Quarry Diving: 500 Dives in a Quarry - Are You SERIOUS???

[herbdb]

Drewski,

You have been on Scuba Board a long time. This thread has been pretty tame. You made some good points, just in a manner that some, including myself found insulting.

I too love ocean diving. We got our first taste of diving down in your area last summer. It was amazing as well as different and challenging. My sons and I did our AOW there.

When I dive with my pony bottle, reel and SMB at Dutch Springs, its not because I think its necessary, but to get used to diving with the gear and to practice using it so next time I do a deeper wreck dive like the U352 I am ready.

Without a doubt the coastal NC diving is challenging and I don't really think anyone with limited experience has any business there without extra training from an instructor or mentor. We used Discovery Dive Center and they did a great job, they also have inexpensive dorm lodging available.

I am planning at least one trip to NC next year after the Gulf Stream swings back west.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Thanks, Bob, I expected more out of you than that.

Please accept my apology for unnecessary roughing ...

I just get so tired of people insulting other people for "doing it differently" ... and I also took your OP to be a slam against quarry divers.

It gets a bit tiring after a while. Diving's supposed to be fun ...and if someone's idea of fun is a day at the quarry, I wish 'em the best time they can possibly have.

People have all sorts of reasons for where, how and why they choose to dive. It'd be really neat to be able to discuss those reasons without making one sound somehow "better" than others ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Drewski]

Hi Guys:

THANK you both for the nice follow-up. Honestly, I wasn't trying to insult anyone, but I did spoof the title of the post to attract attention. If I had done something boring and non-contraversial, we wouldn't be on post #143 right now, LOL. Please accept my apology as well. At times I can come across a little strong, sorry.

HerbdB, if you make it down south again to dive NC, please contact me. I'd really like to dive the U352 with you and if you or your sons would be interested in additional training, please consider me. I'd be happy to let all of you visit and stay with me at my house if you would like, as long as it gets you back to the ocean!

Bob, apology accepted. I've always respected the heck out of your posts. If I came across the wrong way, please accept my apology as well. Same offer to you too, if you get this way, I'd be glad to put you up.

Good diving guys...

Andy

 

[Hank49]

I recall years back while driving through Nebraska seeing signs for a ski area called Nebraski. Thinking it something of a novelty, I stopped to check it out. It was about 200' vertical ... a former landfill, I think. Anyway, I met some folks who had travelled several hours to get there ... they were thrilled with this little mole-hill of a ski area, because it's what they could get to.

Like the quarry divers ... the venue was less important than engaging in an activity they loved doing. So they used what they had ... and were happy to have it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I hear you. But wouldn't you love to be the one dropping them into cobalt blue water with a reef and dropoff under them for the first time. They would be so stoked.

 

[Tortuga James]

Insulting? I find Andy's cheap shameless self promoting post to be offensive, not insulting.

 

[Jaydubya]

The OP seems like an elitist tec diver, looking down his nose and sneering at all of us lesser divers. Yea his attitute made me angry.

I'm sure if you knew Andy you would think differently. He's one of the nicest, least condescending people I've ever met. He's definitely not an elitist. He dives an OMS dual bladder bungied wing for crying out loud

I share his frustration that great trips have to get cancelled for lack of divers. Unfortunately, in 2012, those same great trips won't be made for lack of boats.

 

[herbdb]

Andy,

Thanks for the offer. Our dives last summer really opened our eyes to whats available without stepping on an aircraft. We lost some dives due to weather, but were able to dive the Bedfordshire, the Rockpile, the Spar, the U352, the Suriz and the Ashkabad.

The Spar was my favorite because of all the sand tigers, I hardly looked at the wreck.

Diving Fossil ridge is also on my list for next year. We enjoyed the Cooper River and would like to see what we can find offshore.

For sure, I will seek your advise when we plan our next trip. We will probably bring the motorhome and camp somewhere in the area.

Herb

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I hear you. But wouldn't you love to be the one dropping them into cobalt blue water with a reef and dropoff under them for the first time. They would be so stoked.

I love taking them into the cold, dark environs of Puget Sound for the first time ... it's delightful when someone who's never dived here before comes out of the water with a look of wonder on their face ... and you find out that the creature they were most impressed with is a crab or sea star that those of us who dive here regularly see so often we don't even notice them anymore.

I absolutely encourage people to try different environments ... but if you're not lucky enough to live in a place with great diving, I also encourage them to enjoy what they have. To paraphrase a friend of mine, if you appreciate what you see rather than wish for what you don't see, you'll never have a bad dive ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm sure if you knew Andy you would think differently. He's one of the nicest, least condescending people I've ever met. He's definitely not an elitist. He dives an OMS dual bladder bungied wing for crying out loud

Oh dear ... he's so gonna die ... :shocked2:

I share his frustration that great trips have to get cancelled for lack of divers. Unfortunately, in 2012, those same great trips won't be made for lack of boats.

... and how much of that do you suppose is simply due to an economy where prices keep going up and for most of us wages keep going down?

What you're talking about points to who the real job creators are in this country ... people like you and me who purchase goods and services. When we have to start cutting back on our discretionary spending, businesses fail ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tstormdiver]

The OP seems like an elitist tec diver, looking down his nose and sneering at all of us lesser divers. Yea his attitute made me angry.

I'm a technical diver & as I mention at the beginning of this thread, I dive a quarry all the time, there are conditions down there (deep) that are pretty hostile (cold, dark, murky) to challenge my skills,... maybe not big waves to make deco, entry & exit difficult or any currents to contend with, but still having to deal with what we do is enough to keep me going & sharpen my skills. Also, as stated earlir, I am at least 10 hrs away from anything salt water. I frequently practice Adv. Nitrox/ Deco skills (gas switches, bag deployment, deco or simulated deco, anti- silting techniques) at that quarry & I also practice my cave skills there (lots & lots of rocks to practice tie- offs, Line following drills- just close my eyes). Heck, night diving there seems just like the caves in many respects. With just a little imagination & thinking outside the box, I can practice nearly every tech skill I've been taught. Just because I am land locked & can't get to salt water or caves any more than a few times a year, doesn't make me any less with technical diving. Because of this, I am not offended in any way, yes, perhaps some of the wording could have been different, but I will continue to do as I do, regardless of what anyone else thinks. I would rather keep diving a deep, cold, dark, murky mud pit (as some see it) than not to dive at all. I make my own entertainment, whether it is just diving for fun, practicing skills or the real thing, I have plenty of options. I do not see myself as any more or less than any other Technical diver at my level. Anyone offended by the OP is offended because they want to be.