Interesting comment from a fellow diver

[Stoo]

I knew a guy that brought double 72s to an Orange County beach with very high bluffs and lots of sand to walk across. He looked like he was going to die and he was 18. I'm considering getting a little boat so I can start doing more local diving again. Besides, I always did two tanks when I had a boat and only one tank when I had to carry everything back up the cliffs.

Where are you staying in Belize? We were going to go there and were told to avoid Belize City and picked a place that was going to be very difficult to get to and then we would need a boat to get to the dive boat. We went to Cozumel instead.

A boat is the only way to dive, load it up at home, and back it down the ramp.

We have been going to Huracan Diving for years. Some friends that were with us last year, went strait to Cozumel from Belize... They said the diving wasn't anywhere near as good.

Huracan also isn't typical of Belize diving.

 

[JamesBon92007]

A boat is the only way to dive, load it up at home, and back it down the ramp.

We have been going to Huracan Diving for years. Some friends that were with us last year, went strait to Cozumel from Belize... They said the diving wasn't anywhere near as good.

Huracan also isn't typical of Belize diving.

When we flew over the East coast of Belize coming back from Costa Rica I was sure I'd found my new home. The reefs were amazing from the air. But it sure sounds like you have to pick the right spot. I'll look up Huracan I'd been thinking about Belize lately. We booked a flight to Cancun a few months back and when they had a sale (SouthWest) we cancelled our flight and re-booked and saved enough points for a round trip for two to Puerto Vallarta. Maybe we'll go to Belize instead, but PV has become an annual trip for us and we're starting to miss the place and the people we've met there. Maybe we'll just have to go to both. We have to go to Montana for Thanksgiving this year so there goes some of our travel funds. We love to see the kids and grandkids but somehow it seems like a waste to spend all that money to go somewhere and not even go diving.

Edit: come to think of it, the last time we were in PV we stayed on Calle Belice. Must be fate.

 

[JamesBon92007]

@Stoo Well, Huracan certainly looks nice and remote Is that pretty close to the Blue Hole? Does the dive resort provide the transportation from the mainland?

 

[Stoo]

@Stoo Well, Huracan certainly looks nice and remote Is that pretty close to the Blue Hole? Does the dive resort provide the transportation from the mainland?

They do. They run out there Saturday but will also come in on Wednesday if necessary. Depending on the weather, it's close to a two hour trip out in a fast boat. I'm just putting a group together for March and can hardly wait.

And yes, they're about 15 minutes from the Blue Hole. The awesome thing about that, is that we are finishing our dive there before the other boats even get there from the mainland. It's literally just us in there, which makes for an awesome experience.

I posted this shot on Wetpixels FB group and it got almost 1000 likes. I've only ever seen two other images with more and they had baby whales or something and who doesn't love baby whales. I call this image "Lonely Ed". Ed was our boat captain who decided to dive with us that day. Mrs. Stoo and I went the opposite direction from everyone else. Ed kinda hung out between us and the other folks.

 

[rsingler]

My favorite snapshot:

This eighty-something was on our boat in Bonaire four years ago. Had a pneumatic cam tightener bc he wasn't strong enough to swing the tank strap closed.
Hobbled to the back of the boat and flopped in on every dive. That was the day I said to myself, "If he can still do it, I will too!" I'm 68 in a month, and still humping tanks. Just got back from 5 dives a day in Grand Cayman.
I'm still careful, but if I croak on a dive? I can't think of a better way to go!

 

[Stoo]

]I can't think of a better way to go!

That's awesome. We were on a liveaboard in T&C a few summers ago and one dude was 90. He smoked, but was skinny as a rake. He preferred to dive alone and had a pony etc. At one point, he surfaced a long way from the boat. The crew discussed the merits of fetching him in a dingy, but decided against it. Seems he was a frequent flyer with them and they knew he'd be "pissed" if they did. They kept a careful eye on him however and were ready to go.

And I agree about croaking mid-dive. Who wants to spend eternity rotting in a hole in the ground when you can spend it at the bottom of the sea being crab food.

 

[MargaritaMike]

My favorite snapshot:
View attachment 479449
This eighty-something was on our boat in Bonaire four years ago. Had a pneumatic cam tightener bc he wasn't strong enough to seeing the tank strap closed.
Hobbled to the back of the boat and flopped in on every dive. That was the day I said to myself, "If he can still do it, I will too!" I'm 68 in a month, and still humping tanks. Just got back from 5 dives a day in Grand Cayman.
I'm still careful, but if I croak on a dive? I can't think of a better way to go!

I can, but this is a diving forum and we can't talk about *** here. Diving would be second.

Cheers -

 

[drbill]

I'm now 71 and started when I was 15. I've done a number of deep (200 fsw) air dives within the past decade although have limited mymax depth to about 100 fsw the past two years due to my cancer. Back when I was doing about 350 dives a year (not so long ago) the thing that kept me diving was underwater videography (although I was pretty fit for an old geezer). Many of my dive buddies are much younger as few of the older ones still dive.

 

[Divegoose]

I will soon be turning 61, but continue to dive two or three times a week. The majority of my diving is done from shore, and in cold water, which means dry suit and lots of lead. Got certified in 1982, and recently completed my 1500th dive. I have 3 other buddies, all in their early to mid 60's. In chatting about it, we all want to continue diving as long as our health permits. We would all prefer to be out in the water, and staying active, than being "old" and confined to our recliners .

Divegoose

 

[TrimixToo]

It was the end of a good day of diving this past weekend, and the three of us were sitting around the motel room gabbing. It was me and two young men, and by that, I mean people well into their adult years, many years past college. The conversation came around to diving while aging, with my decompression diving that day (about 280 feet) the topic. It was mentioned that a lot of people my age do not do the kind of dives I do.

The conversation shifted slightly to the need to stay active while aging, no matter what the chosen activities might be. One of the young men started talking about his grandfather's activity level, and he looked at me and said, "...and I'm pretty sure he's even older than you are."

Ouch.

Crap. Gotta clean the laptop screen. Again.