I selected "other". I want to take some technical diving courses but I don't think I will be a technical diver. I like the idea of learning new things not only for the sake of the knowledge but also to apply in my recreational diving.
Happy to always dive advanced within recreational limits, forever ? [Poll]
- Thread starter Roger Hobden
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I'm the one who picked N/A because this question was directed toward advanced divers, which I don't consider myself to be. But my answer would be something a little more than 50-50, just not soon. I had a taste of cavern diving in Mexico (Cenote Dos Ojos) and the merest whiff of wreck diving off Catalina (couple little things like a sailboat, glass bottom boat, sunken swim platform, nothing you could penetrate), and would like some more, please. I also just tried out a bp/w for the first time and liked it a lot better than a jacket-style BCD, and I signed up to take GUE Fundamentals (part 1 only for now) this summer. I'm grappling with what kind of instruction to seek out and when to get further instruction vs just diving, but I'm doing it with the idea that I want to go further, eventually.
TrimixToo
Contributor
For what little it's worth, I'll say that technical diving is Not That Hard. I truly don't understand the mystique that's been built around it, but maybe I'm just a product of my early training.
There are new skills to learn and practice. There is more to think about and plan for and more equipment involved, but you can choose how hard to make it and how far to go. The critical things, in my opinion, are being able to think about things the right way and do the right things when the dive goes pear-shaped.
That said, if you are the kind of person who might run out of gas in the middle of Montana, in the winter time, when the temperature is -40, there is no cell phone coverage, and you are 50 miles from the nearest help, technical diving is not for you. To take an expression from automobile racing, "other sports beckon."
There are new skills to learn and practice. There is more to think about and plan for and more equipment involved, but you can choose how hard to make it and how far to go. The critical things, in my opinion, are being able to think about things the right way and do the right things when the dive goes pear-shaped.
That said, if you are the kind of person who might run out of gas in the middle of Montana, in the winter time, when the temperature is -40, there is no cell phone coverage, and you are 50 miles from the nearest help, technical diving is not for you. To take an expression from automobile racing, "other sports beckon."
Bob DBF
Contributor
I chose other, as I did my time in deco and deep back when it was just advanced diving, with air as the only choice of gas. Since then I have a broader view of recreational diving than is promulgated at this time. So I am happy diving within recreational limits as I see them.
Bob
Bob
2airishuman
Contributor
I have the most fun on easy dives.
I dive because it's fun. I like long dives. I like solo dives. My idea of a really good dive is one where I can enjoy the topography and the aquatic life for at least a hour then surface. My idea of a good day spent diving is to have a couple of great dives and then go do something else.
I have other interests and am unwilling to spend silly money on training, travel, gas, rebreathers, etc. If I wanted a $2500 a month hobby I'd take up sport aviation again.
I might take AN/DP some day if I come across an instructor who I like who trains in a location that I want to see. And if I already have a drysuit. And the wind isn't right for sailing that week.
I have identified in myself a tendency to pursue advanced skills for their own sake and find that it is possible to ruin a perfectly good activity by making it too hard.
The poll results are numerically interesting. There is essentially an equal split between ‘already do’ and ‘will do as soon as possible’ on one hand – combined, they account for 47.8% of responses - and ‘probably not’ and ‘no way’ on the other – combined percentage is 47.7%.
I think that the divergence of responses probably reflects a basic divergence among divers, in the reasons that they dive. Some people dive primarily to ‘see’ things – they are attracted by the beauty of the underwater world, by continuing to expand their body of visual experience beneath the surface. Others dive primarily to ‘do’ things – they are attracted by the precision of diving, by the gear, by ‘nailing’ a skill (buoyancy control and trim, for example) on every dive, etc.
Both are equally valid reasons for diving. Of course there is cross-over, so it is not an either-or issue. But, for the majority of divers I know, there is a primary reason. I can go to Bonaire, for a week and do 25 dives at 60 feet, see lots of critters, and thoroughly enjoy myself. But, my primary reason for diving is skill mastery, and even when I am seeing critters, and I working on my backfinning technique, or on my breathing. My wife has no particular interest in the technical issues of gear, and could care less about exploring deep (>130 feet) wrecks, but she is fascinated by what she sees.
Technical diving is relatively expensive, and requires additional training. As noted, it is really not that ‘hard’, but it can certainly be laborious - gearing up for the dive, long deco stops, the simple act of getting back on a boat with a set of double 130’s on your back.
For those that do it, it is worth it. But, for others, there is really no point.
I think that the divergence of responses probably reflects a basic divergence among divers, in the reasons that they dive. Some people dive primarily to ‘see’ things – they are attracted by the beauty of the underwater world, by continuing to expand their body of visual experience beneath the surface. Others dive primarily to ‘do’ things – they are attracted by the precision of diving, by the gear, by ‘nailing’ a skill (buoyancy control and trim, for example) on every dive, etc.
Both are equally valid reasons for diving. Of course there is cross-over, so it is not an either-or issue. But, for the majority of divers I know, there is a primary reason. I can go to Bonaire, for a week and do 25 dives at 60 feet, see lots of critters, and thoroughly enjoy myself. But, my primary reason for diving is skill mastery, and even when I am seeing critters, and I working on my backfinning technique, or on my breathing. My wife has no particular interest in the technical issues of gear, and could care less about exploring deep (>130 feet) wrecks, but she is fascinated by what she sees.
Technical diving is relatively expensive, and requires additional training. As noted, it is really not that ‘hard’, but it can certainly be laborious - gearing up for the dive, long deco stops, the simple act of getting back on a boat with a set of double 130’s on your back.
For those that do it, it is worth it. But, for others, there is really no point.
nippurmagnum
Contributor
I voted "hell no." There is ALWAYS going to be some cool wreck just beyond the reach of divers -- whether technical or not -- because diving only gets you down to a few hundred feet at the most, just a tiny sliver of the ocean, really. And yet there is so much to explore in the 140 foot range. The law of diminishing returns applies strongly here. Do the bragging rights associated with going just a little deeper than everyone else justify the additional expense, hassle, and opportunity costs?
Wrecks are unique, not like reefs. If diving famous historical wrecks is your big thing, and there is a specific wreck on your bucket list, it's at the depth it's at. Saying you will be satisfied with shallower wrecks doesn't cut it when the wreck you have in your sights has a unique history, and that's what interests you.
- Messages
- 17,334
- Reaction score
- 13,743
- # of dives
- 100 - 199
IOW, you - like I - agree completely with @Colliam7 's thesis that it's all up to what the individual diver wants to get out of their diving. For some of us - like me - it just ain't worth the effort and cost, for others it's absolutely worth the effort and cost.
Similar threads
