Active Divers over the age of 50

[Ghost95]

Thankyou so much. I had no idea that DH diving was still going that strong. I will definitely check out those resources.

I just finished a Mistral rebuild. Check out the vintage diving section. Tons of good info there. Enjoy.

 

[lexvil]

Thankyou so much. I had no idea that DH diving was still going that strong. I will definitely check out those resources.

Nothing like DH diving to make you appreciate single hose diving.

 

[snowman40]

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread. I am curious as to how many SB members, who are still active divers, are over the age of 50? Also, how long they have been diving, how often they dive, and what types of diving they do?

I didn't start diving until I was 48 - Coming up on 61 this year, I regularly dive in cold UK waters.

Last year I did around 70 dives (fairly typical), mostly in UK waters, but 27 in the Red Sea - I did at least one dive every month in 2022 and have done so far in 2023 (yet to do a March dive, though).

Diving is mostly in the 20-30M range, but I do a few Accelerated Deco dives each year, in the 30-45M range, again in UK waters.

I know a few divers 10 years older than me who still dive fairly regularly.

M

 

[NitroxSam]

Nothing like DH diving to make you appreciate single hose diving.

I know the technology is way better than in the old DH only days, but Is there a huge difference in overall diveability?

 

[lexvil]

I know the technology is way better than in the old DH only days, but Is there a huge difference in overall diveability?

In my opinion, I started with DH, yes the best DH is like the worst SH, the beauty is if it’s all you dive you won’t really be able to tell.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I know the technology is way better than in the old DH only days, but Is there a huge difference in overall diveability?

Yes.
With a double hose it’s very position sensitive. When the mouthpiece is below the reg can the reg breathes hard. When the mouthpiece is above the reg can it free flows and almost force feeds you.
When I used to dive my DA Aquamaster kicking down head first doing my initial descent was tough because the reg was really hard to breathe. When I would get to depth I used to flatten out and roll my body to the left (right side is up) so that the fresh air side (right) was about balanced between mouthpiece and reg can and breathing was great, almost like a modern reg maybe better if tje mouthpiece was a tad higher than the can. This is a big reason why double hose divers are constantly trying to lower the tank and get the reg in as close as they can to their back so they can balance out the reg with the mouthpiece for easier breathing. This is also why single hose regs eventually took over, because there aren’t these positioning drawbacks.
I got to where I was good enough to go out solo with that thing and hunt around the rocks without thinking about breathing effort or the quirks.
I only quit using it and sold it because I got tired if having to tear the thing down completely after every dive and clean every part. If you don’t the hoses can really start to stink and everything gets pretty nasty. They are a maintenance pig.

 

[Green Frog]

Got my first C card at 44 yo and will be 74 in June. I am now trying to resume diving after a four year layoff due to family issues and then the Wu Flu pandemic. Through the late Nineties and the early Oughts, I was going on at least one and usually two or more trips per year. Since I retired and had more time to dive, for some reason I didn’t! I hope to get back to at least one good far away trip (think Bahamas or maybe Gulf Coast) per year while I’m still physically able.

I’ve been discussing elsewhere trying to get my niece back into the game. She dove briefly with me when she was in college, and is now in her early forties with husband and kids. They are all water lovers and have expressed some interest in starting up, so maybe this will encourage me to dive more. What do the rest of you “seasoned citizens” do? Dive with family? Friends? Some combination?

I’ll be watching this thread with great interest. Thanks for all of your thoughts.

 

[f4erhinogib]

Started diving as my 50th birthday present to myself. Just turned 64. Vacation diver, mostly Caribbean and Florida.

Been actively diving since returning to scuba in 2018 after a long break from diving a couple years in the late 60’s in my ‘teens’. 30 dives in the 12 months. An active 73 y.o. Dive TX, FL Keys and Recently Roatan & Cozumel.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I can think of at least 10 women over 50, 8 of them are over 60 who dive regulary..

... Adding some estorgen to the conversation.

 

[mcohen1021]

Good lord yall are old!