What are your reasons for taking up SCUBA?

[radinator]

I'm just stupid. Monkey see, monkey do.
:monkeydan

I saw people flying gliders on TV, so I learned how when I got the chance.
I saw people flying airplanes, and went for that too.
Rock climbing? Sigh me up!
Long distance bike riding? Ok!
Hey look, there's a surfboard. Woo hoo!
Snowboard? Cool!
Rollerblades? Zoom!

I saw people diving, so I learned how (leaving no time for gliders, climbing, biking, surfing, snowboarding, or skating, lately...)

I fear I have activity ADD.

Note these decisions were not really decisions. As soon as I saw it I knew I would do it...someday. As soon as I made the right connections with someone who knew about the subject... I seem to like collecting skills the way some people collect stamps. James Bond wannabe.

 

[stevetim]

I always wanted to feel like Luke Skywalker did after he got attacked by the snow monster in The Empire Strikes back. He was in a vertical flooded medical cylinder breathing from a "regulator". Not true scuba but close enough.

 

[diverdown247]

Deployed to Cuba and it was on the list of things to accomplish before I retired. I had already conquered my fear of heights by skydiving (and I'm addicted to it too), so I figured why not conquer my fear of sharks and barracuda at the same time. Ok, maybe it wasn't that. I truly wanted to be the first in my unit to get certified on the island and start a trend.

With all this on my been there done that list, I simply had to get SCUBA diving on the list. It's like a bad drug habit, but it's legal. Kind of like motorcycle racing. It's just a pre-paid speeding ticket that you're insurance company will never know about.

BTDT List prior to SCUBA:
Rock climbing indoors
Rock climbing outdoors
Ameature sportbike racing
1/4 mile drag strip at nearly 200 mph
Skydiving (2 jumps short of class A license)
Bungee jump (only 1 time, never again!)
Hang gliding (I stink at it, call me crash)
Joyride in a F-16 (glad I didn't eat breakfast that day woo hoo!!)
Joyride in a T-38 trainer (gotta love the 2 seater F-5)
Visit Japan (want to go back)
Visit Egypt (still rubbing salt in dad's wound on that one, beat him to it)
Visit Ireland (same issue as Egypt, want to go back)
Visit a former Soviet state (um..yuck! But the women were hot! Glad I studied some Russian)
Visit Germany (so so wanted beer, but assault rifles and alcohol don't mix)
Visit Central America (what can I say, I'm a sucker for latin women)

 

[Buoyant1]

Well I bought this used car with this cute little red and white flag bumper sticker on it, and people used to ask me if I was a diver, so I really didn't want to keep explaining WHY I had this sticker on my car, (and the bugger wouldn't come off) so I caved!

No...actually I wanted to be able to plant "limpet" mines on the bottom of unsuspecting fishing boats, I work for Greenpeace...

No...Ok, I'll fess up! Ever since I was a little kid, I had a pool in the back yard, and with the pool came the mask and snorkel. THEN I saw The Deep (and bseides falling in love with Jaqueline Bisset's plain white t-shirt) I thought the diving was COOL!

My parent's just blew off my "I want to dive" whining as just "him whining again, next week it'll be MOUNTAIN climbing or base jumping or something".

Then I got FAT and smoked like a chimney...so I forgot about diving for a while...fast forward to about 10 years ago, I quit smoking (then got fatter because CHOCOLATE replaced the cigarettes) So about 5 years ago, I started going to the gym and getting healthy...

I had the opportunity to go to the Keys because a friend was stationed there, and he told me that we had to do a snorkelling trip one of these days, so on my 40th B-day trip to Key West I bought all of the gear, and did a few snorkel trips, while doing that I saw these guys with tanks about 20-30 feet below me and thought "well heck I can do THAT!" I talked to a friend from work that was a diver and she set me in the right direction, so I started the process and here we are!

Life begins at 40 baby!!

 

[Freds@Aquanauts]

Its beats the hell out of landscape gardening...

Freds

 

[sasscuba]

Always loved the water. Most relaxing thing I can think of to do. Get to spend some good quality diving with my dad and brother.

 

[ScubaJewel]

The boys!

 

[swimswitheagles]

Ever since I was a little tyke, I've been fascinated with the underwater world and being underwater in general. I didn't realize that scuba diving was within my grasp since I was raised in a small town with small world-views. Fortunately, I met my husband who paid for my certification while we were dating and introduced me personally to the awe-inspiring feeling of breathing underwater surrounded by life only previously seen on the Discovery Channel. I am so hooked, only wish I could dive more.

One of these days...tropical island, my own boat, surface intervals under the palms. Ohh yeah!

 

[divnlite]

Well,,,my "younger" sister got her certification and gear as a gift from her live-in boyfriend and after I watched the video from her first trip I thought....."that is so cool and I can do that"
My husband and I got out OW last year and have since done Nitrox and AOW certs and dived Bonaire, Fiji, Cozumel and we're leaving for Roatan next week... 47 dives so far and a week of heavy diving in Roatan and we will have over 60 dives this year!!
We have discovered an activity we love, we can share and we see this as just the beginning.
PS: My dad worries about his "only" two daughters doing something so dangerous, this from a military man who spent a lot of time in dangerous situations. We have three brothers and they all play it safe while she and I are having a blast!!!!!!