10 scuba diving myths - what's your take?

[Frosty]

hi everyone!

What's your opinion on the following so-called diving misconceptions?

1. scuba diving is an expensive hobby. Compared to what?? I'd spend more on a days racing than i have on my entire rig so far
2. it's risky. Again compared to what ?? Crossing the street? Driving a car?
3. it's complicated.-breath in breath out -swim a bit-hows it complicated??
4. it's for people who don't have a day job.-mehhh its for people who need to relax from a day job
5. it's for men. I guess maybee it is women and men
6. it takes forever to get certified.-really??
7. it allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast).-yea righto
8. it requires you to be good at swimming.-ohh ok one i agree with
9. it increases your risk of being attacked by sharks. Yea like walking on the footpath increases your chances of beeng hit by a car
10. it damages your ears over time. Do what--what was that you said??

thanks as always for sharing your thoughts!

+
sorry --can't hear ya -deaf from divin

 

[Wingy]

1.

5. I don't think that diving is for men. I do see more men than women diving. There are many exceptions but I do think that attached men are more likely to go off diving without the spouse than attached women are to go off diving with instabuddies without the spouse. I am not talking about being on vacation and working in some dives. I am talking about taking off in the car and driving 3 hours to the coast and doing some dives and returning.

I am female and travel solo to dive, not to vacation, but to dive - 17 countries on my own so far and a lot more to go.

1. Expensive is relative - try owning racehorses
2. Everything is Risky - if a proper risk analysis matrix was done housework would be illegal because its too dangerous.
3. With the amount of divers certified worldwide per year it cant be that complicated
4. I have a day job
5. See above
6. Ive seen friends go to the phillipines never having dived and come back AOW + Nitrox in 10 days
7. Relative again - depends on how and where you are diving
8. It certainly helps if you can swim - I cant see how you can be comfortable in the water without being able to swim.
9. I only know one diver who has been attacked by sharks and hes been chewed on twice....its not diving, its him
10. Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber damage your ears in a lot shorter time - 3mins on average.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Scuba diving is an expensive hobby - It can be, but then so can many other hobbies. Also depending on where you are based, and where you take holidays, it can actually work out cheaper than many other technical/equipment intensive pass times. The equipment itself can get pricey, but at entry level you don't need your own full set, and as long as you buy the best you can afford every time you make a new purchase, you will not be disappointed

It's risky - there are elements of risk yes. After all, the underwater world is not one which naturally sustains human life. But that is why there are so many safety measures, back up/redundancy systems, buddy checks and emergency drills. To eliminate as much of that risk as possible. Statistics tend to back up this view, with much fewer reported accidents in diving than in some other sports that are considered 'safer'.

It's complicated - children as young as 10 can take their open water. That should tell you all you need to know about how complicated it is!

It's for people who don't have a day job - Not true - several divers only dive on holidays/weekends

It's for men - I don't know the stats exactly, but I guess its true that on the whole there are more male divers and dive pros out there - but also a lot of women. So no, its not a male sport, and hasn't been for a couple of decades!

It takes forever to get certified - in some holiday destinations courses can take as little as a few days

It allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast) - I think there is lots of margin for error. As long as you dive safely, conservatively, within the scope of your training and abide by all cpu/table limits

It requires you to be good at swimming - 200m swim and 10 min float is all thats required for OW cert. Admittedly most instructors would like a bit more competence than this, but technically not required by standards

It increases your risk of being attacked by sharks - I think surfing increases it more. We've done many dives with sharks over the years - including bull sharks. And none of them seem to have been tempted by a nibble

It damages your ears over time - it shouldn't if you are equalising early and often on descent, ascending slowly, and avoiding diving whilst sick/congested

 

[kwinter]

Argue all you want about numbers 2-10, but #1 is true. Diving is an expensive hobby. The question was not relative. Sure, owning racehorses, airplanes or collecting bejeweled platinum doodads might be more expensive hobbies, but that doesn't diminish the fact that dive equipment is expensive, it needs periodic servicing and updating, and the diving itself can be expensive too. You can minimize it with simple, basic gear, shore dives, no camera, no travel, etc. Just like you could buy some old nag for a few hundred bucks and try to get her ready for the Derby. But you might end up frustrated with your new hobby. Or maybe not. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. I have at least $25K in gear and I'm nowhere near the top of the list of the folks I know. And I don't own a boat.

 

[Rhone Man]

Fun game! I want to play!

1. Scuba diving is an expensive hobby. Yeah, in relative terms, hard to argue.
2. It's risky. Well, more risky than golf, but it isn't exactly base jumping.
3. It's complicated. Nah, not at recreational level. My 10 year can do it.
4. It's for people who don't have a day job. That's just a weird comment....
5. It's for men. Not just men, manly men! Happily on the boats it seems more balanced.
6. It takes forever to get certified. Yep, at least four days.
7. It allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast). I guess I am toast which has been retoasted.
8. It requires you to be good at swimming. Only when the current is ripping! I have seen paraplegics diving.
9. It increases your risk of being attacked by sharks. Well "increased", yes, but by a miniscule amount.
10. It damages your ears over time. Four perforated ear drums so far....

---------- Post added November 11th, 2013 at 05:54 AM ----------

Personally, I think I learned much better scuba myths from watching Into the Blue and The Deep.

1. Scuba divers all look like Jessica Alba / Jacqueline Bisset and Paul Walker.
   
2. Not necessary to wear a wetsuit.
   
3. Water is always crystal clear.
4. Frankly, it is just a matter of time until you find hidden treasure.
5. Sadly that treasure will be adjacent to illegal narcotics.
6. But at least those illegal narcotics haven't been damaged from being underwater.
7. Someone in your group will get the leg eaten by a shark.
8. You can kill someone by turning your tank into a torpedo by knocking off the valve.

 

[Skittl1321]

9.sharks..people pay extra $$$ to just get to see them. Shark sightings are getting as rare as seeing a UFO landing in your backyard..

But scuba diving does increase your risk. I mean, compare the probability of being attacked by a shark while on land. Now compare to the probability while scuba diving. Increased risk.


(And in my opinion scuba diving is an expensive hobby. I can golf locally. I can't dive locally. At minimum I have a few hours drive, mostly though I'll have to take flights. I also ice skate, which is also very expensive, but the first year of scuba diving has cost WAY more. Scuba will be less expensive to keep doing though.)

 

[lamarpaulski]

1. SCUBA is expensive,,,yeah you can buy 2nd hand gear and dive only in the local lake but for most people its pretty costly and the more you get into it the more you tend to spend imho. You probably need a job.

8. You don't have to be a great swimmer but you ought to be comfortable in the water.

9. I guess if the alternative is golf it does increase your risk (albeit slightly) of shark attack. Saw a small leopard shark last nite...he could have attacked me. Luckily, I know Kung Fu.



What's your opinion on the following so-called diving misconceptions?

1. Scuba diving is an expensive hobby.
2. It's risky.
3. It's complicated.
4. It's for people who don't have a day job.
5. It's for men.
6. It takes forever to get certified.
7. It allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast).
8. It requires you to be good at swimming.
9. It increases your risk of being attacked by sharks.
10. It damages your ears over time.

Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts![/QUOTE]

 

[emoreira]

1. Scuba diving is an expensive hobby.
It's not expensive if you do not need to travel long distances and/or fly.
For me it's expensive, as I live far from my nearest dive place.


2. It's risky.
Yes it's risky, as every extreme sport.
Going to work and back in a huge city like the one where I live is also risky.


3. It's complicated.
No, if you learned well, it's not complicated.
Drills should be learned in a way that they become a natural reflex action.


4. It's for people who don't have a day job.
I work to earn the needed money to dive.


5. It's for men.
No. In the school where I learned to dive and I'm now part of the staff, 30 % or more are women.
The owner of the dive school is a woman.


6. It takes forever to get certified.
No. It takes weeks. It takes forever to learn to dive well. You are always learning, as in every aspect of our lives.


7. It allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast).
Not always. You are always making little mistakes, or things that could have been done better.
If you think in a safe way, following the rules, it's as safer as any other sport.


8. It requires you to be good at swimming.
It's better if you are good at swimming.
Good at swimming means that you are comfortable with water, and you are fit.
Being comfortable with water is what you need.
Being fit is better, not only for diving, but for living.


9. It increases your risk of being attacked by sharks.
Yes, sharks are in the water. It's almost impossible to be attacked by a shark playing cards in your backyard a sunday afternoon.


10. It damages your ears over time.
No. if you follow the rules and procedures, if your ears are clean, if you do not dive with a congestion, then no harm to your ears.

 

[CT Sean]

Whose misconceptions are these?

 

[Bob DBF]

1. Scuba diving is an expensive hobby. Has been for me, and I work on my own gear. If you have more money you will just spend more on dive gear. It is a cross between a hobby and an addiction.
2. It's risky. Depends on what you are doing.
3. It's complicated. See #2.
4. It's for people who don't have a day job. As long as they are independently wealthy, see #1.
5. It's for men. Statically.
6. It takes forever to get certified. Took me 17 years of diving before I was certified OW, so that seems true. I hear that divers get certified a lot faster now.
7. It allows for a very little margin of error (make one mistake, and you're toast). Refer to #2 and #3.
8. It requires you to be good at swimming. No, but you are in the water so it might be something to consider.
9. It increases your risk of being attacked by sharks. Refer to #2.
10. It damages your ears over time. Refer to #2 and #3.

Bob
---------------------------------------

That's my point, people, by and large, are not taught that diving can be deadly, they are taught how safe it is, and they are not equipped with the skills, taught and trained to the level required to be useful in an emergency.