Dive and let dive... dealing with different styles of diving.

[Insta-Gator]

There are two ways to dive, my way and the wrong way.


I think the guy sitting on the reef was with us in Bonaire.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

When I started making deeper dives with doubles I had a "tech" BCD which ripped twice due to the weight of the tanks. I read as much as I could on rec.scuba, which makes Scubaboard look like a quilting bee. Every thread turned into bashing this or that, with name calling being the answer to every question. When DIR (the internet version, not real life) began spreading east of the Florida sinkholes the vitriol stepped up a notch. From George Irvine and his wannabe copycats to his followers came the gospel that we were all morons and less than 1% should ever be allowed to dive. I gave up and continued making dives in an unsafe fashion because I didn't want to hear their opinions.

I met a dive buddy who understood everything DIR was preaching and explained it to me in a rational tone. Everything he said made sense, although I knew I could never afford to dive the gear and gasses and the dozens of classes that went with it. I made a conscious decision to choose better gear that suited the dives I was making and some of the protocols. I have had a couple divers come up to me and ask about DIR when they saw my Hogarthian gear configuration. I explained my gear the same way my friend had shared his knowledge with me. I then told them that I would never be DIR because I love solo diving so much.

I see information spread on Scubaboard in much the same way as DIR and religious zealots would do. People have beliefs that were ingrained in them and they accept it as the absolute truth, despite evidence to the contrary. It seems as if a week cannot go by without someone telling you how unsafe diving is without a pony bottle or how Nitrox makes you feel better. If you flutter kick rather than frog kick you will be ridiculed, even though videos of frog kicking divers twenty feet off the bottom make little sense.

I've had people tell me they were impressed at how quiet I am in the water. I don't scull with my hands and I have learned to get streamlined while facing a current by watching fish, but if someone saw me taking photos of a nudibranch they would have a cow. Sometimes I actually touch the sand, rock or even a rusty wreck. I'm not on some fragile coral reef in the south Pacific but for some, rules are to be enforced unilaterally. I would thank them for their advice and then continue my dive. As long as I'm not hurting someone else or damaging a reef I pay little attention to opinions. Like certain body orifices, everybody has one.

 

[aquacat8]

All the gear we wear was invented often after a lot of experimentation and some pretty funny tries... I like people who are creative and think things through for themselves, and I can also see the point in matching buddy configurations and team unity.

 

[Altamira]

Innovation and progress easily disprove the notion there is only one way, or even one best way, to do anything.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Great post! Diving is one of those activities that lends itself to cult like closed mindedness more easily than many others. In my own evolution as a diver, I have also come across diving sub-cultures where ideas are accepted because the lead personality in the group thinks that way. Then another part of me says that since scuba has some creative ways of killing people, our quest to find ways of "doing it right" (whatever it means to you) should not be seen as politically incorrect either. I am happy to see that diving protocols and technologies like side mount, CCR, doubles, dive computers, ratio deco, different algorithms etc. all have a body of critique accompanying them. I think becoming tolerant of other styles of diving should also mean becoming tolerant of the criticism your method has generated.

 

[Scuba J7]

Great post! Diving is one of those activities that lends itself to cult like closed mindedness more easily than many others. In my own evolution as a diver, I have also come across diving sub-cultures where ideas are accepted because the lead personality in the group thinks that way. Then another part of me says that since scuba has some creative ways of killing people, our quest to find ways of "doing it right" (whatever it means to you) should not be seen as politically incorrect either. I am happy to see that diving protocols and technologies like side mount, CCR, doubles, dive computers, ratio deco, different algorithms etc. all have a body of critique accompanying them. I think becoming tolerant of other styles of diving should also mean becoming tolerant of the criticism your method has generated.

Great post, especially that last line. I find pros and cons of all styles of diving,and some are even personal such as comfort.

Criticize my style all you want, but what I can’t stand is when someone tries to tell me(and everyone else) their method is the best way to do all types of diving...no ifs, ands, or buts.

 

[Steve_C]

At a meeting or in a large group most people are quiet. Lots of divers visit SB but never post. The mere fact that someone posts is a major personality selection factor. Perhaps it is because at heart they are a teacher, maybe it is because they have an axe to grind, perhaps it is to brag about the good old days, and since they were there, how much better trained they think their experience was. Any of these may be valid posts. Perhaps they just like to ask questions and learn. But the SB posters are a small minority of the diving community. They are even a minority of the highly experienced diving community. Of the divers I know with a lot more experience than myself, of which there are many, I personally know of only one who posts on FB frequently these days (hi tbone). Might be a couple others but I do not recognize the avatar.

 

[hroark2112]

I dive how I dive because I want to. Don't like how I dive? Suck it, I don't care.

I am a huge believer in do what you wish as long as you're not hurting anyone who doesn't ask to be hurt. Don't believe in gay marriage? Don't marry someone of the same sex. Problem solved. Don't approve of drinking? Don't drink. Problem solved. Don't believe rebreathers are safe? Don't dive one. All that being said, don't force your beliefs on anyone else. Your beliefs and preferences are your own, don't try to change how and what I do based on your wishes.

Want my opinion? Ask, I'll share. I'm not likely to be that guy on a dive boat telling anyone they are doing something wrong, unless it is blatantly dangerous (ex. air is off). Sure, I'll probably have a few good laughs with my friends in private, but if you're diving pink split fins and have every gadget known to man clipped on your rig, that's your choice.

Anyone who says that you won't die if you wear split fins is just wrong.

 

[northernone]

Love the thread topic.

I dove an air2 reg in SM configuration along side a conshelf xiv with jetfins and a msr bladder homemade rig with a weight belt two days ago.

We love being underwater, it's occasionally fun finding the best tool for the job. Sometimes it's enjoyable using the "wrong" equipment for the dive too. It's even pleasant when someone shares a better method to accomplish what we love.

At the end of the day, as recreational divers("professional" or not), we are enjoying a hobby. I'm happy to talk about it, and rather be doing it. Seek me out.


Cheers,
Cameron

 

[aquacat8]

Split fins were once the latest greatest, then they became uncool. Long after I shelved mine for a standard paddle fin I went diving in strong current with a rather large, out-of-shape looking diver. She swam off down current from me chasing a shark. I could NOT keep up and I swim a lot for exercise. What was she wearing? Split fins.