40 years later...

[Bob DBF]

Bob I'm flattered you would quote me.

I quote all kinds of folks whenever I feel it's appropriate. I'll be in your neck of the woods at the end of the month for my moms birthday so I might try harassing you in person, keep an eye on your 6.



Bob
--------------------------
The most important thing to plan when solo diving is to make sure that you are not diving with an idiot. Dsix36

 

[AfterDark]

I quote all kinds of folks whenever I feel it's appropriate. I'll be in your neck of the woods at the end of the month for my moms birthday so I might try harassing you in person, keep an eye on your 6.



Bob
--------------------------
The most important thing to plan when solo diving is to make sure that you are not diving with an idiot. Dsix36

I'd be very disappointed if you didn't touch base when you're here in RI! Diving a possibility?

 

[Stoo]

Bob I'm flattered you would quote me.

But ain't it the truth... to quote the old guy I was talking to yesterday (who used to dive alone on his homemade 02 rebreather, at depths WAY beyond what we all believe today should have killed him...). "The didn't invent "safe" for quite a few years after I started diving."

Another guy I interviewed who started diving in '55 also on a rebreather, said that it wasn't really all that uncommon for guys to black out on those contraptions, and it was really "THAT" that led to the development of the buddy system. Haul him up, slap him back into consciousness, and head back down again...

Back when men were men... Sheesh.

---------- Post added May 1st, 2014 at 09:00 PM ----------

Congratulations!

I am curious though, as Canada was converting to metric during this time, at what point (if any) did you start logging dives in metric?

I still dive in Imperial units... In truth, when I'm driving, speed limit signs are metric, my speedometer is metric, but I still sometimes "convert and then convert back". I am very comfortable with metric, but I suppose I was schooled in Imperial, so that's what sticks best. My kids, on the other hand, don't really know what a "yard" is...

You might have also noticed on my log, that my tank "capacity" was 71.2 pounds. Apparently I wasn't paying attention during the "PSI/cu.ft." class...

There have been tons of threads lately about the PADI-fication of diving and "over-coursing" in training these days. My first log book reminds me that my 7th dive was an ice dive (no course) and my 12th dive (the following spring) I was working in a harbour building piers as a DIVER... Hydraulic chain saws, drills and routers in black, polluted water... (no training).

Ugh.

 

[abnfrog]

So for those of you that are new to diving, I wanted to share this milestone with you.

This Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of my first open-water dive. As you can see from my log, it was a total of 11 minutes long, but it was the beginning of what has turned out to be a grand adventure. Some 5000 dives later, "diving" is without a doubt, the most important "thing" in my life, and continues to be to this day. It's through diving that I have met almost all of my closest friends, consumed vast amounts of money, let me travel all over the place, and at times, allowed me to earn my living.

There are a bunch of people on this Board that have been diving much longer than I have been, and I interviewed a guy yesterday for a presentation I'm doing, who started diving in 1955, on a home-made 02 rebreather. His first dry-suit cost him... wait for it... $22.95! The changes in equipment over these years have been astonishing. I remember my Instructor holding up a tiny little inflatable vest, and with considerable disdain in his voice, said, "This is a safety vest. Some people wear them.", clearly implying that "real men" didn't. No SPGs, no computers, and no "silent bubbles"...

So be warned... some of you are likely to become addicted to this horrible sport. It's expensive, cold, potentially dangerous and might cost you a marriage (or several in some friends' cases...), but there's nothing else like it!

View attachment 183119

well done stu , and you beat me by 2 years on the "cert side " , did you dive before cert ? that counts too you know !!!!!

 

[Ayisha]

Congrats Stoo!

Wait a minute. Innerkip used to be "clear"???

 

[shoredivr]

Yeah, Ayisha, that was my thought too. Congratulations Stoo!

 

[Stoo]

well done stu , and you beat me by 2 years on the "cert side " , did you dive before cert ? that counts too you know !!!!!

Not really... I had an older cousin who had a tank and two hose that he brought over when I was about 10. My parents had a pool, so we tried it out in there. To the best of my knowledge, he wasn't certified, and and I have no idea where he got the tank. I think he was maybe 17.

Unfortunately, he died at a fairly young age, and I have never been able to ask him...

---------- Post added May 4th, 2014 at 08:26 AM ----------

Congrats Stoo!

Wait a minute. Innerkip used to be "clear"???

I was my first dive... I'm not sure my judgement was sound...

 

[underH2Oman]

Congratulations Stoo
Some of my first dives were also at Innerkip and your judgement was sound. If it was 20ft today people would be in AWE.

 

[scubadada]

So for those of you that are new to diving, I wanted to share this milestone with you.

This Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of my first open-water dive. As you can see from my log, it was a total of 11 minutes long, but it was the beginning of what has turned out to be a grand adventure. Some 5000 dives later, "diving" is without a doubt, the most important "thing" in my life, and continues to be to this day. It's through diving that I have met almost all of my closest friends, consumed vast amounts of money, let me travel all over the place, and at times, allowed me to earn my living.

There are a bunch of people on this Board that have been diving much longer than I have been, and I interviewed a guy yesterday for a presentation I'm doing, who started diving in 1955, on a home-made 02 rebreather. His first dry-suit cost him... wait for it... $22.95! The changes in equipment over these years have been astonishing. I remember my Instructor holding up a tiny little inflatable vest, and with considerable disdain in his voice, said, "This is a safety vest. Some people wear them.", clearly implying that "real men" didn't. No SPGs, no computers, and no "silent bubbles"...

So be warned... some of you are likely to become addicted to this horrible sport. It's expensive, cold, potentially dangerous and might cost you a marriage (or several in some friends' cases...), but there's nothing else like it!

View attachment 183119

Hi Stoo,

Congratulations on 40 years and thanks so much for bringing back the wonderful memories

I'm coming up on the 44th anniversay of my Basic Skin & Scuba Diving certification by the LA County Underwater Unit on May 9. I spent 10 years, mostly shore diving in LA, Orange, and San Diego counties with an occassional splurge on a day trip to Catalina. No matter how often I checked, my J valve would occasionally have been tripped in the kelp and I would make a quicker trip to the surface than planned. I wish I had my original logsbooks, but, unfortunately, lost them years back in a flood.

After a 17 year hiatus, I was recertified with my son in 1997 and began the modern era of my diving. I'm so glad to be a diver.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

Thank you Stoo for helping me once again go over the 40 plus years of my diving adventures. Congratulations on a lifetime of fun and hopefully enjoying being an "old diver" for many more years. Adventure-Ocean