Are you glad you didn't start diving in your 20s?

[Theunis]

I've started diving when I was 21 years old. That was in 1984. My dive instructor was a ex commercial diver and the best I could have hoped for. He believed to start of in the deep end, so during my 17th dive we did black water sluice dives and cleaning sluices. We were fearless!!

Today I'm glad for that experience.

 

[Ana]

It seems to me the place where one grew up has a lot more to do with how early you got into diving.

I learned to swim before I can remember, all the members of my family lived within yards of the Atlantic Ocean so even visiting aunts-uncles the thing was to go to the beach. Snorkeling came naturally. Then around pre-teen years came surfing but the ratio of being tossed around against the amazing feeling of riding the wave was in the "tossing" side; so free diving took surfing's place. Seeing others than could stay around at depth way longer than me convinced me that taking air for the trip was the wisest choice.

Didn't get the certification for many years but looking back, the only difference is that today I know a lot more physics and other theories related to the activity but my diving is about the same as it was back then.
99.999% of my dives have been on hard bottom locations. My basic dive plan was just about the same 2 weekends ago as it was 30 years ago. The plan: go down, enjoy the dive and come back up when either the cold (typically #1), time, or the gas supply indicates so. For some people that isn't enough of a plan, for me it is plenty. I couldn't ask for a different way to arrive to my life today.

 

[Zieg]

Like many others, I stated diving in my teens. I did have an advantage over most, my family had a small marina, I had access to boats, and I had a compressor. I got free air and gas whenever I needed. It was nothing for me to grab a tank, jump in a boat ,and run over to one of the bridges and spend the day playing around the piles. So loads of shallow non-repetitive dives. Quite often I would get to join one of the local charter boats if they had a party of divers and run out to the 13 or South wreck. All these dives cost me nothing. But then again Pop would put me to work cleaning hulls, pulling props, doing serches for lost stuff (usually small outboards) and once I even got to raise a sunk 35' boat. All this before I turned 18. But there was also the downside. Being a small coastal town, I also did body searches. They were all for kids I knew. Thankfully I never found one.

I'm glad I learned to dive in my teens. Back then less gear was required and I learned to dive relying on myself. But I don't believe that I was any less prudent or safe then as I am now. Does that mean I still dive like a crazy teenager?

 

[SterlingDiver]

Started way too late in life. I am envious of those who started early.

I raced motorcross, sky dived, ran rapids, skiied, etc in my youth, but being land locked I missed diving. Some how I survived. Diving had to come along later in life, but it has pretty much supplanted all of my other hobbies.

Interesting thread........

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I wish I had started earlier in life, but just so happy I finally got a chance to learn how to scuba dive and know I have years of learning and fun ahead of me. Honestly, I don't think we could have afforded it all when we were younger. I had to pass on several family trips to Hawaii because it just wasn't in our budget. Now, we have some money to spend on equipment and travel. I love it!

 

[Brian Sharpe]

took a very long surface interval.....for 30 years.

Hmmmm....I can't find that pressure group on my tables!

 

[DiverLS]

Yep - I'm one that started long after my 20's. That was when I was raising my children. Wouldn't have'd missed that for anything. Now that I have time and $$ to do anything I want to do (almost) I do it. I've been diving for 19 years and love every time I get wet. I didn't even consider diving until then. That's when I saw a bunch of "High Sierra Divers" old school, diving at Carnelian Bay at Lake Tahoe. That was before Dry Suits and they almost to a one donned ladies panty hose to get into their wet suits. When I ran into a bunch with a little more $$ and used lycra skins for that purpose, I tried it.

Boy o Boy am I glad I did certify (to dive)

 

[dampcooker]

Found diving way too late - only about 12 years ago. Spent too much time and money before that on motorcycles, skiing, whitewater, skydiving, the works. Way too many injuries too...now diving has supplanted everything but skiing, and it is slowly taking over that as well. Living a long way from what I consider good diving limits how much of it I can do, especially with the increases in airfares.

 

[Land Locked]

then took a very long surface interval.....for 30 years.

Hmmmm....I can't find that pressure group on my tables!

After running this though my tables, over and over, I keeping coming up with group; AARP.

 

[The Kraken]

Well, I started diving in my 20's, but it was interrupted by a couple of years of flying helicopters in Viet Nam.

the K