Its my life style. Has been for 40+ years
What does scuba diving mean to you ?
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Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I have always been drawn to the water either by fishing or boating. Skin and scuba diving to me is the ultimate contact with water in the form of full immersion. I do it for the adventure mostly but I also like to hunt for food.
I've gotten to the point where gear and technique is secondary and not as important as just diving and having fun.
I used to be one of those people that had to constantly ratchet up the bar with more depth, more gear, further training. Diving to them was all about the numbers.
Most of those guys I started diving with went fully into tech diving then decided it was beneath them to go back down and just do regular sport diving. All of them have moved on to the next big thing they can be the best at.
I on the other hand am perfectly happy just doing short shallow beach dives again. I like the whole experience and never get tired of it no matter how shallow or mundane the dive may seem. It's what I see and the feeling of adventure and not about the brand of gear or the brand of training.
I've gotten to the point where gear and technique is secondary and not as important as just diving and having fun.
I used to be one of those people that had to constantly ratchet up the bar with more depth, more gear, further training. Diving to them was all about the numbers.
Most of those guys I started diving with went fully into tech diving then decided it was beneath them to go back down and just do regular sport diving. All of them have moved on to the next big thing they can be the best at.
I on the other hand am perfectly happy just doing short shallow beach dives again. I like the whole experience and never get tired of it no matter how shallow or mundane the dive may seem. It's what I see and the feeling of adventure and not about the brand of gear or the brand of training.
When somebody asks me "What's your deal?" my answer is scuba diving. Ever since I was surprised with a certification class as a gift in 1997, and hit the pool the first time to breathe bottled air, I have been hooked. And since my wife joined me in the sport and it has become something we share, it has only become better and better. In 2004 I published this little poem, which expressed my feelings about diving
UNDERWATER MEMORY
Beneath the world of land and sky
Is another world; a world that I
Have visited for a time, but could not stay
As long as I wanted. This world of ray
And shark, of fish and whale, of wonderful creatures
Of strange colors, shapes, and features
Lies beneath the foam and waves of the sea.
Ancient reefs call to me
To come and share in their beauty,
To bathe in their serenity.
This deep blue world of perfection
Massages my soul, and relieves the tension
Of living on the noisy land,
For here no noise disturbs the sand
Or coral or walls or caves,
Nor are they disturbed by waves
Which crash around the land world's rim.
This deep blue world remains calm in dim
Subdued light, filtered and made gentle by the depths.
I feel a part, but am only a guest
In this undersea Eden
From which I must depart for a season,
Left to remember, and to anticipate the day
When I may return.
(c) 2004 Dennis Jacobson
And that is how I still feel. (even though I know its not silent in the sea- just a lot quieter than everywhere else. It's called "poetic license".)
DivemasterDennis
UNDERWATER MEMORY
Beneath the world of land and sky
Is another world; a world that I
Have visited for a time, but could not stay
As long as I wanted. This world of ray
And shark, of fish and whale, of wonderful creatures
Of strange colors, shapes, and features
Lies beneath the foam and waves of the sea.
Ancient reefs call to me
To come and share in their beauty,
To bathe in their serenity.
This deep blue world of perfection
Massages my soul, and relieves the tension
Of living on the noisy land,
For here no noise disturbs the sand
Or coral or walls or caves,
Nor are they disturbed by waves
Which crash around the land world's rim.
This deep blue world remains calm in dim
Subdued light, filtered and made gentle by the depths.
I feel a part, but am only a guest
In this undersea Eden
From which I must depart for a season,
Left to remember, and to anticipate the day
When I may return.
(c) 2004 Dennis Jacobson
And that is how I still feel. (even though I know its not silent in the sea- just a lot quieter than everywhere else. It's called "poetic license".)
DivemasterDennis
myowncompass
New
As several people have said, it's an alien world. Beyond that, it is an alien world where we do not dominate; we are in someone else's territory.
We have an opportunity, especially with ever-curious marine mammals, to interact on another animal's terms - often an animal that could mess us up pretty badly if it chose to. Those interactions remind me of how much we share with these creatures and connects me to our planet.
We have an opportunity, especially with ever-curious marine mammals, to interact on another animal's terms - often an animal that could mess us up pretty badly if it chose to. Those interactions remind me of how much we share with these creatures and connects me to our planet.
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Scuba diving is my one shot in life of doing something that makes me feel graceful ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Similar to what others said...
First and foremost I love marine life and I love to see it up close and personal. It's a good opportunity to witness things that non-divers will never see or understand.
I love the silence...I took classes last semester in which much of the fieldwork was done underwater and I loved not having to listen to my professors talk to me : )
I love how it slows my breathing and relaxes me.
I love the sense of adventure of doing things that many of my friends are afraid of but I am not (night diving, being near big fish, etc.)
First and foremost I love marine life and I love to see it up close and personal. It's a good opportunity to witness things that non-divers will never see or understand.
I love the silence...I took classes last semester in which much of the fieldwork was done underwater and I loved not having to listen to my professors talk to me : )
I love how it slows my breathing and relaxes me.
I love the sense of adventure of doing things that many of my friends are afraid of but I am not (night diving, being near big fish, etc.)
For me being in the ocean was my daily self therapy after a year in Vietnam. I lived in a beach house close to Wind n Sea Beach in LaJolla. Every day, after work, I would take a refreshing ocean swim. A few months later I became a certified diver. That opened up the U/W world. I went diving every weekend for years. San Diego has great beach dive sites as well as the Point Loma kelp beds etc.
As many have mentioned, the peace and tranquility and the mind clutter clearing that takes place while diving is unequaled.
As many have mentioned, the peace and tranquility and the mind clutter clearing that takes place while diving is unequaled.
soltari675
Contributor
When I was in the military I ended up with stress fractures in my hips. Overall they have healed, but because I do not have arches in my feet, they still hurt quite a bit when I do a lot of things like running, etc. Because of this, I lost the ability to do the things I loved like hiking, without a lot of pain. The fun of the experience had gone away.
With scuba, I am weightless. I can see things most people have never seen. I can enjoy wrecks, wildlife, can be agile in the water, all without pain. Scuba has reopened a big part of the world to me and I can only wonder what took me so long to find it. Scuba means freedom and a path back to the things I love.
With scuba, I am weightless. I can see things most people have never seen. I can enjoy wrecks, wildlife, can be agile in the water, all without pain. Scuba has reopened a big part of the world to me and I can only wonder what took me so long to find it. Scuba means freedom and a path back to the things I love.
Good question ! - and I think at different times I might give a different answer - right now I am still at the learning stage where I have to think about what I am doing all the time, but I am starting to feel more natural - and I want to get so the diving is the skill that gets me to do other things, exploring, photography and so on, rather than just diving.
So at the moment scuba is a challenge - teaching my old bones some new tricks and skills to prove I am not over the hill, to give me some confidence and feel good factor about myself and to prove I am not ready for pipe and slippers yet.
Next year I hope it will be the skill that allows me to get involved with marine conservation and archeology, in five years time - who knows?
Happy diving - Phil
So at the moment scuba is a challenge - teaching my old bones some new tricks and skills to prove I am not over the hill, to give me some confidence and feel good factor about myself and to prove I am not ready for pipe and slippers yet.
Next year I hope it will be the skill that allows me to get involved with marine conservation and archeology, in five years time - who knows?
Happy diving - Phil
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