Differences Between Men And Women In Diving

[muddiver]

The very best thing about being a female diver, I was at a VERY crowded quarry over the weekend diving, I needed to go to the bath house to use the bathroom, when I got in, there was a line for the mens bathroom, walked right into the womens room, that just would never happen anywhere else!

This is not always true. I laughed my ***** off about three weeks ago at an Angeles baseball game because when I went to the restroom there was this long line coming out of the mens room, and there was no line at the womens room. Of course that was the first time I have ever seen that.

 

[piikki]

WOW!! That certainly was enlightening Piikki and TSandM!

You don't always get to pick your dance partner, especially on a boat trip. If I'm being graded on personality above water, nobody would dive with me....I didn't realize that (some) women approach a dive like a date...However, better to call the dive because of non-compatibility than getting attacked underwater!

Since we're supposed to be team diving, and you can't talk underwater, I don't care how you are on the surface. If we agree on a dive plan, dive it and have a good dive, then it was a success. If someone doesn't want to bother with me after the dive, that's fine. There are plenty of people to dive with.

From my first post, I believe there are some women out there that do approach diving, particularly tech diving, as most men do.

Interesting.

Hehe,

I actually forgot to add to my post that it was not meant to be directed at you. Your post just spurred some thoughts because it had several aspects in it that kind of reminded me of ‘something’.

Guys seem to be sometimes more about just “doing it”, so it can be hard to address what’s not going right because the idea is to plunge anyway. Women on the other hand might not even show up on the dive sites if they get that uncomfortable feeling that the company might not be right or they aren’t good enough etc. Say, in a case of insta-buddies – I have no idea – is it very common to have a lot of lone women looking for insta-buddies on boats? Is it easy for women to do that in general?

I agree with you that there are a lot of divers that approach diving from same main perspective regardless of gender. They are individuals approaching it mainly as divers.

 

[Spratman]

Perhaps then, I am the anomaly. If someone decided to chat it up with me, Lynn, then I can be pretty loquacious. For the most part, I agree that diving is a social event. Since that isn't a big part of my personality, I've never like hanging at dive shops and developing buddies like that. Plus, I don't buy much from any of the LDS's and have a tech penchant as it is. I definitely don't like the "you need to hang with us more" attitude. Always makes me suspicious.

I really don't think that I need to know that you are a left-handed brain surgeon to dive with you. Although in your case, I'd be glad to have you as a buddy to revive me if necessary....

Probably a bit of chatting would allow for profiling the type of person that you dive with and get a feel for there limits of adventure. Also, I can get a good idea of your comfort levels on how you gear up and if you are walking around like a drunk sailor trying to get your balance.

Piikki, I'll pass on the "guys just wanting to do it" statement... I've never been on a boat with an unattached female diver. I typically will get paired with the weakest link. Fact is, if I'm out on a Jersey wreck dive and there are women on board, I wouldn't have any hesitation of diving with any of the ones that I know, unless they were doing AOW dives...They dive like boys and want to be treated the same.

Yeah, I always seem to spur thoughts in some people...usually never good.

 

[Tanker299]

When you weigh only 115 lbs and the gear you're carrying is maybe 70 lbs, AND the surf is relentless and the shore is steep and pebbly, well it helps when someone's there to give you a steady hand. Calm waters, gentle slopes, no problem -- just give me a few seconds to steady myself upon standing on entry.

I'm a male, 240lbs, carry an equal amount of schtuff, and I've fallen flat on my bum, and that's with someone helping me steady myself ...

All the while the female 115lbs divers in the same surf just giggle in amusement.

:11doh:

 

[TSandM]

Some of our differing perceptions may have to do with how we dive . . . I've never had an instabuddy, ever. I have dived with strangers, but it was always set up beforehand, and we've always talked at least a little on line before we get to the actual diving. I might be significantly less social if I were temporarily buddying up with a complete stranger.

 

[muddiver]

I think that there are a few of use out there that will, for all intentional purposes, dive solo when on vacation or on a large boat. Setteling for an insta-buddy is no better than a solo dive. I've had many an insta-buddy dissappear, wonder off or abort a dive with out getting my attention. The last such dive was on an oil rig off Long Beach. The bottom is around 400 fsw so depth awareness was manditory and there is always a current running. First dive I was paired up with some fossil who dissappeared after :05 and I found him high and dry on the boat when I was done with my dive. I have never had a girl do that to me, yet!

 

[dvrliz1]

Wow...this is teaching me a lot! Thanks all!

In my opinion as a women diver, originally from NJ.....

I love to dive, the importance is the skill and concern of my dive buddy, no matter the gender. I am not only conscious of myself, but my buddy as well. Isn't that what we are taught? I would expect the same in return.

I have had both men and women dive buddies in the past. I do NOT find that they treat diving like "dating". Before moving to Bonaire, when I visited, I was a hard core diver. On vacations it would be in the water at wake, dive, eat, dive, rest a bit, eat then either one or 2 more dives, depending on profiles. It is nice however to go to dinner with someone you can laugh with over a glass of wine or an Amstel beer.

JMHO....

 

[Spratman]

Joisey wimmen divers are da bomb!

My point was that I typically would not spend a lot of time getting to know the person I was going to dive with. While we typically hit the bar afterwards, especially a boat dive to critique, I still don't need to know anyone's likes or dislikes, just the diving skills.

OTOH, I think was Lynn was addressing was regular dive buddies, not insta-buddies. As I said, I have three or four that I normally dive with and we all have the same attitudes and dive skills. I like the dive, eat, drink, sleep, repeat mindset.

If you are a good diver, you'll get no guff from me. I'd like to think of diving as the great equalizer. We all hump our gear, have to haul it up boat ladders on 6ft seas and the same bragging rights....

 

[TSandM]

No, some of us don't have to hump gear up ladders in six foot seas. Thank God for Puget Sound!

 

[piikki]

Some of our differing perceptions may have to do with how we dive . . . I've never had an instabuddy, ever. I have dived with strangers, but it was always set up beforehand, and we've always talked at least a little on line before we get to the actual diving. I might be significantly less social if I were temporarily buddying up with a complete stranger.

I have never had an insta-buddy either. I have hard time even imagining I ever would. I do think this mainly reflects who I am, and the way I am comfortable diving rather than the fact that I am a woman. I still also wonder out loud that might it be harder for most women to wander onto charters/sites to look for insta-buddies? I've seen accounts here on SB where women talk about it but predominantly it's been guys.

On site I have only ever been approached by guys to join our buddy team because they have nobody to dive with, never a woman. (And to clarify, there have been women around but they always seem to have arrived with buddies when I have seen guys come alone looking to team up).