65+ Grumpy Old Divers (or NOT Grumpy)

[TMHeimer]

I'm just the opposite. As I've become older (than you), I've all but given up boat dives. I no longer want to put up with rigid schedules and crowded dive sites. My buddy and I go to Bonaire every year to shore dive.

I haven't done a boat dive since 2015. The charters I've taken (FL panhandle, Miss., SC, in winter) weren't crowded, but always was a long day--getting up like 4 in the morning to be at a dock at 7:30, etc., getting back to a condo late aft. and begin rinsing all the stuff.
I miss the depth, but not the long days.
I agree the shore dives are so much easier time wise, especially going solo almost all the time. Then again, you're talking Bonaire. What I've read is shore diving there is pretty easy as long as you have good booties. Some sites here in NS are super easy, but some not at all. I'm not climbing up & down any boulders anymore.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Some sites here in NS are super easy, but some not at all. I'm not climbing up & down any boulders anymore.

You can tell the quality of the shore dive site in Southern California by the height if the cliffs. Lately my SoCal shore diving has been at the Marine Park at Catalina Island.

 

[TMHeimer]

You can tell the quality of the shore dive site in Southern California by the height if the cliffs. Lately my SoCal shore diving has been at the Marine Park at Catalina Island.

You mean at Casino Point? I snorkeled there in 1972. Not a lot of work. Oh, I was 18 as well.

 

[JamesBon92007]

You mean at Casino Point? I snorkeled there in 1972. Not a lot of work. Oh, I was 18 as well.

Yes, it's pretty easy--just walk down the steps into the water. It's still easy enough for most of us GODs.

The only hard part is waiting in line, and then you have the foreigners that keep to the left instead of the right, and then there's the dozens of snorkelers who aren't watching where they are going...

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I can't wait to retire and DM / Instructor somewhere I don't have to wear socks. You guys are my goals.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Just turned 68 and have been diving for over 28 years. Maybe 700 or so dives. Just got my 12 and 17 tear old granddaughters certified and are taking them on trips which has reinvigorated my love of scuba. It was never really lagging but to see it through those younger eyes makes it take on a whole new life. A little slower on the up take , but I`ll rest when I`m dead!

My 31-year-old daughter finally seems to want to go scuba diving. I think she's finally done making grand-kids for us. My 29-year-old daughter is still making babies. I'm really surprised neither of them ever took it up--they were both avid swimmers and my younger daughter swam like an adult when she was 2. Thanks to you @Perryed I now have a couple more regulators back in service for when the time comes. I did at least a couple of thousand dives with my old Calypso so I guess I can use it again.

I'm about to turn 67 and it occurred to me that I feel like I've been 66 for quite some time. Recent years just flew by and I was suddenly a year older. I'm not sure why this year lasted longer but we've been spending about 1/4 of our time on dive trips! Maybe it was because we used to only take two week trips. I guess the key to a long, happy life is to keep it full of the things you love. If only we could take the kids and grand-kids on all of our trips--i think one or two of them might still be able to fly for free.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I can't wait to retire and DM / Instructor somewhere I don't have to wear socks. You guys are my goals.

I don't think I've ever seen anything summed up so simply and beautifully before. No socks! Excellent!

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

I'm grumpy at times but not yet 65...close though!

 

[Perryed]

The time between dive trips seems to drag on forever, but time in general goes pretty fast. My hope is to spend the last of my savings on my last dive trip. Hopefully many years down the road. Fortunately my mental age is still relatively immature! Or so my wife tells me!

 

[TMHeimer]

Yes, it's pretty easy--just walk down the steps into the water. It's still easy enough for most of us GODs.

The only hard part is waiting in line, and then you have the foreigners that keep to the left instead of the right, and then there's the dozens of snorkelers who aren't watching where they are going...

It's changed a lot in 47 years. I don't recall and steps or crowds. All I seem to recall is my brother and I by ourselves. and that was July.