Have you reached a Diving "Plateau. "

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Hello. I've come to the conclusion that my diving has reached a "Plateau."
I'm diving Blue Grotto Williston, Florida. this weekend. It's my Zen place. I like to go down to the bottom (103 ft.) sit on a rock, shut my lights off, and meditate for 20 or 30 minutes.
Last time I was there, a couple of weeks ago, sitting on "My." rock. I had a revelation, or ephinany (If, you will.)
At my age, my diving at this point (Probably.) won't advance to any greater degree.
I won't ever be a Saturation Diver, or Welder....or Commercial Diver of any kind. I've never had an interest in rebreathers. I am not a Cave diver. (Never will be.) Even with the type of diving I do, I don't stray to far away from ambient light.
I consider myself a Deep (which too me, is a relative term.) Wreck diver.
My "Plateau." 140 fsw for 30 minutes. Period.
I no longer have the desire, or need to go deeper.
I won't discuss "Doubles." or equipment, or anything needed to conduct a "Deep." dive of this nature.
Quite simply, a majority of the wrecks that I enjoy are in 120 to 140 ft of water.
I'm very comfortable at these depths, and it's something, I really enjoy.
It wasn't planned, it wasn't a goal of mine. it just seemed to fall that way. Is it coincidence?
Is it really even important?
So, the question is...if it applies? What is your "Plateau."
Cheers.
If by plateau, you mean getting more training - then, yes, having completed OW, PPB, Nitrox, AOW and Rescue Diver, I'm likely done with getting more certifications. However, I hope to do much more diving all over the world moving forward - so no plateau on new diving experiences is planned.
 
Hello. I've come to the conclusion that my diving has reached a "Plateau."
I'm diving Blue Grotto Williston, Florida. this weekend. It's my Zen place. I like to go down to the bottom (103 ft.) sit on a rock, shut my lights off, and meditate for 20 or 30 minutes.
Last time I was there, a couple of weeks ago, sitting on "My." rock. I had a revelation, or ephinany (If, you will.)
At my age, my diving at this point (Probably.) won't advance to any greater degree.
I won't ever be a Saturation Diver, or Welder....or Commercial Diver of any kind. I've never had an interest in rebreathers. I am not a Cave diver. (Never will be.) Even with the type of diving I do, I don't stray to far away from ambient light.
I consider myself a Deep (which too me, is a relative term.) Wreck diver.
My "Plateau." 140 fsw for 30 minutes. Period.
I no longer have the desire, or need to go deeper.
I won't discuss "Doubles." or equipment, or anything needed to conduct a "Deep." dive of this nature.
Quite simply, a majority of the wrecks that I enjoy are in 120 to 140 ft of water.
I'm very comfortable at these depths, and it's something, I really enjoy.
It wasn't planned, it wasn't a goal of mine. it just seemed to fall that way. Is it coincidence?
Is it really even important?
So, the question is...if it applies? What is your "Plateau."
Cheers.

BB...

A long time ago...only every wanted to go so far in the first place...with the exception of the south Pacific have dove around the world and my level of certification has never stopped me form seeing what I wanted to see...

Besides...I'd rather throw a steak on the fire than money for the sake of accomplishing little more than collecting C-Cards...and hoping for opportunities that never materialize...

I'm 71 now...average a dozen ''good'' dives per season...works for me...you can't see the smile on my face in the attached photo...but I assure you...it's there...that's one hell of a windlass...

W...

Screenshot (16).png
 
So another sign of the end times for AD's diving adventures. Tried to dive today at Beavertail on the west side, got all geared and started walking towards the path to the entry, after about a dozens paces my hips started burning and I actually felt short of breath! I think the harness was too tight. Anyway I turned around went back to the car told my buddy no way, can't do it. I was more concerned about not making back up! I hung out in my wet suit as a standby while my buddy went diving.

So 10 years ago it was Cathedral Rocks, Hazard Av and Newton Av that got crossed off my list of diveable sites, now my old friend Beavertail Point is off the list too. :(
 
So another sign of the end times for AD's diving adventures. Tried to dive today at Beavertail on the west side, got all geared and started walking towards the path to the entry, after about a dozens paces my hips started burning and I actually felt short of breath! I think the harness was too tight. Anyway I turned around went back to the car told my buddy no way, can't do it. I was more concerned about not making back up! I hung out in my wet suit as a standby while my buddy went diving.

So 10 years ago it was Cathedral Rocks, Hazard Av and Newton Av that got crossed off my list of diveable sites, now my old friend Beavertail Point is off the list too. :(
You had big brass ones for even considering that. I took one look at that about 10 years ago age 56 and thought "Ft. Wetherill looks better than I thought".
 
If by plateau, you mean getting more training - then, yes, having completed OW, PPB, Nitrox, AOW and Rescue Diver, I'm likely done with getting more certifications.

An exception worth considering is a good freediving course. It made a huge difference to me and will make any Scuba diver safer and more confident. I learned a lot about physiology that the Navy and commercial training never considered and established new limits. About a third of my classmates were 60+.
 
An exception worth considering is a good freediving course. It made a huge difference to me and will make any Scuba diver safer and more confident. I learned a lot about physiology that the Navy and commercial training never considered and established new limits. About a third of my classmates were 60+.
Curious - how did it help your scuba diving?

I have looked at freediving sites for tips on equalizing - this guy is quite helpful:

 
You had big brass ones for even considering that. I took one look at that about 10 years ago age 56 and thought "Ft. Wetherill looks better than I thought".

Mom used to say I had more guts then brains, and she claimed to love me!

That was one of my favorite sites, did the East side many times also, that's a killer, I looked at that again 10 years ago and said no way, it was hard enough in my 30's in good condition.

I did the West side 2-3 years ago with @CT-Rich, it was rough because we got a late start and a SW wind started blowing that got worse shortly after we got into the water. We thumbed the dive due to less than a foot vis but it was the right call because before we left the wind got stronger.

This time it was the West side with ENE winds very benign conditions. But GEZZ I couldn't even get off the dime!
I almost stopped half way back to the car and doffed my gear there on the grass. Mind you I hadn't walked far but it seemed that way.

Plateau? I'm heading for the bottom!

I think a kind of SCUBA man servant/dive tender might be in order. Someone who can schlep my gear to the water, help me into, do a "buddy" check and either dive with me or be there to help me out of the water and my gear and, schlep it all back to the car. Pack it back in the car and heck yeah while he's there drive me home. :)
Or I could just do charters and tip the crew to take care of me, probably cheaper! :wink:
 
Plateau...?

My comfort level is diving in the recreational zone. Zero to 130/140 feet.
This.

If you think "deeper, longer, etc" I reached my plateau already during AOW class. I don't feel any need for staged deco diving, nor for overhead environments. Never have. And I get uncomfortably narked below some 30-ish meters. But even within NDL limits and at moderate depths, there are a bunch of ways to extend your diving. From18(20)m/60' to 30-40m/100-130'. From being a muppet blindly following the DM expecting to be hand-held, to being a truly independent diver and a resource to the n00bs. From thrashing around, silting up the site to having near-perfect buoyancy and trim and mastering non-silting kicks. Or being able to comfortably hold a stop at 3m without thinking twice, while shooting a sausage. From being too preoccupied with just diving to being so comfortable in the water that only a minute fraction of your mental bandwidth is spent on the nuts and bolts of diving.

I'm still working on a lot of those things.
 
I didn't hit a plateau, I hit a brick wall. After experiencing a subdural hematoma while body surfing, on my birthday three years ago, my outlook on life has changed. Weird.
I read the 50% of people my age (64) die from this. In my case, after free dive spear fishing for the last 20 years, I have simply lost the desire. And it might be a bit dangerous.
Thinking about scuba again but I have lost the....fire.? ...to get my boat in the water and go out.
All that and hitting retirement age....major life changes. I want to start a blues band in Belize..open a bar for old spear fishermen..."The Bent Shaft Saloon"....life goes on.
You were still body surfing? I may have done a little of that in my 50s in Gulf of Mexico with 2-3 foot surf. Used to do the big boys on Long Island or Jax Beach, etc. in my teens, 20s, 30s. I do try not to body surf these days with my scuba unit on.....
 

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