) wife that if she'd buy me scuba lessons I'd give up hurting myself regularly trying to keep up with guys half my age on a basketball court.

Started OW class on my 49th birthday ... haven't picked up a basketball since (I have picked up about 35 lbs, though) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ZKY]

The ocean waves every night in La Jolla, CA. Steps from the beach. A reef with Lobster and Abalone just offshore. Good instruction-five open water dives in the basic OW course, after weeks of pool and classroom work, and another 50 dives in the next six months, taking AOW, rescue, night dive, etc.

What was the trigger that inspired you to take that first step? Was it the ocean calling, or did you see something or hear something that sent you into the dive shop to sign up.

[ZKY]

Aging ... I promised my (then) wife that if she'd buy me scuba lessons I'd give up hurting myself regularly trying to keep up with guys half my age on a basketball court.

Started OW class on my 49th birthday ... haven't picked up a basketball since (I have picked up about 35 lbs, though) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Why scuba? Why not bicycling or something else?
I'm trying to get into your head and see exactly what it was that made you choose scuba. That's the point of this exercise.

[Scott]

I rememebr as a kid in the early 70's watching my fathers friend dive for a lost prop off of their boat in Lake Powell and thinking wow that is so cool and there was always the influence of watching JYC on TV.
Living in Utah I didn't think that much of it until 1979 when a dive store opened up in the next town. Fast foward to 1983, I was on a date with this 'hottie' and she was already a diver and needed to stop by a dive store and talk with the owner about a class. OK you have may attention. While she was talking with the Owner/Instructor, I was up front signing up for OW. I think it was the [-]ultimadum[/-] conversation 'If you want to date me, you need to be a diver' that really inspired me. :rofl3:
Twenty five years later she's still a hottie and I fund five divers gear instead of one. It's all been worth it, every penny.

[NWGratefulDiver]

Why scuba? Why not bicycling or something else?
I'm trying to get into your head and see exactly what it was that made you choose scuba. That's the point of this exercise.

Pure chance ... we were walking out of the Y (well, she was walking ... I was limping) and she was giving me grief for hurting myself again. Told me to find something safer to do. I looked up and there on the wall was a sign that said "LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE". As it happened, the class started on my birthday. So on an impulse I said "Buy me scuba lessons and I'll give up basketball".

It never occured to me that she'd take me seriously ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Lee Taylor]

Mike Nelson

70DoyHr8KmI

[mdb]

It was the ocean calling-and, of course San Diego was/is a great place to dive with lots of great shore diving, and good dive retailers and instructors.

I was active duty in the USMC @ the time. We had a dive club, a boat, and ready access to good diving. Quite fortunate indeed. Still diving 40+ yrs. later.

[Probie591]

My wife and I would travel every year with anotherr couple to the Keys for approx 30 to 45 days of vacation. We like to fish and would set out every morning in a 24 foot center console, come in for lunch and then back out for more fishing in the late afternoon. Marathon Key did not have much for us in terms of night life. One year, We could not get out on the water, high seas and rain, so I thought I would make good use of my time and see what was under the water after being topside for many years. I had a wonderful time with my cert dives. So, I think you can safely say it was nothing more than curiosity and circumstance that led me to diving. My wife can not handle anything covering her face, so diving is a solo thing for me. My two children want to try when they become of age.

[TMHeimer]

After most of 25 years in Northern Manitoba we moved to the coast of Nova Scotia. Now it made sense to learn to dive to enhance my shell collection. Collecting is still my main passion, though diving for diving's sake is cool too.

[rstofer]

Sea Hunt but I waited until I was well into middle-age before I got around to it.

Richard

[Peter_C]

A few years later Jacques Cousteau had his show on TV and I remember thinking how cool it would be to be able to do that. I never saw Sea Hunt, that was a few years before my time, unfortunately.

As a family we used to watch his shows, and Wild Kingdom. Still need to make it to Africa though. Cousteau was definitely a major reason I wanted to dive. I also grew up with a swimming pool in my backyard and we tried everything a kid could do to stay underwater. From there I got into surface water sports like surfing and then wakeboarding. Then the time came where I could actually do a ugg...resort dive in Florida. I was hooked! After many more dives on Maui, I finally decided to get certified and purchase my own gear. Quickly gave up my Scubapro BCD and got one of ZKY's Freedom Plates which is basically going retro, except I like my drysuit and 7 foot hose. Plus you can pry my can light from my cold dead hand :D

So fast forward to today, where I have way too much diving equipment :shocked2:

Actually I have been taking my boat out just cruising around enjoying being on the water.

[pjones]

When I was around 5 or 6 years old my family would drive past some water markers in this one section of ocean every so often and I asked my dad what they were there for, He explained to me that they were there to mark a ship that sunk so divers could go explore there. With every drive past that spot my curiosity grew and my desire to see this ship for myself became stronger. Around 20 years have passed and I am now finally financially capable to afford the lessons and found a partner to explore the ship together. I haven't made it to the dive site yet as I have just recently completed my certification (but yet to receive my card) still need to work on some of the basic skills but I know with a little of work and a couple more courses I will be able to go see that ship. I am SO close I can taste it :-)

[Bluesman]

Great thread!
For me I guess Sea Hunt had a lot of influence. Though I have always lived inland the whole idea of diving and exploring has interested me. So lakes and and the ocean hold equal interests. Cold water vs. warm has not scared me off because interesting things are in both places. And diving gives you a great excuse to find wonderful vacation places!
The knowledge about diving science and the gear also hold interest to me. Interesting people from all walks of life end up on dive boats or at a dive site also.

[TSandM]

I did it because my husband told me to.

Seriously.

I got tipsy at an auction and bought a trip to Australia, and on the way home, my exasperated husband said, "Well, if we are going to Australia, you HAVE to learn how to dive." And I said, "Yes, sir."

It was something I'd idly thought about before -- when I was a kid, the brother of the lady next door was in the Navy and dove, and would come home with great photographs, and I always thought it looked like fun. But it wasn't high on the agenda until after the auction.

[jswantek]

I like this topic. For me, I first became interested in diving when the fire department started the water rescue/recovery unit. I wanted to be involved at first because it was a new challenge and something different. Once I got my head under water, I fell in love with the ability to see and explore everything that's available under the water. I'm no longer involved with the department, but I'm still diving.

[TheCanuck]

My dad took up diving in 05. I would go with him to the LDS and pick up gear and bring in his tanks to get filled up. Out of curiosity I took him up on an offer to try it out under supervision of a divemaster from the LDS in a local college's pool. I liked the experience and had fun but was already involved in other bank account draining hobbies. The prices on ammo are insane but I digress.

Anyways, in 07 my dad passed away on a dive and that upset me alot. I thought about it for a long time and decided I wanted to dive the spot where he passed one day.

In 08 I went on a cruise with some diver friends of mine who are OW certified. I couldn't go on dives with them and I missed on some good diving in Honduras and Cozumel. Being that everyone of them was talking about how awesome it was to dive, that I'd give it a try. I did a Discover Scuba dive in Grand Cayman and once again in Cozumel and I was hooked.

I got certified in May and am just back from another cruise with the same friends, this time we dived together in St Thomas, St Lucia and St Kitts and had a blast. It only cimented my desire to see more of what's underwater and now I want to get more certifications. Being a huge WWII history nut, diving wrecks is high on my list of things to do. There's a Nitrox cert class next tuesday and I'm thinking I'll probably go.

I have yet to dive where my dad had his accident because it currently exceeds my qualifications as a diver, but I will someday for sure. In the mean, I try to load my diver's log and get more experience in the warmer southern waters.

[gcbryan]

It's hard to say actually but there was a show on TV when I was a kid, "Flipper", and scuba was involved. There was Jacques Cousteau and his films as well. I didn't actually get around to doing it until years later on vacation in Kauai where I loved to snorkel so I tried scuba (no cert).

I got certified locally (PNW) a few years later.

I think when there are interesting shows on TV involving scuba when you are a kid it does plant a seed if you are prone to these kinds of activities in the first place.

I'm sure the first time I really thought about flying a private plane was watching the show "Sky King" as a kid.

Learning to rock climb was just happenstance. A friend was doing it so there probably is no rhyme nor reason to why people do things!

[DiveMom1]

I too was first inspired by books, magazines and TV. Books like 20,000 leagues.. Moby Dick... shows like Flipper, Sea Hunt and my all time hero Jacques Cousteau . I used to sleep with National Geo under my pillow and colored and painted the ocean on my bedroom wall at 7. Considering my mother didn't make me wash it off it was worth the whoooopin'

In the 80's I had the chance of a LIFETIME to join a Cetation Research Team in BC for a couple of months. I decided it was just plain stupid to be the only person in the group that couldn't scuba dive. I took private lessons [a disaster] and the team got me set up pretty well by the end of the trip.

Except for the birth of my kids it is still the highlight of my life! I'm glad to say my kids started in the ocean at just a few months.. and by the time they were 3-4 I had to work to keep up with them on the reefs. Now they all scuba dive and can hardly remember a time when they didn't.

[rwgodfrey]

Neither me nor any of my family spent any time around the water. We rarely went to the beach and never spent time on the lake.

My daughter is a senior in high school this year. For awhile she had been saying that she wanted to major in marine biology or some related field.

During this past summer, I had this thought that 1) being scuba certified might look good on her college applications, and 2) it would be a good idea to find out NOW if she would like diving. It would have been bad for her to plan college around that major and then find out that she just couldn't handle being under the water.

So in a space of about 2 hours from having this thought (irrational as it may have been), I had signed her, my son (a senior in college), and myself up for OW classes.

Four months later, my son and I are diving every chance we get, my daughter has stopped diving and has changed her major to Chemistry. :dontknow:

[DCBC]

Mike Nelson

70DoyHr8KmI

Me too. Imagine a TV show setting someone's career into motion?! Weird.

The first episode was called "Sixty Feet Below." Imagine, WOW! I can see why he needed a set of doubles. :-)

[dkktsunami]

Kids gave wife scuba lessons for Xmas and I was "urged" to go along. It has become a pleasant addiction for one of us ..............

[RJP]

Kids gave wife scuba lessons for Xmas and I was "urged" to go along. It has become a pleasant addiction for one of us ..............

I'm guessing that would be the "one of you" who has nearly 1,000 SB posts?

:eyebrow:

[DennisS]

When I was a teenager, the mens adventure magazines of the 60s, True, Argosy, always had stories about the treasure being found off of Florida. Cousteau's series was on the television. I wanted to treasure hunt and see the reefs. I moved to Florida and became a diver as soon as I got out of the military. My life has pretty much been centered on the ocean since then.

[AfterDark]

SEA HUNT! Then when I started 8th grade, my mech. drawing teacher made the mistake of telling me he was a scuba instructor! Man did he regret that for the rest of the year!:rofl3: I bugged him 7 ways to Sunday to accept me into a scuba class! At that time 16 was the min. age, I was 14 he kept saying no, I kept coming back with new reasons why he should say yes. I brought a note in from my parents saying it was cool with them and they wanted me to learn (they wanted me to SHUTUP about it!:D) At the end of the year, a long one for him. He told me that next year the 1st class would start in March and if I still wanted to learn I could sign up for it!!:clapping::clapping::clapping: That summer I lived in the water! Practicing the swimming quals over and over and free diving every chance I got fresh, salt water didn't matter. I started the class in March finished in May. He held off giving me a c-card until I turned 16. In the mean time he filled my new 72 steel tank and took me diving. He also introduced me to the Bay State Frogmen, those are the guys who really taught me to dive. Tough men that did not suffer fools gladly. If I messed up they told me and taught me how to fix it. I'm convinced those 1st few years gave me the foundation to dive smart and safe for all these years.

[Rick Murchison]

...I want to know what you saw, heard, or what it was exactly that planted the seed in your mind to become a diver...Tasty fresh fish.
:)
Rick

[billamp]

My better half and I were on our 35th wedding anniversary trip and cruise to Hawaii and we wanted to do some snorkeling. (Being avid desert dwelling fish in AZ) We snorkeled at Molokini, Hanauma Bay, Kona Bay, and Poipu. After we got back to Phoenix we were talking about how great it was but wouldn't it be better to be able to stay under longer! Did a try scuba at one LDS and on the way home stopped at their other store and signed up for the OW class. Now we're finishing up our expert class and moving on to dive master.

[boomx5]

It's hard to say actually but there was a show on TV when I was a kid, "Flipper", and scuba was involved. There was Jacques Cousteau and his films as well.

That's kinda what got me interested also. My dad also did a little bit of diving when I was a kid. So, when I hit 15 I got a job to pay for my lessons since my parents wouldn't. My original instructor was a guy by the name of Dave Walls who owned a little shop called Scuba Sports in Citrus Heights California. He was actually a great instructor and we did our open water dives in Folsom Lake and Fort Bragg.

[mtldiver]

Sea Hunt for sure but I had to wait till my kids were out of college to start. Thanks Lee for the Sea Hunt tune. It brought back alot of memories. And thanks to Eric for the Freedom Plate. I'm almost set up.

[abies]

Well this is my second try at diving my first was about 17yr ago when I was 14 for a school trip to the coast (Edge water fortune), but I didn't keep diving afterwards with no money, no way to get to water, and no partner I did the training, got about 10 dives in with the DM and the trip and that was the end of that. Fast forward to this summer and my wifes boss who is an istructor offer to teach any one intersted as a work class. My wife who loves the water but never wanted to try diving decided to give it a go, so we took the class and here I am re-certified (in my opinion) and ready to dive, we only got a few dives in between our cert dives and here ankle surgery, but Hawaii is coming in a few months.

Now as to acctually answer the question, I just love being in the water, swimming, playing what ever.

Ben

[dwhthediver]

could not agree more with those that said Sea Hunt, Flipper, Jacque Cousteau specials that is what got my interest up, always wanted to try, kept going by the shop where I teach and would say to anyone in the car, I am going to do that one day, well one day came 8 years ago on a Cancun vacation when I did a DSD dive, and I was hooked!! Even though the local quarry is not anything like the carribean it is still fun

[ligersandtions]

My husband and I had been saving up to buy a house about a year and a half ago. We were most of the way though escrow when everything fell apart....we got our down payment back and realized we had a bunch of money and nothing to spend it on (of course, saving it wasn't an option....it was burning a hole in our pockets ;)).

We were getting married and going on our honeymoon to Playa del Carmen less than a month after it all fell through and he suggested getting certified so we could dive while we were in Mexico. I said I had always wanted to try diving (looking back now, I don't know if that was true or if it was always something that I just thought would be cool to do once in a while when you're on tropical vacations).

What inspired me to start diving was having some extra money that had nowhere to go plus a honeymoon....what inspires me to keep diving is totally different. Diving is an absolute obsession/addiction for me -- something I would never have guessed when we got certified.

[ScubaSloan]

I grew up in Boston and did not get to the ocean much except on vacation. I had snorkeled breifly and alway found it interesting but didn't have much of an occaision to keep it up. When I moved to Charlotte, my now fiance, whose father is a pilot, had been diving all over the place. I thought hey, scuba diving has always interested me, now I have the time and some spare money, why not? That is what got me into the OW class. What got me hooked was neutral buoyancy (er as close as I got in my check out dives). Nothing too exotic in the quarry but I remember thinking it was like flying, the equivalent of looking at a building from street level (or a sunken bus), but being able to fly over and explore from all angles. Or just sit there floating in space. Awesome. I can't wait to get in the water tomorrow.

[dmoore19]

"Twas a dark and dreary night when the captain said to Fritz"

OOps wrong story, Thanks Mike Nelson, sorry it took me so long to start. When I was 54 my wife and I were talking, I said I thought that it would be great, the seed was already planted from Sea Hunt. A couple of months later there was the trip to the LDS, which she researched and found. Then a few weeks after that it was the annual "May Sale" at the LDS, which we attended and I signed up for OW. Now when I go to the LDS, she just shakes her head and says "I don't want to know what it costs". She knows it's her fault! She started it!

[dkktsunami]

I'm guessing that would be the "one of you" who has nearly 1,000 SB posts?

:eyebrow:

An absolutely good guess.

[LeadTurn_SD]

Sea Hunt.

My dad was an uncertified scuba diver in Hawaii in the 1950's, and when Sea Hunt came on TV (in the 60's?), we'd watch the show together and he told me about his diving. I couldn't wait to try it myself, and at age 18 (in 1976) finally got certified. I'm 51 now.

On one of my first dives after OW in 1976 I rented some extra equipment and took may dad diving (the first time for him in almost 30 years). It is a nice memory.

Best wishes.

[meagicano]

Clive Cussler books....

No, seriously. Clive Cussler books.

I was dying to dive shipwrecks... but I couldn't learn until I was living on my own as it's such an expensive sport... and I didn't have a car etc.

[jmdive]

My wife and I were on a cruise and in Grand Cayman we went snorkelling. While we were on the surface, below us, was a group of scuba divers exploring a ship wreck. I was fascinated by the whole scene playing out before my eyes and recall thinking that I should be down there. At that moment, one of the scuba divers looked up and flashed me the OK sign. I could see the smile behind his regulator and I knew right there, I had to learn how to scuba dive. It is the one decision I have made that continues to reward me through friendships, memories and good times.

[kathydee]

I got hooked on Scuba by accident.

After over a decade of vertical fun, a number of factors pulled me away from technical rock climbing & I started wondering the planet looking for some new inspiration. Crossed many countries and walked over the Himalaya for a month. Sampling this and that was cool but nothing quite inspired my passion.

While circumnavigating the Island of Bali Indonesia on a motor scooter, by random chance dropped into Tulemben Bali (home to the SS Liberty wreck). Some DM started pushing me to spend what felt like lots of cash then on a Discover Scuba Dive - but I refused because it was more expensive than snorkeling. (Little did I know ;))

Spent my whole childhood in So Fla with a mask/snorkel, so hearing that the snorkeling was nice in Tulemben, swam out to the SS Liberty. I could look down 10-15 ft to the shallowest tip, a ship that descended into about 100ft of water. It was teaming with fish and coral and quite beautiful.

The kicker was when that same DM swam under me with his scuba and motioned for me to follow as he descended. I dropped down 10 ft or so with him but of course had to surface in a minute. And in that split second where he descended and I ascended, I felt very left out, out wondering what I was missing.

It took another year of feeling that faint nagging longing and curiosity, to somehow find my way back with my partner the next summer to the Tulemben Bali and to the same tip of the SS Liberty. He was all for SCUBA and after our 7th DSD, a traveling DM told us to get certified. We listened.

Compared to other stuff, Scuba was still a ho-hum adventure and I only logged 27 dives in the next few years (all in Bali), Then I randomly found myself in July 08 in Borneo Malaysia with time and no plans, and heard there was good diving off some island up north called Sipidan. It was only a 12 hour bus ride :).

I had no idea I'd fall head over heels in love/obsession with SCUBA in a few hours, but who could resist the passion of scuba as they dropped down those steep brilliantly colored coral encrusted walls into 130ft vis and peered into the bottomless deep blue filled with turtles, sharks and beauty beyond description – especially at Barracuda Point.

Got tired of dry regs and dreaming through you all on scubaboard so recently converted from a binge extended vacation diver to a local cold water drysuit diver & am loving it all !!!

My partner is still an occasional vacation diver and has only logged about 30 warm water dives in the past 3 years, but my love for technical climbing gear and technique has been matched in the scuba world :D so I'm luvin' more than just the scenery. Now I am out every weekend and have logged over 240 dives, mostly in the last year.

I've deffinately found my new inspiration and am luvin' it!

[Papa_Bear]

Years of Boating as a kid and more years sitting on a Surf Board wondering what was down there? Add being a Life Guard and it just seemed to be the next logical step? I really guess it would have been stranger to not have done it! 38 years and over 4000 dives it has stuck and the Surf Board is hanging in the Patio! ;)

[HisLovelyBride]

What inspired me to dive? Growing up in a family with a 30' sailboat, I spent an inordinate amount of time on the ocean. My father was an old salt and would take all five kids to the boat each weekend to sail and maintain the boat. By the time I met and married my husband, I had had my fill of the ocean. I am not a beach babe and had no interest in laying out at the beach, so off to the mountains we went. We spent most of our married life camping with our kids if using RVs to camp counts. I had little if any interest in spending anytime at the beach!

We had the good fortune to visit Hawaii on business and since I thought it was just a pretty beach and without that push, I probably wouldn't have invested in a trip. While in Hawaii, besides realizing that it was much more that a pretty beach, I wanted to snorkel, but I injured my foot and the doctors said I could use the hotel pool, but the ocean was out.

When I was 46, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and after my treatment was complete, my husband took me to Hawaii for a vacation. Again, I wanted to snorkel, but this time there was an influx of box jellies and the beaches were closed.

A few months later, we went back and this time I was going to snorkel! I did some practicing in Waikiki and then we were off to the Big Island. There we went on a snorkeling boat called the Fair Winds and they had SNUBA on board. Dave asked me if I wanted to give it a try and I said sure. Well, I fell in love with not having to come up for air! Snorkeling after that was just anti-climatic.

When we got home, Dave gave me SCUBA lessons for Christmas and the following November, we went back to Hawaii for our 30th Wedding Anniversary with our kids and grandkids and I completed my Open Water Certification on my 50th birthday.

This year marks 3 years of diving and I have logged 98 dives, been Nitrox and Advanced Open Water certified. Our plan is to dive on 11/7 and get in dives 99, 100, & 101; all before my 3rd anniversary of diving.

I think SNUBA is a great way to introduce people to SCUBA!

[Thalassamania]

Back in 1956 my dad was an archaeologist. He saw Cousteau's Silent World and got the idea to attempt to recover Babylonian artifacts from a barge that sank in the mid 19th century at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. We were already avid freedivers. He bought two tanks, two regulators, and a copy of the Science of Skin and Scuba, and we learned how to use scuba. The planned Fertile Crescent dives never happened, but I continued to dive on a recreational basis in lakes in New York, the New England Coast, North Carolina, Florida, and California.

In high school I joined a group that styled itself, "Beta Oceanographic Research Inc." It was a scientifically minded dive club that had an agreement with the California State Parks people and the Pt. Lobos administration that, in return for mapping and doing some biological and geological baseline work, it would have unlimited access to the park.

When I got to university I was preparing myself for a career as a terrestrial zoologist, but I hurt my leg and was rehabbing it swimming in the pool. There I observed, learned about and ultimately became involved in the Research Diver Training Program. I took the 100 hrs. Research Diving Course in the spring quarter, was invited to do underwater research in Central America over the summer, was an Assistant Team Leader (AI) in the course in the fall, and a Team Leader (Instructor) for the next course. I remained active, both teaching and conducting research until I received my degree in Zoology. My senior honors thesis, an outgrowth of my term project for the Natural History of the Vertebrates course was on the foraging behavior of Brant's Cormorant. I spent over a year free diving in the area of the Monterey Breakwater to observe the birds. Yes ... I was an underwater birdwatcher.

I went off the grad school still never intending to do anything in diving, I was planning to work on the mathematics of artesinal fishtaps in the Caribbean, but twists and turns in my personal life resulted in my joining the university's management team, holding (amongst others) the portfolio for research diving safety. That was that.

[krawlings]

I have always had a fasination for the ocean . As a kid I loved to watch Jague Coustau and all his adventures . And allso the secrets that are held under the water has intrigued me for as long as I remember. I mover to Georgia and was just hours from good diving and my wife said do it so here I am diving . My life long dream.

[Doc Harry]

What inspired me? Sights like this:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/3892/0236.jpg

[KY_BOB]

20 years of wanting to, a bad relationship, and figuring out that I didn't have to answer to anyone.

[ZKY]

This thread is going very good so far.
As some of you may have figured out, what I'm trying to do is see if there is a pattern or most common reason why people become divers.
So far childhood exposure through TV shows, parents or other family members seems to be the leading reason for what triggers people to become divers.
I saw a few "completely by accident" responses, a few respondents saw a poster or add.
Some by surprise by a gift, and several by a vacation impulse.

I hope more people respond. I'd like to actually talley up the responses in categories to see where and how most people get the bug.



Hey DEMA, I hope you're taking notes!

[Rick Murchison]

This thread is going very good so far.
As some of you may have figured out, what I'm trying to do is see if there is a pattern or most common reason why people become divers.
So far childhood exposure through TV shows, parents or other family members seems to be the leading reason for what triggers people to become divers.
I saw a few "completely by accident" responses, a few respondents saw a poster or add.
Some by surprise by a gift, and several by a vacation impulse.

I hope more people respond. I'd like to actually talley up the responses in categories to see where and how most people get the bug.



Hey DEMA, I hope you're taking notes!I'm actually floored by the lack of folks here who started Scuba to get fish. It was *the* reason to Scuba along the Gulf coast in the 60's & early 70's...
Rick

[ZKY]

I'm actually floored by the lack of folks here who started Scuba to get fish. It was *the* reason to Scuba along the Gulf coast in the 60's & early 70's...
Rick

That's part of the reason I started, the other part was just because I thought it was cool.
We have to realize that there's only about 50 responses to this thread so far on SB out of how many divers on Earth?

[I Dive]

I don't know for sure, I just always knew I wanted to dive. Growing up I had allergies that seriously affected my sinuses, so my Mom being a Nurse gently let me down on the dream several times. As an Adult, I outgrew my allergies (or maybe just moved away from them!) so as a College Graduation gift to myself I met with a Doc to get checked out and he told me there was no reason I couldn't dive. I then got certified. Ha Ha Mom! As I type this, I'm still high as a kite from the two night dives I did tonight. I honestly cannot imagine life without diving. There is no doubt in my mind I was meant to dive and it was just a matter of the timing becoming right. Dive Dive Dive!!!!!!

[kathydee]

What inspired me? Sights like this:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/3892/0236.jpg

NOW THAT IS INSPIRING!!

Oh I forgot to mention the cave diving video that was sent to me by some SB person & got me hooked on the current new pursuit :). Ah, maybe someday.

Where is this? Is that you?

[Abaco24]

Simple...........Lobster

and Biscayne Bay where I learned to ski on 1970 skis. We parked the boat at the marina, I took a mask and snorkle and went down and saw all the lobsters I could ever eat but couldn't get them

I can't remember the marina name but I do remember Fowey Reef, French and Molassess

Now I'm back after US Diver backpacs, harness's(or is that es) , and horseshoes

I then said........Dad can we shoot these?

Response: No but I'll show ya how soon

[Texasdivechick]

I was around water all my life: my dad was a champion water skier when he was a teen and I learned how to water ski at age 5. He also loved to fish and we would frequently take fishing trips out in the Gulf Bay. I always loved swimming in fresh water but what's weird is that I refused to get into the water in Galveston. There's just something unsettling about not being able to see your toes when you're standing in 6 inches of water. Gross. Anyway, it wasn't until I became an adult and received a cruise gift certificate for my Master graduation (2005) that I actually saw CLEAR, BLUE WATER. I can remember standing on the dock in Cozumel just staring at the beautiful water, amazed that I could actually see fish! I took a submarine ride while in Coz and we saw a scuba diver which piqued my interest. Then my boyfriend at the time moved to Nevis and I was able to visit him every few months so I took up snorkeling. Pretty soon, I grew frustrated that I couldn't hold my breath nearly long enough to see what all I wanted to see while snorkeling so I planned a trip to Bonaire, got certified, and then got hooked. I dive everywhere now: missile silos, rivers, lakes, ocean, wherever there is a body of water.
Funny how zero viz doesn't bother me at all when I'm diving but I STILL won't get in the water in Galveston. (For all you Galveston vacationers- I don't know any locals who actually get in the water there.)

[Rick Murchison]

begin :hijack:

... but I STILL won't get in the water in Galveston...Something about Houston, waste water treatment, effluent, fecal coliform count, vibrio.... little things like that, most likely.
:)
Rick
:hijack: end

[gypsyjim]

As I recall it was partly Sea Hunt, partly the chance to try something exciting, that no one else I knew had ever done. Partly a simple desire to see what was under the water, and explore.
Last evening my daughter and I met Fabien Cousteau, and enjoyed his presentation for our local club, going from his grandfather's first dives in the 30's, with a short movie they made then, (:shocked2:, talk about breaking the safety rules :popcorn:), to a new video presentation from their recent dives with Humpbacks.

It seems looking back that many things combined, like those Sea Hunt episodes, stories in magazines I had read about exploring ship wrecks full of riches, and the great movies by Fabien's grandfather Jacques, all drawing me to try diving back in 69/70, when I was a teen, looking for something new and exciting.

[Jim Lapenta]

I did it because my husband told me to.

Seriously.

I got tipsy at an auction and bought a trip to Australia, and on the way home, my exasperated husband said, "Well, if we are going to Australia, you HAVE to learn how to dive." And I said, "Yes, sir."

It was something I'd idly thought about before -- when I was a kid, the brother of the lady next door was in the Navy and dove, and would come home with great photographs, and I always thought it looked like fun. But it wasn't high on the agenda until after the auction.

So it was the booze that got you hooked! I've heard of it causing marriages, pregnancies, divorces, etc,. Hey it;s all good though right. You could have bought a trip to the North Pole and you guys would be freezing your butts off dogsledding!

[Jim Lapenta]

For me it was Sea Hunt and Cousteau. But it took til I was 44 to do it. Two divorces, two kids, and finally a woman who encourages me to do whatever I can to get me to drop the cash for the initial classes. 5 years later it is no longer a hobby, sport, or pastime, it is a lifestyle. Everything I do including my "real job" is about diving and having the means to do so.

[TSandM]

Yes, my diving career rests on a solid foundation of Pinot Noir . . . and KoolAid!

[pidgiepoo]

While my husband and I were snorkeling, we saw a group of divers pointing to things under the ledges that we couldn't see.We decided we wanted to see all those critters too, so we got certified ( I was 56 at the time). Have never regreted that decision.

[MaxBottomtime]

My first wife grew up in the Nevada desert. She watched Sea Hunt as a kid and always wanted to dive, but it was a male-dominated sport back then and the lack of money held her back. When we had been together for a couple of years she told me she always wanted to dive. I'd never even snorkelled but wanted to share activities with her. The first few times I tried I couldn't get over the gurglling water coming down the snorkel to drown me. I could hear death approaching every time I tried to plant my face in the water. Reluctantly, I told her she would have to find someone else to snorkel with. The disappointment in her face said it all.
One day while she was at work I went down to the beach and forced myself to keep my face in the water. After a few attempts I finally got it. Although the visibility was zero, I managed to swim a quarter mile without lifting my head. The next weekend we began snorkelling around Palos Verdes. I saw so many critters on the bottom that eventually I began free diving, grabbing rocks and kelp to hold myself down as long as I could hold my breath. One day we were at Christmas Tree Cove and I spotted a batray and leopard shark. I didn't know what they were, other than a killer shark and stingray. I went to the library and leaned that they are harmless. I suddenly had the urge to spend more than a minute or so underwater.
We signed up for OW class in August, but the class didn't begin until October. We memorized the book and even bought two sets of used gear, which sat in the garage for six weeks. We finally gave into temptation and took our unused gear to Lake Tahoe to try scuba in four feet of water. She had a tiny stream of bubbles coming from her first stage. Not knowing if that was bad or not, she got out of the water. I remained at four feet for three minutes! My first scuba dive was solo.
After getting certified we couldn't stay out of the water. We used to backpack and camp at least twice a month. We went hiking only once again in the next twelve years.

[roturner]

My uncle was a marine biologist and when I went to do my undergrad studies at the university he was at, he basically nagged me into doing it.

R..

[noreastDIVER84]

I had a few things that got me to want to do it. The first was that my grandfather had actually sunk some of the "artificial reefs" along the east coast. I had been on some of them before they were sunk, and he had gone down to see them after they were sunk. So the first part of my equipment collection was his tank, bc, and regulator. I have and use the tank and regulator, but the bc was no longer useable. The second thing that got me wanting to do it was the fact that I have grown up basically on the beach. I had always been around the water, but would not swim in much of it because I did not know what was there. I had figured this may be an issue, but ofter my first experience underwater with marine life, I had been hooked.

[roturner]

Yes, my diving career rests on a solid foundation of Pinot Noir . . . and KoolAid!

LOL

LOOOOL :rofl3:

This is SO funny but at the same time, sadly, so true ... :D It begs the question. When are you going give yourself a break and just go *diving*? I doubt there is anyone more deserving of a break from the mental pressure of your diving philosophy than you are.

At some point, all diving is about having fun. When will you allow yourself to take your turn?

R..

[InTheDrink]

I dislike mentioning this but it's probably worthwhile.

I did a DSD in Thailand and loved it. My wife then bought me a referral OW course for my birthday. It was a bit of a last gasp for her to find something to maybe help with my heroin addiction. I did my classwork here in the UK and referral in Brazil. It took a little bit of time but the habit got kicked. I found something in life that 'fitted' me. I'm a gregarious person that finds human contact confusing and often difficult. I love being under the water where I can't speak and vice versa. My true love is diving and all my addictions, little by little, bit by bit, are falling off me the deeper I fall in love with my true love.

If I hadn't found diving I'd either be dead or in jail. A retrospective inspiration if you like.

[mdb]

InThe DrinK:

Your heartfelt post is the very best post I have ever seen on this board.

Diving can and has changed many a life. The calm ocean, the silence, the beauty,
being weightless under the waves, it all makes for an experience that, IMHO, is
unequaled.

Glad to know you are a fellow diver and doing well.

[InTheDrink]

InThe DrinK:

Your heartfelt post is the very best post I have ever seen on this board.

Diving can and has changed many a life. The calm ocean, the silence, the beauty,
being weightless under the waves, it all makes for an experience that, IMHO, is
unequaled.

Glad to know you are a fellow diver and doing well.

Thanks. It's nice to swap worthlessness for weightlessness. Tho they both have too many letters.

[kathydee]

I dislike mentioning this but it's probably worthwhile.

I did a DSD in Thailand and loved it. My wife then bought me a referral OW course for my birthday. It was a bit of a last gasp for her to find something to maybe help with my heroin addiction. I did my classwork here in the UK and referral in Brazil. It took a little bit of time but the habit got kicked. I found something in life that 'fitted' me. I'm a gregarious person that finds human contact confusing and often difficult. I love being under the water where I can't speak and vice versa. My true love is diving and all my addictions, little by little, bit by bit, are falling off me the deeper I fall in love with my true love.

If I hadn't found diving I'd either be dead or in jail. A retrospective inspiration if you like.

Congratulations! Kicking that addiction is a huge accomplishment!

Now be careful of the addiction to the narc ;).

[AndrewA]

10 years ago I was sitting in the club house of a golf course in Riyadh (in the middle of a desert, 6000 ft above sea level) when the discussion turned to diving in the Gulf. i made some comment that I had always had an inclination to try diving but had never got round to it. It so happened that one of the other golfers was a PADI AI. She sid "We have a course starting next week" and as they say the rest id history. After my first open water dive I was completely hooked.

[Drew Sailbum]

In college I was very active in the sailing and windsurfing program at the University of Wisconsin. Each fall we had to take our piers apart so they would not be destroyed by the ice when the lake froze.

The wooden deck of the piers were built in sections and easily disassembled. We could unbolt the horizontal joists and slide them ashore as well. The verticle support posts had a hinge near the base. Those verticle posts rested underwater all winter, so...

Every spring the ice would melt. As soon as we could get together some work crews we could reassemble the piers and get back to sailing. For some odd reason the biggest delay always seemed to be in finding a diver to hook a chain to those pier supports to pull them back upright. the diver would be in and out of the water all day as each individual pier support was pulled up.

For some reason I couldn't figure out why the divers always seemed to delay so long to get the pier process moving along. I took my OW course one October and my next diving day was pier assembly in the spring. It was about 30 bounce dives in poor visibility, with silt constantly being stirred up. All that was within a week of the lake melting and the only wetsuit that would fit me was a 3mm full suit. No gloves. No booties. No weight belt - I wrapped anchor chain around be and held it in place with zip ties.

The next year I waited for another diver to do the work.

[Doc Harry]

Wow, some cool stories. What a great sport. What a great bunch of people.

Hey ZKY, thanks for starting this thread.

[AndrewA]

10 years ago I was sitting in the club house of a golf course in Riyadh (in the middle of a desert, 6000 ft above sea level) when the discussion turned to diving in the Gulf. i made some comment that I had always had an inclination to try diving but had never got round to it. It so happened that one of the other golfers was a PADI AI. She sid "We have a course starting next week" and as they say the rest id history. After my first open water dive I was completely hooked.

[scubajo007]

Back in the mid 60ties in my early childhood I watched Flipper and was quite fascinated by the underwater world and adventures they came up against. Then one day back then, when I was walking with my mother we passed a toyshop with an oval mask in the window and I asked if I could have one. She gave me one probably because she thought I would put more effort into swimming. From then on I used it day in and day out in the local open water swimming pool until it was totally warn down beyond repair, I actually managed to repair it a couple of times putting new straps on etc. I found I came into a new world just being under water in the pool that was a scenario which appealed to me.
Then the years passed. I was again and again thinking of taking up diving but never did anything about it, until a few years ago, when I called the LDS (just of interest) and spoke with a very talkative person and before I knew it I had signed up for a course. Unfortunately for various reasons I to cancel the course after the first OW dive. Then last year I decided to go for it again doing the pool and academic stuff in Scotland and the open water dives in Moalboal on the Philippines, and now I’m finally certified and I certainly enjoy diving and the atmosphere amongst other divers and in the dive resorts.

[I Dive]

I dislike mentioning this but it's probably worthwhile.

I did a DSD in Thailand and loved it. My wife then bought me a referral OW course for my birthday. It was a bit of a last gasp for her to find something to maybe help with my heroin addiction. I did my classwork here in the UK and referral in Brazil. It took a little bit of time but the habit got kicked. I found something in life that 'fitted' me. I'm a gregarious person that finds human contact confusing and often difficult. I love being under the water where I can't speak and vice versa. My true love is diving and all my addictions, little by little, bit by bit, are falling off me the deeper I fall in love with my true love.

If I hadn't found diving I'd either be dead or in jail. A retrospective inspiration if you like.

I'm curious-which addiction is cheaper? :D

[Rick Inman]

For me it was Sea Hunt, and even more so, the movie, Creature From the Black Lagoon (I was certified in 1971).

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-mDrE4iUH8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-mDrE4iUH8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[Jandot]

I never had any desire to dive, and thought I was too claustrophobic.... One month before our wedding my now hubby talked me into getting certified for our honeymoon, like I didn't have enough to do already! Once I did my first open water dive in St. Lucia I WAS HOOKED! Now ALL of our vacations include diving... I love it!

[scubadada]

ZKY,

Great question and fascinating answers

I grew up as a water baby in So California, competetive swimming, water polo, snorkeling, surfing and watching Sea Hunt, Flipper, and Jacques Cousteau. It was a no-brainer when the LA County Underwater Unit offered an OW class at my high school in 1970 when I was 16.

I dived very actively for a decade and then had a 15 year hiatus while occupied with other life activities. Other outdoor loves like backpacking and skiing replaced diving for a while. When my son turned 12, I got recertified with him. Now, nearly 500 dives later, I'm enjoying my favorite activity and get to do it with my whole family.

Here's to many, many more years, good diving, Craig

[InTheDrink]

For some reason I couldn't figure out why the divers always seemed to delay so long to get the pier process moving along. I took my OW course one October and my next diving day was pier assembly in the spring. It was about 30 bounce dives in poor visibility, with silt constantly being stirred up. All that was within a week of the lake melting and the only wetsuit that would fit me was a 3mm full suit. No gloves. No booties. No weight belt - I wrapped anchor chain around be and held it in place with zip ties.

The next year I waited for another diver to do the work.

:), ah, some lessons can be learned only one way and they're the lessons that just keep on giving :)


ZKY,

It was a no-brainer when the LA County Underwater Unit offered an OW class at my high school in 1970 when I was 16.

Man, this bears *NO* resemblance to my school. Sticking a bunsen burner underneath a classmate's behind was about as muich fun as we got :)

[WetLens]

Sea Hunt - Mike Nelson - has to get the credit for getting the fire started although my facination with my Grandfather's National Geographics must have had some play in it. I was already hooked by the time Jacques Cousteau's Undersea World came on the air, but it continued to fuel the fire.

My YMCA swimteam coach was the lifesaving instructor and a scuba fanatic/instructor (I believe he is still diving somewhere in Florida - Ed Striesel). After taking lifesaving, I hung around for the scuba lectures. When I turned 16, two fellow swimteam members and I joined the full class - that was in 10th grade. I took the class again (just for fun) in the 11th and 12th grade (actually taught a couple of lectures in the class) and finally earned enough money to afford equipment the summer after graduating from high school.

A Healthways Scubair J, a USD 71.2 steel tank, a Nimrod 3-window mask, a speargun - all ordered from New England Divers - and I was ready to dive.

Made my first dive on the wreck of the "North Carolina" on October 5, 1969. What kept me in diving was participation in a local scuba club - the Aqua Amigos - in Euclid, Ohio. Can't say enough about the great years I had diving, teaching, and most importantly - learning - from a great group of divers. Even though I moved from NE Ohio 28 years ago, I still travel and dive with the friends made while an active "Amigo."

[selo]

On our 25th anniversary, my wife and I went to Catalina Island for the first time although we live in West Los Angeles. I was getting ready for flight training, with a private pilot license as a goal.

She suggested I do scuba instead, so I took a discover scuba at the Casino Park. I had trouble descending, hyperventilated on the surface, but my instructor was patient, calmed me down, and eventually we went to no more than 30 feet. And we saw a Giant Sea Bass.

The next day I walked two blocks to the LDS near my house and signed up. More education and some diving followed. My LDS closed down but continued their boat trips and I try to go out with them as much as I can.

[SCUBASailor]

My wife had always wanted a swimming pool. I resisted for years. Finally, 4 years ago, I caved. We built the pool, and it turns out that I liked it a lot. I started spending a lot of time snorkeling around the pool, but was always drawn to the bottom, rather than the surface. It developed into an irresistible urge to learn to SCUBA dive in the sea. So, I am taking that journey now.

[ZKY]

On our 25th anniversary, my wife and I went to Catalina Island for the first time although we live in West Los Angeles. I was getting ready for flight training, with a private pilot license as a goal.

She suggested I do scuba instead, so I took a discover scuba at the Casino Park. I had trouble descending, hyperventilated on the surface, but my instructor was patient, calmed me down, and eventually we went to no more than 30 feet. And we saw a Giant Sea Bass.

The next day I walked two blocks to the LDS near my house and signed up. More education and some diving followed. My LDS closed down but continued their boat trips and I try to go out with them as much as I can.

Was that Reef Seekers by chance?

[scubadada]

I grew up as a water baby in So California, competetive swimming, water polo, snorkeling, surfing and watching Sea Hunt, Flipper, and Jacques Cousteau. It was a no-brainer when the LA County Underwater Unit offered an OW class at my high school in 1970 when I was 16.


:)Man, this bears *NO* resemblance to my school. Sticking a bunsen burner underneath a classmate's behind was about as muich fun as we got

Privileged, I'm quite aware of that.

Good diving, Craig

[mblake]

I grew up in the Monterey area also, but never took up scuba until last year when we booked a French Polynesia cruise on the Paul Gauguin with Jean-Michel Cousteau. I have have always enjoyed snorkling (well not the Monterey Bay). I wanted to be able to dive with Jean-Michel so I became certified before the cruise.

[dsdiving]

Well, here it goes...
I was born with a hole in my left ear drum and couldn't get water in my ear.
As a kid I use to sit with my Teacher and watch all the other kids take swimming lessons.. At age 13 I had an operation to fix my inner ear and ripped down all the obstacles between the water and myself.
I went from not knowing how to swim ( not even floating) to becomming a Lifeguard at 17 yrs. old.
FFWD five years- I was newly married and my brother- in-law took his O/W. He told us all about the course and how much fun it was, so my wife & I took the next available class.
I logged 143 dives in my first year - needless to say I was smittened.
I carried on to Advanced- Rescue Diver, Master SCUBA Diver(with half a dozen specialties) then to Dive Master.
While working at my LDS my boss recieved a call from a Local Commercial outfit saying that all of their Divers were sick and they wanted him to help out. Being sick himself my boss sent me in his place.It was a simple job but they were impressed with how I handled myself and how quickly I learned the gear. I had found my calling, I was going to become a Commercial Diver.

Now heres the Dark side.
Sixteen years ago my wife and I got a call at 3 am reporting that her brother didn't surface on a night dive. We endured three days of searching before he was found on a ledge at 265 ft.He was diving with Twins ( in sort of a HOG setup) with one full and one empty Cylinder. To this day we don't have all the answers but ,again, needless to say it was turning point in my Diving.
I had continued to dive commercially for about six years as well as being an overly active member of a Local Dive Club with an average of 100 dives/ year.
Now most of my Dive Buddies have retired and found less thrilling hobbies & my wife doesn't dive any more. I just broke the 2000 mark in my Log Book last Winter.
One of the ways that my Brother-in law's death changed me was it prompted me into Search & Rescue which I have been President of our Valley team for four terms. Swift water being my favourite skill. The RCMP do all the SAR diving up here but have used me on occassion for evidence searches.
Most of my Dive Buddies now are much younger and less experienced divers, But I enjoy it just the same.
Well that's it in a nut shell...
Whew! I feel much better now - you guys are better than going to a Shrink- Thanks.


I

[it_mike]

I'm afraid my story is much more tame than the last. My mother grew up on the ocean, in a New England fishing town. She took it upon herself to enroll in the 'Baby & Me' program at the local YMCA, and I learned to be comfortable in the water before I could crawl. While I later learned to swim, I was always more comfortable under the water than on the surface. Dad was in the Navy, and a former diver, so I stole his mask, J, and fins. Learned to dive from other Navy divers, and went on from there. I was 25 when I 'went legit', and bubbles are my therapy.

[Noboundaries]

Like others, Sea Hunter, Flipper, JC, and snorkeling in Florida and the Bahamas on Spring Break stirred my curiosity. I just figured it was one of those things I'd never do once kids, long hours at work, and increasing responsibility came along. Vacations were spent educating the kids (museums, national parks, road trips, camping, etc) instead of relaxing in the sun at a tropical destination.

Once the kids left for university my wife and I took our first true "total veg" vacation to the Yucatan, going back three years in a row. At the reef just off the resort we watched dive boats unload and recover divers day and night. My wife said "let's try scuba." We took a resort intro course in the 4' pool for $25 each. They wanted us to sign up to get certified but we decided we'd do so back home.

We came home, got certified at the LDS, and set it aside because neither one of us enjoyed the certification dives in 51 degree, 4' viz, 6' surge Monterey Bay. Hate is not too strong a word to characterize the experience. After a couple of years we tried warm water diving off the Yucatan and found a new word to characterize diving.....LOVE. We've returned several times to Yucatan and Cozumel just to dive. We're still not thrilled with CA diving, but we've done it several times.

We've not been in the water since May 2008 due to many obstacles I won't list here, but the love has not waned and we're both craving bubbles. Circumstances may allow us to get back in the water in the Spring.

[Agent 47]

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

Every kid growing up in Kansas wanted to do all the cool stuff Marlin and Jim got to do.

[Teamcasa]

In the late 60's early 70's it was The Abalone on Catalina and the people who would pay me to get it for them.

[TaoH]

My earliest exposure to diving was probably from TV or National Geographic magazines as a very young child. Growing up, I would tag along with friends who would go to pools they were able to get access to. I didn't know anything about swimming at the time, but I never really lost interest in the water and trying to figure out how to swim.

First year of high school was 1997 and I take swimming for my PE class and learned from an American Red Cross curriculum for teaching beginners how to swim. We had a 14-ft deep end at our pool that was roped off and anyone wanting to go into the deep end during our free swims on Fridays had to be able to tread water for 2 minutes before they were given access. I took almost every opportunity to pass this test and it wasn't for a few months before I could get myself allowed into the deep end. Though I wasn't aware of it, I think that was my entry to diving; I always enjoyed pushing my breath hold limits by just sitting at the bottom of the pool or swimming along the subsurface.

I was pretty much absorbed into being in the water at this point and the next two years, I swam competitively with our swim team and got myself certified in Lifeguarding/First-Aid and CPR. I spent two summers after high school working as a lifeguard/swim instructor at the local YMCA when I was home from San Jose State but eventually lost interest in the work. While at SJSU, I took the SCUBA diving class that I always noticed every semester I was registering for classes and that just opened another door.

After the class however, I never had the money to dive until I worked full time. I spent time reading internet boards like ScubaBoard, North Coast Divers, ba_diving for a while and eventually bought a wetsuit and spent maybe 2-3 weekends/year freediving for abalone. Somewhere along the way a friend sold me a bunch of used gear in a lot but I only got use out of the ScubaPro Mk15 regulator and the Oceanic OceanPro BCD. It all sat around while I was freediving for maybe 1~2 years until I started showing up to meets NCD would host every month.

I've gone through phase changes in gear choice/setup and have things I need to get rid of but have yet made the effort to do so. Now with getting myself back into school while working full time I try to go diving when and where I can. I sure have made a whole lot of new friends since I've started however.

[SCUBASailor]

Now when I go to the LDS, she just shakes her head and says "I don't want to know what it costs".

My wife tells me the same thing now. Isn't life grand? :)

[rainynight65]

As a young child I lived in Central America for five years with my parents, and there I spent a lot of time snorkeling. Basically any time we went to any beach I would have my snorkeling gear with me, whether there was anything to see or not. I'd spend hours in the water just swimming around, and some of my favourite beaches had nice, close shallow reefs. My mother still recalls one time when I had just learned to swim, and went out by myself, and they fell asleep on the beach and when they woke up they panicked because they couldn't find me :blush: (I was safe as houses all the time). That specific beach became my favourite snorkeling spot, I'd see lots of different fish, and at times even eels and barracudas there. Once I went out to a deeper site with a group of scuba divers, and I think since then it's been something I wanted to take up at some point.

That was about 20 years back. A few weeks ago I mentioned to a friend who is an active scuba diver, that I would like to learn scuba diving some time. He immediately made contact with another friend who is a NAUI instructor, phoned me back ten minutes later and said "You're starting next weekend" (Luckily I had some cash saved up for the course, and we both figured why wait?) So now here I am :)

[Sharkbully]

for me, it was several steps. As a young kid, Sea hunt was my favorite show, and I decided I wanted to do that , then later, watching Jacque Cousteau specials rekindled my interest. But, school, work, etc kept me from trying it.

Then about 15 years ago, I was watching a Discovey channel special with my wife about divers traveling the South Pacific looking for sharks. Every time sharks were spotted, they geared up and jumped in. I told my wife, "Some day I 'm going to do that." She looked at me like I was crazy, and said "not with me you're not."

Well, that again ended my dream. Roll forward a few years, and we were snorkeling in Cancun near Isla Mujeres, and witnessed divers in the water under us, and I again decided I wanted to try it.

Finally a couple years later:
(My sister was alread a diver), and about 7 years ago talked us into trying a discover scuba at the gym's pool.

Well, once I was under the water, I was hooked. I immediately signed us both up for scuba lessons, and never looked back.

By the way, a few years ago, we were in Costa Rica, and my wife and I (and my sister) booked the bull shark dive, so my wife is now offically also crazy.

Then