Divers without Diving... How do you do it?

[boulderjohn]

Colorado annually has among the highest number of divers per capita in the nation. Our state motto is that we are just a plane flight away from great scuba.

Blue Hole isn't ideal for anything other then training, but rock lake is a lot bigger. Unfortunately it has access issues,...

Rock Lake is a great dive site, and not just because of its size and depth. It has beautiful rock formations and other features to explore. I have been diving there for about 10 years and am looking forward to a summer of exploration of areas I have never visited.

The access issue is that you have to be under the supervision of an approved instructor. That does not mean you have to be diving with that instructor--you just have to be there with that instructor and can't go on your own. There are a number of such instructors you can hook up with. (I am one of them.)

Unfortunately, I learned this weekend that a dive shop in Albuquerque lost access to the lake recently because of a flagrant violation of the owner's rules for use. That is the reason that everyone I know who has access follows those rules religiously.

 

[KevinNM]

Unfortunately, I learned this weekend that a dive shop in Albuquerque lost access to the lake recently because of a flagrant violation of the owner's rules for use. That is the reason that everyone I know who has access follows those rules religiously.

Which shop?

 

[billt4sf]

We moved to Bali to live for a few years so we could be near great diving. From where we chose to live, it's a 2+ hour drive to dive. If we go there, we go for at least a few days as accommodations are cheap.

Before we moved to Bali, we lived in San Francisco. Diving was 2.5 hours away in Monterey, but after struggling with it for some time, we decided that cold water diving wasn't for us. We thought about moving to the Caribbean and all, but let's face it - the diving is much better in the Coral Triangle.

It's surprising how much you can do (and have to do) over the internet to deal with that part of our lives in the Good Ol' US of A.

After all is said and done, we did about 150 dives in 9 months. Raja Ampat is incredible ! And I wonder how long it is going to last....

- Bill & Emily

 

[Schwob]

We moved to Bali to live for a few years so we could be near great diving. From where we chose to live, it's a 2+ hour drive to dive. If we go there, we go for at least a few days as accommodations are cheap.

Before we moved to Bali, we lived in San Francisco. Diving was 2.5 hours away in Monterey, but after struggling with it for some time, we decided that cold water diving wasn't for us. We thought about moving to the Caribbean and all, but let's face it - the diving is much better in the Coral Triangle.

It's surprising how much you can do (and have to do) over the internet to deal with that part of our lives in the Good Ol' US of A.

After all is said and done, we did about 150 dives in 9 months. Raja Ampat is incredible ! And I wonder how long it is going to last....

- Bill & Emily

How did you figure out the (for you) right balance between proximity to diving (reason you moved there) and "where you want to live"? Asking, because a 2h commute one way to dive surprised me, considering you moved there to dive. So, the reasoning, if you can share, is probably quite interesting.

 

[billt4sf]

How did you figure out the (for you) right balance between proximity to diving (reason you moved there) and "where you want to live"? Asking, because a 2h commute one way to dive surprised me, considering you moved there to dive. So, the reasoning, if you can share, is probably quite interesting.

Well...yeah...we thought about moving to areas in Bali right on the coast (like Amed or Padang Bai) with the thought of "we can dive every day" but they did not have enough services or things to do as where we moved to (Ubud). In the end you spend a couple hours in the water max, and many more on land, so...that's what worked for us. And the really GREAT diving is in Raja Ampat or other islands anyway.

There's no perfect spot. Life is all about compromises. We love living in Bali, but please don't tell me it's "paradise".

- Bill

 

[boulderjohn]

Which shop?

No idea. The owner's son told the story, and he did not know.

 

[Scubamat]

I live in Darwin on the coast but limit diving. Due to big tides you can only dive a couple of days a month and even then you will have to deal with current and surge. Due to big wet and above tides the harbour is full of silt with crap viz. Most fresh water is out due to snapping handbags ( crocodiles) wanting to eat you. How do I dive? Cheap flights to Bali with cheap accommodation combined with 6 weeks annual leave a year.

 

[AlmightyApkallu]

Southeastern Florida has a range of underwater topography types; Jupiter, Blue Heron Bridge, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale (by the Sea for shore diving), Key Largo & on down the Keys...let's say you move there. A question only you can answer; about how many dives would you look to do at each one, per year, after you'd been there a couple of years & got past the 'honeymoon' phase of living there? Keeping in mind boat diving costs money...

Thank you everyone very much for all the replies! I wanted more than anything though to respond to this, as it's something I gave a lot of thought too. Yes, what happens when the honeymoon phase wears off? Then what? Well here's the thing. I've lived near the coast before and watched surfers surf the same break, day in and day out for years and years and love every day of it as if it was their first. I've done some other hobbies in my life as well which has a similar experience to them, where you might be in the same area but just the act of doing it is fantastic and therapeutic. I guess such can be said for a lot of things in life. The thing is, SE Florida has a TON of shore diving sites. So many places from Lauderdale by the Sea, to BHB, to Boca Raton, Pompano, different inlets and jetties. Sure, you'll probably EVENTUALLY dive them all, but then there's 100x that amount in boat diving. Now, what ABOUT the cost of boat diving? Good point. In SE Florida it's fairly cheap since there's so much of it and so much competition. Not to mention most places have discounts for "frequent divers." Compared to a lot of other hobbies I can see boat diving for 2 twice a month as still being less than a lot of other things, not to mention the shore diving you can do in between.

Not only that, but all the sites in the keys and all the springs that are a day drive or less as well as the Panhandle, not to mention the entire Caribbean which is not only a short but also inexpensive flight away from Miami. As far as diving goes this is why I think the "Miami Metro" including Broward county would be an ideal place for a diver to live. Not to mention that for me, I LOVE living by the coast (been there and done that). I love being near the water, I love boating, kayaking, sailing and fishing. I love how lush Florida is and when all is said and done I absolutely love spending an afternoon just hanging out at the beach.

All this in mind is why I've so closely considered it. I think when you really love something you don't get past the "honeymoon phase" just like when you really love a person! It just get better and more meaningful with time

 

[AlmightyApkallu]

Colorado annually has among the highest number of divers per capita in the nation. Our state motto is that we are just a plane flight away from great scuba.


Rock Lake is a great dive site, and not just because of its size and depth. It has beautiful rock formations and other features to explore. I have been diving there for about 10 years and am looking forward to a summer of exploration of areas I have never visited.

The access issue is that you have to be under the supervision of an approved instructor. That does not mean you have to be diving with that instructor--you just have to be there with that instructor and can't go on your own. There are a number of such instructors you can hook up with. (I am one of them.)

Unfortunately, I learned this weekend that a dive shop in Albuquerque lost access to the lake recently because of a flagrant violation of the owner's rules for use. That is the reason that everyone I know who has access follows those rules religiously.

I looked at some videos of Rock Lake and it looks like a really interesting dive site. Between the blue hole and that, living in Albuquerque as a diver is seeming less bad. I don't mind cold water, we're set up for it. That's too bad that one of the local shops lost access. I can't imagine what they did to merit that but if it is privately owned I would probably do whatever the land owners ask, I'm guessing it's nothing too crazy and probably has to do with things like alcohol, fireworks and what time of day you use it, all of which are understandable. I'd love to look you up some day and dive there if I end up in Albuquerque and the offer still stands, plus it is always fun to meet and dive with other people, especially who are in the same region.

Thanks John!

 

[stretchthepenn]

I've always had to pick-and-choose what was available. When I lived in Phoenix, I wasn't rich, but my expenses were low, so I took at least one liveaboard trip per year to Catalina or the Channel Islands. When I lived in Lubbock, I was usually flat broke and had almost no personal time, so I dived the three freshwater locations within a few hours' driving distance: the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, "Dive Valhalla" outside Abilene, and Balmorhea State Park. Now that I'm in Atlanta and less poverty-stricken, I sometimes drive to the Redneck Riviera (the FL panhandle) and have taken longer trips to southern FL, but I go to the local quarry almost every weekend during the summer and whenever it's open during the off-season. Basically, I dive what I can when I can.