Diver Attrition

[scubarealtor]

of the people i did OW with one guy got hardcore right off the bat. he was and still is single with alot of disposible income. he goes to the rigs off of Lousianna all the time.

of the rest of us, i got tied up with house, kids, etc. and am only now getting back in to it. however, i'm still limited by the nearest dive site being 3 hours away.

one baby boomer that was with us doesn't have the confidence to dive without a divemaster around to help in an emergency. the others i've lost touch with so i'm not sure if they dive or not...

 

[ext545]

I'm newly OW certified. When I went in to discuss getting certified at my LDS the guy explained how there would be trips every weekend and there was a whole group of people with boats that would be calling to ask if I'd go with them, hell the LDS owner said he would be calling himself to make sure I was invited every weekend. He painted this utopian picture of this community of helpful saints standing by to assist all the new divers. Well that was a bunch of BS.

Once I bought my new BCD, regs, computer, etc. and got certified I never heard from anyone again. I call every week, and when I do, it's "No we don't have any dives, but, we have lots of things you can spend even more than the initial 2k on!"

Since I'm new to FL, I don't have my whole crew to go with every weekend like I would when I was back home, so I'm forced to go on boats with people I don't know and get paired up. Now this isn't all bad, as I went just last weekend with a different LDS charter. But I view the LDS (Iwent to) as just another used car seller sales job.

It's not making a committment then "just quitting" JP. The problem with diving safely is that it requires more than just an investment of time & $$. It also requires having to know people with boats, or if your own family isn't into it, reaching out to people who don't want to dive with new people or have egos about how many things they've done, and the new people haven't. If I could (or would) go on my own, I would have 100 dives by now, but, I chose to follow the safety reg's I was taught out of the gate. Now I'm not suggesting everyone with experience falls into this category, but, read these boards about diving with new people and you'll see the impression.

And BTW, since I'm now soapboxing (not hijacking), just because someone is new to diving doesn't mean they don't have an appreciation for safety or keeping up or whatever. I personally live a very active lifestyle which has gotten me involved in a lot dangerous but fun activities which also require extensive training to be done safe. Yes I'm new to SCUBA, but, not new to situations which require calm and ability to think under stress when emergencies show up. Having said that, it comes down to the individual to determine if you can trust them as a buddy. Not solely on the number of dives they've had. You can have a thousand dives that go smooth. The question is, how will you react on the one dive when things don't go smooth?

 

[nolatom]

I don't agree. The infrastructure exists to support the divers, not the other way around. Some of the shops, manufacturers ext, need to disappear to wake up the others.

A diver can dive as often as they want but the 10 - 20 dive/year divers just tear up the dive sites and make them unattractive for every one else.

In order to dive out local sites and enjoy it you pretty much have to take time off of work to dive them during the week. They might clear up by Wednessday or so. All you see on the weekend is big bellowing silt clouds. Of course some sites are only open on the weekends so unless your really despirate to get in the water, they aren't worth messing with at all.

I don't think we need more of that. If that's what the dive shops are going to do, we need less of them, not more.

Mike, no disrespect intended here, but that sounds like the kind of attitude from experienced divers that discourages new divers from becoming experienced ones...("they tear up the sites and make them unattractive.....bellowing silt clouds that last til Wednesday"), etc.

Some of us do dive about 20 a year (and manage to stay off the coral and out of the silt), which is enough to need to buy gear, and more of us would (I think) be good for the sport, not bad.. Don't know where you're diving, but around Florida panhandle and occasionally New England where I dive, I hear that the dive population is down, boats are taking fishing charters, shops closing. I don't view this as a good thing. If the sport gets too elite and consescending towards its mid-range participants, it will in the long run hurt rather than help the sport in general, at least in my opinion.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Mike, no disrespect intended here, but that sounds like the kind of attitude from experienced divers that discourages new divers from becoming experienced ones...("they tear up the sites and make them unattractive.....bellowing silt clouds that last til Wednesday"), etc.

First of all I was responding to this

There's a small cadre (too small) of dedicated divers, many on boards like these. What the sport needs is more of a "middle class", like the 10-20 dives a year types, to help keep the infrastructure of the sport (shops, boats, manufacturers, etc) from backsliding and disappearing.

The new divers themselves get in the silt clouds once or twice and get completely turned off of all local diving thinking that it's always scary like that. So many really don't know that it's the divers who caused it. They think you just can't see in the local water. Don't you get it? It's the very problems the new divers have and the conditions that result from them that many times is exactly what runs THEM out of local waters. Without attractive local oportunities they don't stick with it. It's not me running them out.

We don't need more infrastructure. We need better infrastructure.

Some of us do dive about 20 a year (and manage to stay off the coral and out of the silt), which is enough to need to buy gear, and more of us would (I think) be good for the sport, not bad.. Don't know where you're diving, but around Florida panhandle and occasionally New England where I dive, I hear that the dive population is down, boats are taking fishing charters, shops closing. I don't view this as a good thing. If the sport gets too elite and consescending towards its mid-range participants, it will in the long run hurt rather than help the sport in general, at least in my opinion.

Shops have closed here too but we don't need them. Do you have trouble finding a place to buy gear? I don't. There's plenty of places and there's no shortage of places to get certified either. It doesn't stop divers from dropping out though. I haven't noticed a shortage of resorts or charters.

I thought the reasons that divers dropped out was the subject here? As I said, they drop out for lots of reasons but many divers drop out because of the QUALITY of the experience. Improve the quality and I think more will stay and enjoy it more. Whether or not that will translate into more divers or not I don't know but HUGE numbers of divers are certified every year. They just don't all hang around.

And personally, I've spent a fair amount of time diving with and helping new divers but tossing them into the mess unprepared isn't hjelping them.

 

[PerroneFord]

Since I'm new to FL, I don't have my whole crew to go with every weekend like I would when I was back home, so I'm forced to go on boats with people I don't know and get paired up. Now this isn't all bad, as I went just last weekend with a different LDS charter. But I view the LDS (Iwent to) as just another used car seller sales job.

All diving is not boat diving. You are lucky to live in a state with one of the most diverse diving cultures around. Everything from river diving, to coral reefs, to caves. Spend some time on ScubaBoard in the Florida areas, and you'll find PLENTY of people who are willing, and in many cases eager, to dive with newbie divers.

I've been there man. You can do this.

 

[MikeFerrara]

All diving is not boat diving. You are lucky to live in a state with one of the most diverse diving cultures around. Everything from river diving, to coral reefs, to caves. Spend some time on ScubaBoard in the Florida areas, and you'll find PLENTY of people who are willing, and in many cases eager, to dive with newbie divers.

I've been there man. You can do this.

Not to mention shore diving. If I lived down there I wouldn't go anyplace without a set of dive gear in the car.

Check out the post by MDB about his local shore dives in my thread about shallow dives. I don't think he's in the panhandle though.

I'd almost make the drive just for the shore dives.

Caves, rivers, gulf, lobsterin, the atlantic wrecks...I'd wear my gear out in a month.

 

[Dan Dan the Scuba Man]

I did my OW class maybe three weeks ago and have completed almost 3 dives outside of the class dives... i'm happy and i'm hitten the depths on sunday aswell... 2 tank.. two dives.. it'll be fun..

 

[MikeFerrara]

I did my OW class maybe three weeks ago and have completed almost 3 dives outside of the class dives... i'm happy and i'm hitten the depths on sunday aswell... 2 tank.. two dives.. it'll be fun..

I have to ask. How is it that you completed "almost 3 dives" outside of class dives? Is one of the dives not complete yet? You're not underwater now are you?

I'm diving on Sunday too but it won't be as nice of a spot as I'd be diving if I lived in Florida.

 

[tparrent]

Others have said it already but I would emphasize location. I learned in Illinois - which is not exactly the dive capital of the world - and when I moved to SoCal I figured I would be out there a couple of times a month. No way. As much as I enjoy diving, I cannot justify a whole day away from the family more than once every couple of months. Unfortunately, even here, it does take a WHOLE day to go out there and get back.

Since no one else in the family dives, I figure I'm pretty much stuck with the occasional vacation dive. Even then, taking four or five hours out of a vacation day to do my own thing does not go over real well.

I think that singles or couples who dive together are more likely to keep it going. They are more likely to have ready, trusted buddies and can share the entire experience. I love the boat talk, the scenery, the camaraderie but I can't stop thinking of those I left home alone.

I sure do miss it though.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Others have said it already but I would emphasize location. I learned in Illinois - which is not exactly the dive capital of the world -

Actually Ill usually ranks pretty high as far as the number of divers certified. Lots of diving going on there...for better or worse.

and when I moved to SoCal I figured I would be out there a couple of times a month. No way. As much as I enjoy diving, I cannot justify a whole day away from the family more than once every couple of months. Unfortunately, even here, it does take a WHOLE day to go out there and get back.

Since no one else in the family dives, I figure I'm pretty much stuck with the occasional vacation dive. Even then, taking four or five hours out of a vacation day to do my own thing does not go over real well.

I think that singles or couples who dive together are more likely to keep it going. They are more likely to have ready, trusted buddies and can share the entire experience. I love the boat talk, the scenery, the camaraderie but I can't stop thinking of those I left home alone.

This is the same with any hobby. The difference is that with some hobbies it doesn't matter if you aren't any good. You can go fishing and the whole world will get by just fine if you don't catch any fish. You can go golfing and take all day to get the ball in the cup...as long as you let other play through that is. In diving, though, you could get hurt, you could do damage to the environment and you could make things less enjoyable for others.

Whether we like to hear it or not, there are some things that might be better to not do at all than to do poorly. Driving is one of those things too but every one gets to do it and some people pay for it with their lives.
I sure do miss it though.[/QUOTE]