"if you can dive here, you can dive anywhere"

I am presently reading "The First 130 Feet" and will have a critical review in the Books and Media forum at some point.

As I was reading the book this morning, I came across the author's observation about diving in the northeast. To paraphrase because of conditions at the quarry where he was conducts classes that include cold water, depth, low visiblity, etc; he states that if you learn to dive here, you can dive anywhere.

I am always intrigued by this claim as it would appear to apply to several locations and is often made in several locations. I have heard that said and said it about central California because of water temperature, high surf entries and exits, and sometimes low visibility; the Great Lakes because of similar conditions the author cites for the northeast, and of course, Alaska. I have been diving in three out of the four locations (haven't made it to the northeast yet and probably won't).

I recall being on a boat dive in Lake Superior a few years ago. Not usually diving in fresh water and an aluminum tank, I asked the shop owner and boat operator about proper weighting. On overhearing the conversation, a diver from Wisconsin related about the rigors of diving in the Great Lakes, especially cold water, low visibility, and deep water. When he asked me where I did most of my diving, I responded matter of factly "a fjiord off Prince William Sound in Alaska during the winter, that is when visibility is the best" which quickly ended the discussion as the diver retreated to his group.

Every place has its own challenges and advantages. I try never take local conditions as being worse or better than what I encounter at home, just different. Even Florida diving has its challenges.

any thoughts?

Any thought... ANYBODY who views diving in a quarry as the most challenging diving environment is a DORK.

Cold, dark and deep can represent significant challenges, but seriously???

I often hear a similar statement that "if you can dive in Melbourne, you can dive anywhere". People use the same reasons, it's cold, low vis, often high current etc etc. and many of the wrecks are deep.

I will say that diving to 70ft here feels less comfortable than diving to 140ft in the tropics. But maybe that just means i need to buy a drysuit.

While I haven't dove lake Superior, I would definitely say that California an New England divers (anywhere in the Northeast, really) can certainly hold their own when diving elsewhere. I suspect the same is true of Alaska. I'm speaking specifically of ocean dives.

I don't think that it's an exclusive statement that diving in California is the hardest diving around - but I would definitely think that if you can safely and routinely manage those conditions you'll fare just fine most other places...

Quarry diving doesn't seem like it'd have the variety in conditions that other places might have...

You hear the phrase a lot in a lot of walks of life. I think it was first said about New York: "Hey, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!". It is just an expression. Not literally true. War torn Somalia presents entirely different challenges from downtown Manhattan.

While quarry diving can often be quite cold (I've dived in 42 F water in a quarry) and low viz, I don't think I'd ever say "if you can dive here you can dive anywhere" to any quarry diving. That will automatically discount currents , tides, proximity to/from shore that could create added anxiety/stress, and so many other things. Now, about the Pacific NW or the Northeast coastal diving I'd say it's a reasonable assertion but I have no experience in either location so I couldn't say for sure.

The only similarities between a quarry, and Northeast diving is the temp, and vis. Diving off Jersey, you can have 50 foot vis, or 5 foot. No current, or current so strong you get your ass knocked around the wreck. And that can be on the same dive!

It always amazes me how much ego powers Scuba,

I am reminded of a death a few years ago here in Key Largo. A Great Lakes diver, used to aluminums and a dry suit dove a steel tank in a shorty. Her death demonstrates that you should never assume your experiences, no matter how arduous, will prepare you for avery situation. Such arrogance is deadly.

Moreover, learning to dive in the great PNW does not prepare you for cave or tech diving. different conditions require a different approach.

I don't think that experience in one place means you can dive anywhere.

However, I do think that people who dive in more challenging locations will have a lot more flexibility than those who don't.

For example, I did a weekend trip to North Carolina last year. The boat I was on had mostly "blue water" divers who were used to 40+ vis. Unfortunately, there had been a hurricane just recently that had reduced the vis to 10. I'm used to that, been diving to that depth, with that vis ever since I finished AOW. Had 2 great dives in fact. Other divers were hanging on to the anchor line for dear life on dive 1 and many opted out of dive 2. The LDS cancelled the rest of the weekend.

Oh well... was still a lot of fun!

dumpsterDiver:

Any thought... ANYBODY who views diving in a quarry as the most challenging diving environment is a DORK.

Cold, dark and deep can represent significant challenges, but seriously???

Click to expand...

I don't always find myself agreeing with dumpsterDiver, but this time, he sure is right.

Good diving, Craig