How many dives did you manage in 2019 - Recap

[Wurkkos]

So now that 2019 comes to an end, how many dives did you manage throughout the year?

Let us know:

• whether you usually dive at home or on vacation
• predominantly rec or tech
• as a hobby or professionally
• how many you are aiming for and how the year's diving turned out for you
• what your highlight was

I'll end up with 35 dives only, 32 at home (22 boat and 10 shore dives) and 3 boat dives during a spontaneous weekend trip to the GBR. All recreational hobby dives. I generally aim for 2 dives per fortnight on average (call it 50 a year) but have to blame a lot of non-diving overseas and domestic travel, as well as a lot of cancelled boats due to conditions, for falling short of that goal. I missed a lot of the best diving during winter by being away and the start of summer has been generally messed up by winds that ruin visibility and surface conditions. All in all, I still remember a few great dives and my highlight would have to be a dive at Julian Rocks (off Byron Bay, NSW, Australia) back in May with good visibility and two large mantas circling around us for a long time, coming within arm's reach, the bottom littered with nurse and wobbegong sharks.

I really really want to dive but I am very timid, I will try it at a new, start my wonderful dive trip.

 

[rduquesnoy]

Managed to do somewhere between 30 to 35 dives.

10+ in the Netherlands (wreck diving specialty, some training dives and testing our new Santi dry suit). We intended to do more but during the last couple of months we both have had a couple of colds which where quite a dealbreaker.

Then we also did about 20 dives during a holiday in the Philippines. Including 5 wreck dives in Coron which where great.

 

[drrich2]

Let us know:

• whether you usually dive at home or on vacation
• predominantly rec or tech
• as a hobby or professionally
• how many you are aiming for and how the year's diving turned out for you
• what your highlight was

Haven't read what others posted yet. In a nutshell:

1.) I mainly dive on vacation. Living in southwestern KY there's a really nice dive quarry close by...but it's a quarry, and I like ocean diving!
2.) All rec. - I have no technical training or certifications.
3.) I aim for at least 30 dives/year, prefer 50, so 40's a good middle number.
4.) Highlight was at dive's end at Windsock in Bonaire watching a manta (or maybe devil ray? Jury's still out about that) swim past. Only one I've ever seen.

When I contemplate dive vacations, I've got 2 main choices.

1.) A scuba trip disguised as a family vacation (wife's terminology) - such as the Jan. 2019 Scuba Board Surge trip to Curacao. I 'only' got 10 dives in, but my wife, our little girl and my mother-in-law got to enjoy a tropical Caribbean vacation week, too, and it exposed our daughter to Curacao. I want her to grow up fairly well travelled regionally, and enjoying the Caribbean.

2.) A Solo scuba trip - where the goal is to 'dive the crap out of it.' My 8-day 'week' trip to Bonaire Oct. 2019 saw 30 dives.

There is value and blessing in both approaches.

 

[rongoodman]

About 75 dives, only rec these days, all abroad on liveaboards. Highlight of the year was rainy season out at Cocos Island with schooling hammerheads and a whale shark, looking forward to my first trip to Socorro in April.

 

[Paul M]

• 54 dives this year, avg 80min/dive.
• Usually dive near home and Tobermory. Most recent dive was Saturday 4°C.
• Vacation dives in Australia and Dominican this year. Upcoming vacation diving in Dominican Republic and caving in Mexico this January and March.
• All rec
• All as a hobby
• Every dive has a highlight of some sort. Diving under the ice last Saturday was the most recent highlight as the sun shone down brightly from above.

 

[Divegoose]

110 dives this year. Only got 19 in Cozumel this year - head cold at the end of the trip kept me out of the water. Majority are local shore dives, but each one presents an opportunity to see something different. With a new underwater camera system I have been learning photography. Looking forward to many dive adventures in 2020 including a trip to Cozumel in late March with my dive buddies from Sharky's in Ottawa.

Dive safe everyone !!

Divegoose

 

[KentB]

76 dives for me. averaging 72 min. With my new longest dive at 150 min

Usually local diving with 1 liveaboard in Red Sea this year
Hobby
Mix of tech and rec diving just got into tech diving this year

2020 will top those numbers I think.
I have a liveaboard in the Maldives in February and another in the Red Sea in May.
I want to do a lot more tec dives in 2020

 

[Blues Runner]

Recreational, warm water diver. Completed 70 dives for the year. Most memorable dives of the year were with Oceanic Manta Rays & Napoleon Wrasse in Raja Ampat.

Bonaire in April
Key Largo in June
Grand Cayman in July
Raja Ampat in October

Diving is great for the soul!

My favorite pictures from the year are below.

Eagle Ray - Bonaire

Frog Fish - Bonaire

Squid - Bonaire

Anemone - Grand Cayman

Sting Ray - Grand Cayman

Reef Shark - Grand Cayman

Oceanic Manta Ray - Raja Ampat

Napoleon Wrasse - Raja Ampat

Wobbegong Shark - Raja Ampat

Mandarin Fish - Raja Ampat

 

[barth]

In 2019 I did run the Rotterdam marathon.

When I finished the marathon in april I tried to do as much trainingdives with doubles and 2 stages as possible.

In may I went one week to France for cavediving. I did one dive a day. That was enough for me. The longest (and deepest) dive was 138 minutes,

In June till oktober I did only local diving (fresh and saltwater). One or two dives a week.

In november I did ccr1 in Egypt (JJ rebreather). I did 15 training dives and 2 days of 2 boat dives.

In december I did 1 oc dive and 8 rebreather dives (and will do 3 dives more).

the total number of dives in 2019 is 73 dives and will be 76 dives.

Most of the dives were rec dives or deco dives with ean32 backgas (+ oxygen deco stage).

Next year I want to do more trimix dives and diving in mines and caves. The amount of dives is not a goal for me. I want to do more tech and cavediving. And I want to do more 2 and 3 hours dives.

 

[STIDVC]

Very early 100s, all rec dives and on vacation/course. Aimed for 150 but meh.