What inspired you to start diving?

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

Hey ZKY, thanks for starting this thread.
 
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.
 
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 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
 
For me it was Sea Hunt, and even more so, the movie, Creature From the Black Lagoon (I was certified in 1971).

 
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!
 
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
 
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 :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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