Absolute "Minimalist" Diving.

[Eric Sedletzky]

I confess that in Fiji I along with a friend each took a 30 cu ft cyllinder with 1st and second stage and spg, swim suit only, holing the tank under an arm, and dove at about 20 feet for 20 minutes collecting good thing to eat. we stayed within toughing distance, had a ball, and never repeated the process in the ocean. I have done the same thing in a pool to retrieve toays and ytools left in the pool after a class. Does that count? BTW, I am a trained and insured professional.
DivemasterDennis

I dove in Lake Tahoe doing exactly what you are describing.
I would snorkel behind my kayak pushing it along and when I would see something interesting on the bottom in about 30 feet (the vis in Tahoe is easy 100 ft) I would grab my 30 CF pony that I had rigged with a strap and a MK2/R190. I would just hold it and dive down to retrieve whatever it was a I saw. I scored a big Marlboro beach towel that is still may favorite dive towel and a bunch of golf balls. The crawfish were abundant too.
But there's not much difference in doing that to just putting a 72 on your back with straps and doing the same thing.

But yeah, I would say you touched into a minimalist diving in Fiji.
And It was fun wasn't it?
Did you miss the BC or feel you needed one?

 

[rx7diver]

Happy to give this thread a slight bump. Other current/recent SB threads pertain to $1,500 LED/HID dive lights and dive computers which cost at least as much. I hope this thread gives new divers a bit of perspective: The sometimes very expensive, specialized equipment is not something basic open water divers usually require. Basic open water diving can be cost-reasonable.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[maniago]

The sometimes very expensive, specialized equipment is not something basic open water divers usually require.

I would re-write that as "Very expensive, specialized equip for very expensive, specialized people...or more likely, those that feel that they need to try to be like very expensive, specialized people".

Either way, I'm neither and I suspect I'm not alone.

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

I find it interesting that there is actually a name for this diving. I started diving in the early seventies and for ten years I dove with just the basics. I was high rolling when I first got a BC. We memorized the tables and new how much time our steel 72's would give us at our hunting depth. We would suck our tanks dry either holding on to the anchor line near the boat or in very shallow water on a shore dive. Adventure-Ocean

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Well, there didn't used to be a name for it , it was just good old "diving".
Now diving is so fragmented and political it almost needs a name just to differentiate it and describe it as it really is. What it was, very minimal, only what's needed. It worked then and it works now.
But I get a kick out of these new age zealots that say it's "cowboy" and "unsafe" blah blah blah. I suppose if you don't know what your doing it could be unsafe. If you are a gear slave and count on all the new crap to get you through a dive then I suppose it would be unsafe. It wasn't unsafe then because people didn't have all the toys and learned to dive without it, they didn't have a choice. They had to be fit and were trained to expect the unexpected. That's what harassment was all about, an excercise in dealing with adverse conditions and the unexpected, and staying calm and thinking your way through it that was the purpose. Not just because the instructors were a bunch of sadistic A-holes, there was a reason.

When people sucked their tanks dry it wasn't an Oh sh-t moment, they were expecting it and it was no big deal. They payed attention to depth and time and usually were finishing their dive if or when that happened.

Even if someone doesn't plan on practicing minimalism in whatever form, I think it's a very valuable excercise to educate people how good they have it these days and how much modern gear covers up the lack of skills of many modern day divers.

I also think modern scuba training should focus first on thorough skin diving skills before they are allowed to certify or even try scuba, but that will never happen.

But what do I know, I'm classified as an "extremist" on SB.
I don't know why I waste my time here. I see my exit from this board coming up very soon.

 

[DaleC]

In keeping with the minimalist theme of this thread I'll refrain writing and just offer this Public service announcement:

[video=youtube;QpsR3EBysg8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsR3EBysg8[/video]

 

[drbill]

I once saw a "diver" in our local dive park and I immediately recognized there was something wrong. It actually took me more than a few seconds to recognize he did not have a tank on his BCD and his regulator was trailing behind him. It wasn't until he returned to dry land, attached his tank and tried to submerge that I realized he had also forgotten his weight belt! Now I'm wondering if he was just testing to see how "minimalist" he could be... and still survive!

 

[mala]

less really is more.

Every dive i do i am minimalist-sometimes its a rebreather and multiple stages and sometimes its a snorkle and mask.

In the good old days there was a lot more minimalist diving because ..well the amount of kit available was minimal.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I would re-write that as "Very expensive, specialized equip for very expensive, specialized people...or more likely, those that feel that they need to try to be like very expensive, specialized people".

Either way, I'm neither and I suspect I'm not alone.

To me it's disturbing to see divers with 50 dives getting brainwashed by the very expensive people with very expensive gear to be just like them.
Before you know it they have a few grand in "special expensive" training, and several more grand in drysuits, can lights, scooters, doubles, stage bottles, 6 or more high end reg sets, maybe even a compressor, and on and on so they can dive with their very expensive friends.

That's a frikin' down payment on a house man!

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

To me it's disturbing to see divers with 50 dives getting brainwashed by the very expensive people with very expensive gear to be just like them.
Before you know it they have a few grand in "special expensive" training, and several more grand in drysuits, can lights, scooters, doubles, stage bottles, 6 or more high end reg sets, maybe even a compressor, and on and on so they can dive with their very expensive friends.

That's a frikin' down payment on a house man!

In defense of tech divers, If you're diving deep wrecks, etc, then you probably need all that crap. Ironically, the people doing the longest, deepest dives with all those stage and deco bottles are usually the same ones with 30 year old fins, a $32 webbing harness and $100 computer that just shows depth & time.

As others have said, minimalism in practice really just means "take what you need for the dive, nothing more".