"not a good enough reason"

[Doc]

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll I disagree.

My oh my. Highly opinionated for a young fellow who isn't certified and has just come back from a snorkel thrash in the local creek.

People learn deep diving, much as they learn all skills, as a progressive accumulation of experiences so that a similar dive with a defined goal may be achieved.

If you want to go dive the wrecks at Bikini or Truk, learning how the depth affects you first in Lake Huron would be a cost effective method to gain training and valuable experience.

If you are stuck in an isolated fresh water zone and want to learn deep diving just as a technical pursuit- why not?

You see this in skiing as well. When amateur racers gather from all over the US, who leads the pack? The Midwesterners (WI, MI) that have nothing else to do than hold their breath and rip down the local hill's 200 vertical feet of ice. That's the only interesting thing to do- they get pretty good at it. (All they have to remember out West during the annual races is to breathe!)

But I will tell you- the divers with 500+ salt water dives are the ones that stay above 60fsw... that's where the action is.

In the tropical isles we see the aberrant behaviors~ the Shark hunters (who haven't yet seen their 100th Shark) or the honest to gods Geologist types who want to study the structures "under the island", but for the most part, the "Sand Checkers"... that is- the guys who do the Plus 100 Foot blips for no particular reason- they exhibit a lot of other A.D.D. behaviors as well.

I watched a diver go to the steamroller in Truck and actually dig a hole in the sand to stuff her computer a bit deeper. When she returned to the boat, it had violated her, locking her out for 24 hrs. So on day two of the diving, she pulled out the battery, the computer reset to A Group- and off she went again. People talk of "shovel divers", but I've seen one.

Go and do whatever suits you for whatever reason, but I suggest you have a goal other than establishing a "personal deepest".

Oh, btw- that snorkel is almost unbreathable after 4 feet down. Might want to check into a c-card before you

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll I disagree.

again.

 

[seaducer]

I think you read the OP wrong. He disagree's that going deep for the sake of going deep is not a good reason to go deep. I will agree with that statement. We all have our own motivations to dive, and should not disparage anyone else's because we don't see what they see.

But I will tell you- the divers with 500+ salt water dives are the ones that stay above 60fsw... that's where the action is.

In the tropical isles we see the aberrant behaviors~ the Shark hunters (who haven't yet seen their 100th Shark) or the honest to gods Geologist types who want to study the structures "under the island", but for the most part, the "Sand Checkers"... that is- the guys who do the Plus 100 Foot blips for no particular reason- they exhibit a lot of other A.D.D. behaviors as well.

Wow. Well, to start, I have seen plenty of interesting things below 60 fsw. Lots of action. In fact the first eagle ray I ever saw was deeper than 100 feet in Bonaire, and there were all kinds of interesting fish and corals down there. You should qualify that YOU don't dive deeper than 60 feet because the action YOU want to see is shallower. Most all of the best wrecks in NJ are deeper than 60 feet, and whether you are going for the wreck or what lives on it, it's all below 60 feet. I could go on...

Shark hubnters? I guess you could label me as one of those as well. I love sharks, always have. Some of my all time favorite minutes on Earth were in the company of sharks. I dive with them all the time. Even in captivity, I still get a thrill when I share water with them.

Again, just because you don't get what others do, doesn't invalidate their diving. I don't get cave diving. At all. But that doesn't mean that it isn't worth doing, or that people who enjoy it are A.D.D.

 

[northen diver]

We all dive for different reasons. Although I may hold an opinion regarding your reasons, there is no absolute moral scale for judging them. If you want to do a 300 foot dive just to say you did it, more power to you . . . but it makes more sense to do it with the information and skills to do it safely, as otherwise you might not get to brag about it at all

On the other hand, there are even people who prefer their dangerous activities without a safety net -- solo rock climbers come to mind. They have a right to do what they do. One only hopes that they do it in the full knowledge of the risks they take and the mitigating strategies they are discarding.

TSandM, not sure if you rock climb or not, but solo climbing is safe if done corretly. I use either a gri gri or a silent partner when I solo climb. It does the belaying for the climber. At times I prefer my silent partner over a human belaying me.

 

[TSandM]

I stand corrected; I think what I'm talking about is called free climbing (without ropes or belays).

 

[northen diver]

I stand corrected; I think what I'm talking about is called free climbing (without ropes or belays).

Yep.....and most rock climbers dont call it free climbing...............we call it STUPID.....

 

[battles2a5]

Lol, maybe in Roatan (and I am jealous, btw). Here in NC, all the great wrecks are around 100fsw or deeper (along with all the wildlife). And you are going to spend 3+ hours on a boat to get there. So if you want to ride 3 hours for 2 10 minute dives then ride back, be my guest. But being able to do a nice, long dive and some deco is much better. So your diving should fit the environment. If you need to dive deep and long, get the training and requisite experience and do it right.

 

[all4scuba05]

Just like Cave diving is considered stupid by some. Perhaps we should all stop it with the labels and mind our business?

 

[northen diver]

Just like Cave diving is considered stupid by some. Perhaps we should all stop it with the labels and mind our business?

Climbing El captain or some other big wall free style just isnt a smart thing to do by about anybody standard. Dan Osman and Derik Hensey comes to mind. One slip or loose hold and you are done. Cave diving has standards with back up systems. Free climbing has no standards nor back up systems. It is just a reckless adventure that shouldnt be promoted. It hurts the rock climbing community in the long run. So when it effects my me and my business, I can call it stupid, callous and reckless. :blinking:

 

[diver 85]

....."why do you want to go deeper?"........Don't complicate this question, the answer is "to see things"...

 

[spectrum]

"why do you want to go deeper?" "going deeper for depths sake isnt a good enough reason"...
Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll I disagree.

The statement you disagree with is a general statement and like nearly everything scuba it is not a hard and fast rule. The statement is most commonly made to novice divers hell bent on making deep dives. Dives they are not prepared to make.

Of course there are things to see in the deep. However in a great many areas a deep dive means cold dark silt or being down beyond the lush plant life. It also means a short dive by virtue of most divers single cylinder air supply and if that does not end things then your NDL will.

Working one's way into deeper dives with training and experience is all fine and good and I agree that exploration is very much a part of the human spirit.

Pete