Why so Deep?

[Scubagolf]

There is different stuff at different depths. Some of my favorite dives are the swim-thrus on walls at 90-100' in Cozumel. Elsewhere the reefs or the locations of wrecks dictate the dive depth. Nothing "macho" about it.

 

[gcbryan]

I agree with Dave. Since the OP was from B.C. (as I recall) I'd say the "sweet spot" on most dives in that area is around 110 fsw. Usually the life changes on a wall around 80 fsw, gets a little better around 100 fsw and after that (in B.C.) the Cloud Sponges get larger and you may encounter Tiger Rockfish and Yelloweye Rockfish.

Every area (every dive site actually) has its sweet spot. Personally, I'm not into 1 1/2 hour dives. I like the variety that comes with depth in my area and I'd much prefer to have a 45 minutes dive that moved from 120 fsw gradually on up to the shallows.

We have a few sites that don't get deeper than 40 fsw and it gets boring after a while. Even though there is a lot of life, it's the same life over and over. I save the end of the dive to look at that kind of life and use the earlier parts of the dive to spend less time at deeper depths for the variety.

If it's a site where all the life is at 60 fsw then I don't go to 100 fsw just to stare at the silt. So...it depends.

 

[TSandM]

If you are visiting Vancouver Island, you really ought to go see the cloud sponges in Saanich Inlet (and elsewhere). They are deep water creatures; at the sites we dove in Saanich Inlet, they start at about 100 fsw, but are much bigger and more numerous at 120. We did those dives as planned staged decompression dives; we had a ball, saw an ancient and fascinating animal and the ecosystem that grows upon and around it, and had enough time at depth to enjoy what we saw and take some photographs.

Deeper yet are the red gorgonians -- they are, from what I have heard, found at about 140 and deeper. I would love to see them, and eventually, I will.

In the San Juans, the walls have distinct zones of life. From the surface to 60 feet or so is the zone of kelp and the fish that like that habitat. From 60 to about 100 is the zone of metridium anemones, and the small fish (eg. warbonnets) that use them as shelter. Between 100 and 130, you encounter a myriad of sponges, of multiple shapes and colors. Each depth zone has its attractions.

I don't dive wrecks, except to see what is living on them. But I found China rockfish at 140 feet in Monterey, and I didn't know they even lived there. My REEF instructor told me they would desperately like to have some REEF surveys done at the depths where I am now diving, because they have little data on what species are found there, as few critter-loving REEF survey divers essay those depths.

I am very happy to do a 30 foot dive (or less, sometimes!) and enjoy the color and life to be found there. I'm also excited to do a deeper dive, in the right environment, to see what is living there. And I'll confess, there is some pleasure in having the education and training to execute those dives smoothly and safely.

 

[Sas]

There is lots of different stuff at all kinds of depths. For example wrecks hold up better at depth and locally there are many that lie deep, and that is mostly why I do deeper dives personally. But I will also happily dive a wreck in 4m of water from shore at one site. Whatever.

Many people like the challenge of deep diving as well.

And of course for some people it is about ego for sure but I've met those kinds of people who do 10m shore dives and brag to non divers about just the fact they do scuba diving so it's not just restricted to people who dive deep. I don't really mind if people want to dive just to break a record or to look cool, to each their own. If there wasn't people like that diving would probably have less exploration going on. I think people should worry less about other peoples' motivations really and focus on their own. The people who bag people for going deep just because they are happy at 18m are just as bad.

 

[deepwater]

Most of my diving life was spent a Navy diver, so it's my nature to looks for things. Sometimes I don't know what the things are, most of the time I don't find anything, but I alway look. One of the unfortunate laws of nature is things that sink, do it all the way to the bottom and the bottom is deep.

 

[ptyx]

Wreck, walls, or anything else there is to see down there.

Doing a 'deep' triangular wall dive is a great way to observe how different species compete for space depending of depth and light; without accumulating too much deco. The only problem is that whatever depth you set as the limit, you often get a glimpse at other stuff a bit further down that would be worth checking out.

There are other agencies where the limit is 60m/180f (yes, on air), and I know a few divers who are happy to say they beat it to 185. Once again as mentioned above, it is very likely an ego thing. Whatever the limit is set….

Deep air debate aside, those divers went through a lot of deco, gas planning and physiology training before getting certified for those depths. And they got told ad nauseam that it's not because they got the card that they have to go there. Even when it's an ego thing, it is more about being proud of going through the training, practice and preparation to make those dives relatively safe rather than just being a daredevil.

 

[Troutmaster]

This post is classical BS. This is the same garbage that was spouted by the now defunct Skin Diver magazine that diving below 130ft was all about ego and bravado and there is nothing to see, it is highly dangerous blah, blah, blah.

Diving is about enjoying the marine environment, exploring things that few get to experience and experiencing everything the water has to offer.
Anyone who tells you there is nothing to see down there has never been there and anyone who says it is all about ego does not know what they are talking about.
I am very disappointed to see this attitude still exists in the scuba community.

+1

I like to dive tropical reefs as much as the next guy, but if I want to dive at home, I dive wrecks in the big lakes. All of the wrecks are at the bottom and (as was previously posted) the bottom is deep. Is is not an ego thing, its a "what I want to see/do" is deep thing.

In the big lakes, there are few wrecks shallow. Waves, ice and many tons of explosives used to break up wrecks years ago (by the Coast Guard because of navigation hazards) there just is not alot going on. But in the deep, cold water there are a great many ships to see.

Its the same thing with ice diving. Why cut a hole in the ice and dive through it? Because several months out of the year the only way to get to the water is through the ice. Non-divers, and warm water divers think it is nuts (and it is) but what the hell else are you going to do with your time in the frozen north.

It never held any appeal to me. Now it does so I do it, and I am training to go deeper safer.

Hope this helps.

 

[Deefstes]

For me there is no particular attraction to diving deep just for the sake of the depth. I actually prefer shallower dives for the better sunlight penetration and longer bottom times but I do enjoy the occasional deep dive (and by deep I mean 30m).

1. There are some dive spots that are deep and which I love to dive simply because they offer the chance to see some critters which we typically don't see on the shallower dives.

2. When the sea is a bit turbulent the deeper dives tend to have less surge.

 

[bracko]

.... but what the hell else are you going to do with your time in the frozen north.

ski?

 

[vladimir]

In reading it seems that a lot of people are into "Deep" diving. My question is: "Whats down there?".

Schooling hammerheads. Perhaps it's El Nino, perhaps global warming, but sometimes the thermocline is deep, and you'll usually find the hammerheads below it. I did a trip to Layang-layang just to see the hammerheads--which we found in droves, but usually 45 to 55 meters deep.