Who was born or lived near water

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

...has done it for me.

We moved to Florida 2 1/2 years ago from Chicago and Canada before that. Moving south we started getting in to the beach and renting boats when we could, loving the outdoors and being on the water - especially in the winter.

We managed to snag a cheap cruise last spring and we took an "Experience Scuba" resort course during a stop on Grand Cayman. After that wonderful experience we came back determined to get certified and have the ability to dive all the time.

Though my wife doesn't dive, she figured this would be cheaper than letting me buy my own boat. It's worked...so far.

Marc

 

[Drew Sailbum]

I was born and raised in them thare hills o' Ten-e-see. That's a mighty fer drive to anything bigger than the local Ce-ment pond.

I never actually saw the ocean until I was well into high school. Later I went to university at UW-Madison which is right on a lake where I learned to dive, sail and windsurf. Now I live on the shore of Grand Cayman. I think I'm seeing a trend developing.

 

[trymixdiver]

yeah i grew up in Auckland, NZ then moved to So. California. My dad was a diver in NZ and he would dive while we fished. His diving got me interested into SCUBA.

Andy

 

[Juls64]

and swam alot. Whether it was in pools or lakes or at the beach at Galveston or South Padre. I grew up with a love of the water. I've been in Illinois for a number of years now but the "waterbaby" in me lives on.

I guess it is sort of natural progression that I take up scuba diving now. Had to wait til the kids were old enough and I could afford it.

Yes, I'm sure living near water was the foundation.

Juls

 

[seaangel]

Most definitely! I was born and grew up in Key West. Water surrounded me all my life. I went to the beach all the time. As a child we had family picnics, church outtings and camping trips all the time on the beach, especially on the keys. As a teenager, we spend weekends swimming, snorkelling, fishing, boating and skiing all the time. In the summer it was daily. I always wanted to learn to dive but, my mother thought it was not something for girls to do. I learned to swim from the pier when my Dad took me their and taught me. I have always loved pools too. I spent some time in the summers in Georgia, where we would go to the lake swimming and boating.

I began dating my husband to be when in high school and he really is the one that got me into snorkeling. He use to help to catch tropicals for the pet shop to sell for aquariums, and he had his own aquarium. My older brother had an aquarium and he would also snorkel with us.

After marriage we lived at Vandenberg AFB, CA on the coast. Water was big part of our free time there. We loved to walk the beach and fish. Never spent too much time in the water, we though it to be too cold. When he got out the Air Force we moved back to Key West and started our family. Fate moved us away to where I live now, ocean still in driving distance, we have a lake and river here. But, it was after our vacation in Aruba snorkeling and the opportunity to go to Hawaii that I finally decided I had to dive. Every time we had gone somewhere on vacation and snorkeled I would say I really want to scuba dive so I can be closer to the fish and marine life, I want to be there with them not floating on top. So, I told my husband with or without him I was going to get certified. It has been without him, but he is supportive of my love for diving and knows how much pleasure I get from it. I can't imagine life without the being in or near water.

 

[wheezy]

I actually grew up on a very small Island... although not an isolated island, being surrounded by water you whole life I think does make a difference in your comfort level in the water.

I've been drawn to the ocean since I was just a small child. Surfing and diving are just a normal part of life for me....

 

[sharkfin]

I was born in the hospital, but the house i grew up in overlook the straits of johore. I am pretty much surrounded by water my entire life...
shouldn't I? I am in Singapore.

 

[Liquid]

Who was the last in my family's line to be born more than 2KM away from sea.

He was born in poland, in a little jewish village, hundreds of KM away from sea, but he knew what he wanted to be. So first stop was the french navy, than merchant marine, than an officer of a merchant ship, owned by (what was called at the time) a "Palesitine-Israel" company (it was before WWII, when the place was under british protectorate). When WWII started the german captain was kicked and grandpa got a quick promotion to be the first pseudo-Israely captain of a pseudo-Israely ship.

I guess that this kind of family history does commit the offsprings, so my fother was also in the merchant marine, and my aunt almost became the first woman-officer in merchant marine (she decided it isn't for her aventualy).

With that linage in mind, not wanting to be sailors ( a lot of hard work... ) my brother and I each went to our seperate sea careers- Me, a scuba instructor, he a seriouse surfer in the israely team.

 

[Butch103]

so, m parents always knew where to look for me if I was missing...somewhere, even a puddle swimming. I started ata very early age, (before I could walk), and the rest is history. A few years ago my wife for my birthday, my wife surprised me with a OW course for my present. She knew I always wanted to dive, and so.......But has it cost her since..LOL .....

BTW ..Liquid ...isn't "a serious surfer" an oxymoron? hehehe..

and I love the history lesson you gave us. Very intriguing.

 

[Cave Diver]

For me, it all started with my parents.

They were both born and raised in Grand Cayman, but when they married, they moved here in search of better opportunities. At that time, Cayman was not the mecca of economic wealth it is today.

As a family, we would make a trip there almost every summer to visit relatives. Grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. I always loved playing in the sand which was everywhere (not just the beach) and the time I spent in the crystal clear water.

We lived there for a while two different times during my childhood. I would come home from school, get changed and run out in the water to swim and snorkel. I literally spent hours each day in the water til I looked like a prune.

The idea of SCUBA fascinated me, but I was too young to learn at that time. On later trips, I always talked about learning while I was out there, but we never seemed to find the time.

Finally, after years of saying "some day" my best friend prompted me to call up a LDS and inquire about lessons. They had classes starting the next week, so I marched straight down there and signed both of us up.

Needless to say, I haven't looked back since. My only regret is that I didn't do it 15 years ago...