lilycat
Contributor
Quiet. Weightlessness.
What do you enjoy the most about your diving?
- Thread starter TSandM
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MichaelBaranows
Contributor
Shooting fish is the best part of diving for me.
Hmm... I suppose I like diving this time of year just as much as I like diving any other time, but the thing that sets it apart for me is the fact that so few people around here do it.
I drove over to a Florida spring last weekend, and when I got there at 7am, the air temperature was apparently in the low 20s. There was not a diver to be seen. I took my time gearing up, as it didn't look like I'd have any Shermans* mucking up the vis, and once I was ready, I calmly walked into the serene depths of the spring. As someone who has always enjoyed long backwoods hikes, I appreciated the ability to disappear from the world for a while.
I suppose the winter diving around here is similar to being at Six Flags when a huge thunderstorm comes through and drives everyone off, and then somehow the skies suddenly clear up. There you are, in the same place you'd been that morning, but now all the hassles and all the crowds and all the lines are gone, and you have the park almost to yourself to explore and enjoy as you see fit...
...and then there are the stories you can tell. I can't help but be happy when I'm talking to people, divers or surface-dwellers, about the latest winter diving. To the topsiders, they're stories about fascinating and intriguing places they've never been, and to the divers on their extended winter surface intervals, they're stories about places they've been and things they know, but in an elegantly foreign way. If a buddy or two of mine ends up in the drysuit crowd by *next* winter, I might even get to give winter buddy diving a try.
Hehe, I suppose a little of the fun is the "guilty pleasure" of knowing you're out diving while everyone else is sitting at home on scubaboard, pining away while silently reading the "Exposure Suits" forum. (Incidentally... *seals*?!? I *so* want to dive with seals someday.)
*"Shermans?" you ask? Yeah, "Shermans march through the sea."
I drove over to a Florida spring last weekend, and when I got there at 7am, the air temperature was apparently in the low 20s. There was not a diver to be seen. I took my time gearing up, as it didn't look like I'd have any Shermans* mucking up the vis, and once I was ready, I calmly walked into the serene depths of the spring. As someone who has always enjoyed long backwoods hikes, I appreciated the ability to disappear from the world for a while.
I suppose the winter diving around here is similar to being at Six Flags when a huge thunderstorm comes through and drives everyone off, and then somehow the skies suddenly clear up. There you are, in the same place you'd been that morning, but now all the hassles and all the crowds and all the lines are gone, and you have the park almost to yourself to explore and enjoy as you see fit...
...and then there are the stories you can tell. I can't help but be happy when I'm talking to people, divers or surface-dwellers, about the latest winter diving. To the topsiders, they're stories about fascinating and intriguing places they've never been, and to the divers on their extended winter surface intervals, they're stories about places they've been and things they know, but in an elegantly foreign way. If a buddy or two of mine ends up in the drysuit crowd by *next* winter, I might even get to give winter buddy diving a try.
Hehe, I suppose a little of the fun is the "guilty pleasure" of knowing you're out diving while everyone else is sitting at home on scubaboard, pining away while silently reading the "Exposure Suits" forum. (Incidentally... *seals*?!? I *so* want to dive with seals someday.)
*"Shermans?" you ask? Yeah, "Shermans march through the sea."
Scuba Do
Contributor
It's very peacful underwater, scuba diving is challenging and presents new learning experiences each time, and the incredible beauty underwater is so different from anything on land. I also have to admit that I am a gear junky. I probably wold not enjoy it as much if I were Aquaboy and could breath without a regulator and dive without a BC.
REII
Contributor
I love everything about diving. The weightlessness, the feeling of flying over a reef, the fact that it is a different adventure each time I dive.
I would have to say that my favorite aspect would be hunting for (& catching) lobster.
TOM
I would have to say that my favorite aspect would be hunting for (& catching) lobster.
TOM
DennisS
Contributor
The peace, quiet and relaxation that comes from being underwater.
That first excitement when you see a lobster's antenna poking out.
The tranquility of just hovering in front of a reef and watching tropicals.
The thrill and adrenaline rush of nailing a hogfish.
The tunnel vision when you focus on some little critter
Just floating on the water before or after a dive, with the sun shining down and thinking there's no where else I'd rather be.
That first excitement when you see a lobster's antenna poking out.
The tranquility of just hovering in front of a reef and watching tropicals.
The thrill and adrenaline rush of nailing a hogfish.
The tunnel vision when you focus on some little critter
Just floating on the water before or after a dive, with the sun shining down and thinking there's no where else I'd rather be.
WesTexDiver
Guest
Winter visability after the algee bloom dies off.
Winter just means more of the same peace, solitude and discovery underwater... although surface temps certainly will not reach the 79 F they did during the summer! However, as I age, I dream more about living the life of the endless summer... alternating between northern and southern hemispheres with the seasons.
TSandM:To be able to stop doing ANYTHING, not even twitching a fin, and be as close to weightless in space as anybody tied to the planet will ever get, is utterly intoxicating.
~~~~~
So, it's winter -- What do YOU find to enjoy about your diving this time of year? (Warm water people can post, but we'll blow raspberries at you
Diving is 2 fold. One you mentioned to me, the other is, other than the MOB (morons on boats) who invariably find my flag when I'm shore diving, its one of the few times I can shut out the world and relax. My only worry really is gas management (taco bell moments excluded) and keeping my buddy within spear gun reach.
This time of year? Getting over to the other coast to get a dive or two in when weather permits.. its still warm enough to wear a speedo over there when I dive!
djanni
Contributor
Two poems that describe it pretty well for me:
I am the ocean, I said.
I am.
I know
And so I dived into the ocean
I crossed the threshold of fear
To the Unknown Beyond.
An eternity beyond time.
A space beyond dimensions.
Beauty and Perfection.
Joy.
Another Universe...
Another Reality... ~ Romola Butalia
------------------------
Dappled light
Fluorescent hue
Gentle drift
Thoughts anew
Curious turtles
Swaying anemone
Cheeky clown fish
Peeping through. ~ Mitali Dutt Kakar
----------------------
Okay... bring on the raspberries. I definately don't like cold water.
I am the ocean, I said.
I am.
I know
And so I dived into the ocean
I crossed the threshold of fear
To the Unknown Beyond.
An eternity beyond time.
A space beyond dimensions.
Beauty and Perfection.
Joy.
Another Universe...
Another Reality... ~ Romola Butalia
------------------------
Dappled light
Fluorescent hue
Gentle drift
Thoughts anew
Curious turtles
Swaying anemone
Cheeky clown fish
Peeping through. ~ Mitali Dutt Kakar
----------------------
Okay... bring on the raspberries. I definately don't like cold water.
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