Active Divers over the age of 50

[2stroketony]

65, dive whenever I can. 4-5 times during summer. Socal, Oahu, NW mountain lakes and rivers.

 

[2stroketony]

Diving since 1983, NAUI.

 

[Altamira]

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?

Thanks to @NitroxSam for this thread. I have always wondered where I fit on the over 50/60 SB age spectrum, and now I have some idea of how old I am based on the responses. My brain still thinks it is 50, but the rest of my body knows the truth. I am 77, and so far, the oldest of posters, but I know there are divers out there that are well beyond my age. Thanks to watching Sea Hunt, I started diving in 1965, then took a long sabbatical starting in 1975 due to flying and other priorities until 2010 when I met John Duggan (Duggan Diving in San Antonio). I will always be grateful to John, a Course Director, who is seven years older than me (and still diving tech) for convincing my wife and I that it was not too late to get back in/start the diving sport. Since 2010, diving has been all rec diving, mostly on cruise stops around the world, and volunteer diving, averaging around 15-18 dives a year. Because my wife no longer dives, I have enjoyed being an insta-buddy to a wide range of divers spanning the entire spectrum of abilities, and have enjoyed and learned something from every dive. I no longer fly, and know my remaining diving years are somewhat limited, but both passions have been quite the ride.

 

[Kharon]

76, diving solo 13 years more than 200 solo dives, local diving to practice and maintain skills, warm water diving when I can - Bonaire many times (absolute favorite). Dominica (loved it), Grand Cayman (spoiled by who I was with), Aruba (not for me), Florida Keys/Conch Republic (nearly drowned, definitely not for me), Roatan/CCV (definitely not for me), Placencia/Splash (most definitely not for me).

 

[VikingDives]

55 years old, diving since 2000. Headed to Mexico to do some cave diving tomorrow...

 

[DirtFish]

68 years young, diving since 1974. 30 years rescue diver in the Fire dept., cave, trimix certified.
Now retired and carribean warm water sidemount diving. Can still swim a mile and a half and do 30 pullups although I can't remeber what day it is.....

 

[Divin'Papaw]

... although I can't remember what day it is.....

You're retired. Does it even matter? That's the day I'm waiting for!

 

[Seaweed Doc]

56 years old, began diving 37 years ago.

I did 140 or so dives in 2022. Off to a slow start in 2023, with only 20 to date. Most of that's teaching students to dive or work-related.

Most of my diving is cold water, close to home. Last year was a bit of an exception mostly due to a work trip to Indonesia that involved diving daily (no more than 2 dives at most) for a week or two. And 4 dives in Hawai'i while on vacation with my family.

This year lack of funds means no tropical diving for me for fun, though I'm hoping to do a few dives on a work trip to Belize.

 

[PR_SMITH]

61, diving for 15 years, mostly cold water, sidemounting HP100's, not doing backmount doubles much now. Don't winter dive anymore(unless somewhere warm).
Retiring to Cyprus next year, beautiful clear waters, lovely climate. Will dive more frequently.
The average annual temperature of the sea around Cyprus is 21–22 °C (70–72 °F), from 17 °C (63 °F) in February to 27–28 °C (81–82 °F) in August (depending on the location). In the seven months from May to November the average sea temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F).

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

creeping up on 54 and diving for 7 years. Usually manage around 100 dives per year mostly in Mexico but I have also become a master at disguising dive trips as family vacations. Off to Thailand this summer for 10 days on Koh Tao doing "family" stuff.
My dad isn't necessarily actively diving but at 83 years old did his DSD and some fun dives last year.