Why do we Dive????

[ScottNY]

Diving is good for the same reason flying is good. Just experience more of the planet.

Planet is only 25% land after all. 75% is covered by water and 100% by air. If you learn to dive and learn to fly, you can see more of it.

Scott

 

[learn-scuba]

I'm having a hard time thinking of a part of diving I don't love. Maybe the equipment cleanup gets to be a drag, but even then it's a time to socialize.

I love the serenity of it. As someone else pointed out... there's not chatter. The world is tranquil. No one nagging, no one complaining, no phone, no TV,,, just you, your buddy and the ocean.

I love the time on the boat soaking in the sun, anticipating the dive to come or reveling in the dive just completed. It's not quite, but there's a drone to it that drowns out the world. There's the freshness of the sea air, the warmth of the sun, that slightly tired but satisfied feeling you have and this amazing sense of being truly alive.

I love the time teaching... meeting new people and sharing my love of the sport. There's this indescribable feeling I get when I take someone from being nervous in their first pool session to that ear to ear grin when they get that certification. I love being able to share that sense of accomplishment with so many. I love the friendships that come of it. I love the sense of having helped someone live their dreams. I love having introduced them to a world they barely knew existed.

I love the socialization... there's a bond of sorts. Only divers know what divers know. You can talk about it with all the wonder in the world to your non-diving friends... but only the ones who dive "get it" and there's a camaraderie that goes with that. It reminds me just a bit of my years in the service where there was a tight nit sense of family between soldiers who "understood" one another.

I love the beauty of it... the things I have seen that I have never imagined. The subtleties and sometimes sheer garishness of color and behavior. The interactions between creatures. The curiosity they have with us. The sheer sense of LIFE being LIVED at full throttle.

I could go on forever.

In the end, I dive because I can't imagine not diving.

 

[kjunheart]

Eloquently put...I have to agree with you on your description VaScubaGirl!

VaScubaGirl once bubbled...
Going out on the boat, the smell of the sea, sun hot on my shoulders...the gentle rock of the waves against the bow, wrecks and fish and sealife and of course, feeling weightless...like flying in a dream. All of these are part, but not the biggest reason I dive. the biggest reason I dive is because when I am under the water, there is nothing but that moment. I have no past, no future, no worries, no bills to pay, no job to attend to...it is the greatest mental release I have found, and the only thing that I have found that makes me feel that way.

 

[Elvis Maximus]

Diving is the closest most people ever get to being a superhero. You put on some skin-tight clothes, strap on some sleek futuristic doodad, and suddenly you can breathe underwater!

There are admittedly few crimefighting opportunities at my local quarry, though I suppose I could start scraping zebra mussels off the bottom of the platforms.

 

[Dive4Life]

I can sum it up in one work, aesthetics.

 

[Lawman]

Early in the morning, the rain pouring down. First cup of coffee rolling around in tum. The pounding, rolling boat ride with cold waves roaring over the bow.The diesel smoke in your face.
Pulling on cold, wet rubber suits and then stumbling and falling
over other people. Finally the cold, numbing plunge into the depths......Now that I think about it, maybe Great Lakes Wreck diving isn't as much fun as I thought!

What was that somebody wrote about "hot sun" and reefs?

 

[String]

Hmm why do i dive...

Saturday, up at 5.30am, drive near 120 miles after weather forecasts a force 4, clear skies, sunshine and 24c.

Arrive, prep and fuel the boat and we launch, get a mile or so from the marina and even inside the sheltered haven the sea is 5-6ft and its blatently clear diving anywhere is going to be impossible.
So its turn round and drive back home after an early lunch.

In total 10 hours wasted, 240 mile fuel wasted.

You know what? Im prepared to risk exactly the same next weekend to get a dive in. Even if its 1m vis and a 25 minute dive its worth it.

The previous week i had a dive at 40m with 8m visibility on a totally intact and upright wreck and it was simply stunning. The second dive of that day was 1-3m vis on a broken up wreck but still superb. Water temperature 17c so feel nice and snug/warm i my dry suit.

THATS why i dive.

You get to see things you cant see on land whether its life, scenery and wrecks, you have freedom to move in 3 dimensions nearly at will and see things most of the population never get the chance to.

I dont go along with the "zero g space" view - ive never had my guts rammed up in my throat whilst diving like you do in zero g

 

[Ron Brandt]

To totally forget the topside reality .

I teach diving because I still get a real thrill out of seeing people underwater for their very first time or holding their first c-card.

I wanted to be an astronaught and this is the closest I think I will come to being weightless on life support.


Ron

 

[nessum]

You know the Padi slogan:
"Meet People, Go Places Do things" or whatever order it is in....
That kinda holds true. I love have met some awesome, interesting people diving.
I haven't really travelled with it yet, but that is sure to come. And it has made me consder different destinations. :flags:
doing things.... well, duh.
i love diving because it can be challanging :lifting: (rescue course completed... yay!), relaxing (nothing like a lazy summer dive along a 120ft wall that you're familiar with), surreal (the bioluminescence illuminating anothing diver while you're snorkelling out), unique. I love the weightlessness of it. The stories to share with other divers & non-divers alike, plus hearing from people that have been diving for longer than I've been breathing... is just astounding. I love everything to do with the ocean & I love nature. I love the creatures, too. :yellow: And I haven't even encountered all that much yet! :shamu:
And all the gadgets are cool. I think somebody else mentioned that it's better than putting the money into real life & admitting to growing up. hehehe.
Plus, I'd love to make a career out of the sport... at least for a few years, while travelling.
Besides, I live not far from some of the greatest diving in the world (one day i'll make the excursion to the island)... how could I pass up the opportunity to learn in these waters?

 

[ScubaJorgen]

Why dive ?
- Extremely relaxing (usually)
- Thrill (sometimes, e.g. entering a wreck)
- Curiosity: step into an entire different world
- Being able to move 3D
- Meeting other guys
- Having a reason to grab a beer because the air is so dry
- Having a good reason to go on vacation


So better question is: Why do we NOT dive ;-0
- You have to refill your cylinder so now and then
- Not drifting away by current when you sleep and find yourself somewhere unknown when you wake up
- Eat some food
- Pee (when diving dry-suit)