Why We Dive

[shoredivr]

I don't need to justify where I dive. I love diving, and if it's in a lake, quarry, River or ocean I'm happy.

 

[Subcooled]

1) Isn't being weightless and being able to fly enough?
2) It's also social (the surface part).
3) More inspiring than surface swimming or jogging (this is in 3D!), just interchange sport with meditation for benefit.
4) The planning part can be interesting too (although a dive is not quite a moon landing...)

 

[Killerflyingbugs]

I have found that people who are not interested in diving they will never understand, so I don't try to explain it to them. A lot of the time when people that have no interest in it ask it seems like they are just wanting to say "You are a crazy person" and I just want to introduce them to my size 14 flip-flop. If they are interested I tell they to try it because there is no way to explain the way it feels to dive, you know besides "You ever have a dream you are flying?, its kinda like that but better because it's real"

 

[JamesBon92007]

I was having a really hard time the other day explaining to a non diver why diving in a local lake or quarry is so much fun even when there's nothing to see. I finally finished Diving into Darkness by Phillip Finch and there's a quote in there that I feel sums of diving better than I ever could.

"Divers are not thrill-seekers. This is a sport of controlled tension, not of cathartic release. A dive is an exercise in task management, patiently sorting through one after the other, and the payoff is not so much an adrenaline fix as the quiet sense of a job well done. The tasks are usually trivial: tying off a guide line, monitoring instruments, adjusting buoyancy. Many are mental. Nearly all of them appear to be simple, but even the simplest tasks are challenging in an underwater cave, or at great depth. And the consequences of failure — even something so simple as neglecting to check the reading of a pressure gauge — can have catastrophic consequences."

It is so true. Even when there's nothing to see or you're diving in zero vis, going down and just completing what seems like a menial task is so rewarding. The mental challenge and that feeling that you completed some task well while under water is extremely satisfying.

Well, I can have a great time in five feet of water in a lake somewhere but I can say with absolute certainty that I do not dive because I think I may die at any moment nor do I feel a need to "accomplish" anything while diving in order to enjoy it.

 

[archer1960]

sometimes quarry diving is best available without dropping a wad of cash on flights / food / boarding / boat. only really enjoyable if you subscribe to the 'Don't care about where/when/how, I'm going diving!' mindset, and don’t have cheap and easy access to warm water diving.

I would submit that "Warm Water" isn't the issue, but "varying conditions" is. My New England shore diving certainly won't quality as "Warm Water", but there is a huge variety of things to see when diving...

 

[diverrex]

You would have a hard time explaing the attraction of diving in a quarry to me too.

N

I'm with you on this. I've never understood quarry divers More power to them for doing it, but if that was all the diving available to me I wouldn't dive.

I dive in the ocean in Southern California about once or twice a month and the tropics once or twice a year. I dive to see fish. No fish, I'm not diving.

 

[AfterDark]

I don't need to justify where I dive. I love diving, and if it's in a lake, quarry, River or ocean I'm happy.

I'm with you on this. There are warm water divers, cave dives, quarry divers, cold water divers, and probably a few more I can't think of right now. I'm a diver the only place I won't dive is in a septic tank.

 

[icechip]

I agree with shoredivr. No justification needed, especially for those who don't dive or will only dive warm, tropical, exotic etc. Good for them, that's their journey. Diving for me though (no matter where) is my zen moment.

 

[bmorescuba]

It's right up there with skiing and photography in that respect!

Now, if you really hate money, just combine diving AND photography!

 

[RandomGuy1]

I am a regular quarry diver and I love it. For me it isn't about seeing anything, or any particular feeling. It is the focus on skills that draws me back every week. That way when I do get chances to go somewhere warm / with vis that goes beyond 20 feet everything is automatic and I can just enjoy the views. I figure if I can dive regularly in mid 40's water with < 10 feet visibility when I go somewhere with better conditions I will appreciate it more. Last year I went and dove in Jupiter FL and folks were complaining about the 30-40 foot vis and I was loving it. As with many things in life diving is all about perspective.