Changes that Senior divers make?

[boulderjohn]

We did a few Liveaboard trips on the long defunct Nekton boats and I'm pretty sure that they had lifts at the stern, or am I remembering incorrectly?

Chartered in the USA?

 

[KathyV]

Chartered in the USA?

I think so, I believe that we left Florida for the Bahamas on a couple of Nekton's cruises.

ETA: Now I remember! The entire dive platform used to go up and down on the back of the Nekton boats and one time it broke off during a heavy storm and the passengers lost all their gear in deep water!

http://www.onewolf.org/images/nek2.jpg

 

[Marie13]

A lift would be great!

One time we took a liveaboard trip where the others divers were almost exclusively British. There was one Canadian woman and we were the only Americans but everybody else was British.

The Brits were nice folks but when the boat ran out of tea there was quite an uproar! The Captain managed to hook up with a fishing boat and borrow some tea and so mutiny was averted!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a cup of hot tea myself - but not when I'm in the tropical heat - but the Brits had to have their cuppa! It was a good trip.

A cuppa (or lots more!) is absolutely necessary. I’m with the Brits on this. A good cuppa can cure almost anything.

 

[Divrtim]

In 1998 I dove in Truk lagoon with Chuck Nicklen( under water cinematographer of some note) of San Diego. Chuck owned the Diving Locker in Pacific Beach, CA. Chuck, as I recalled was in his early 70's then. He was pushing his under water camera around the top of some of the wrecks following the schools of fish and filming the waves of anemone's in the surge.
He stayed relatively shallow, 10 meters or so. I'd be watching him swim around while doing my deco stops from deeper dives. I thought to my self, I'm in my late 40's and this guy is in his 70's and diving, having fun and enjoying his life. I decided I wanted that future as well.
Fast forward almost 25 years now. I've had a hip replacement, two shoulder replacements and a couple of other trips to the OR. But I'm still enjoying diving. I don't do tech and wrecks anymore, dive doubles, don't do all the mixed gases. I don't do deep 40+ meter dives, caves, or squeeze my legs so hard together so I don't pee in my dry suit while doing Deco stops. I don't do shore dives, night dives or WTF am I doing this dive for dives.
I'm just an old guy now, swimming around at 10-20 meters, pushing a little Tovatech following schools of fish and marveling at the garden of anemones swaying in the surge. I think of Chuck from time to time. He's the one that encouraged me to put my name on the list of people who wanted to go to Truk. I remember thinking as I stared at the sign up sheet, there is no way I can go on this trip( for all those big reasons at the time: money, family, time off from work).
Chuck just said we're just getting an idea of interest. There is no obligation. There were six names already on the lined paper. I picked up the pencil attached to a string on the clip board and added my name on line seven. When I walked out of that shop into the So Cal sun, I just knew I was going to Truk. I didn't know how but I knew I was going. And I did.
So now what is it like being a senior diver? Well, I like what another diver posted: I like riding in the front of the plane, beds in nice hotels, easy warm water diving with great viz and great food. And I'd add, my afternoon nap. I've got friends( not too many left) most who complain that they cant play golf, arthritis kills them, can't do marathons, play squash or pickleball and just suffer in their misery. Me, well I enjoy planning my next trip, and packing my gear and live to hear "dive, dive, dive".
Chuck shared a real life lesson with me, enjoy your life doing what you enjoy. What ever the destination, what ever the reason, no matter what you think you can't do, you can do it. If you don't believe me, just write down your next dive dream in pencil somewhere and it will happen if you let it. I'm living proof of it.

 

[<*)))><]

@ Divrtim

Much Respect!

 

[DogDiver]

I’m 71. Living in cave country north Florida. I still do mixed gas staged decompression cave diving with sidemount steel 120’s. I also swim one mile lap swims twice a week. I’ll still be diving when someone wheels me in a wheelchair to the steps at Ginnie Springs.

 

[GameChanger]

In 1996 I dove in Truk lagoon with Chuck Nicklen( under water cinematographer of some note) of San Diego. Chuck owned the Diving Locker in Pacific Beach, CA. Chuck, as I recalled was in his early 70's then. He was pushing his under water camera around the top of some of the wrecks following the schools of fish and filming the waves of anemone's in the surge.
He stayed relatively shallow, 10 meters or so. I'd be watching him swim around while doing my deco stops from deeper dives. I thought to my self, I'm in my late 40's and this guy is in his 70's and diving, having fun and enjoying his life. I decided I wanted that future as well.
Fast forward almost 25 years now. I've had a hip replacement, two shoulder replacements and a couple of other trips to the OR. But I'm still enjoying diving. I don't do tech and wrecks anymore, dive doubles, don't do all the mixed gases. I don't do deep 40+ meter dives, caves, or squeeze my legs so hard together so I don't pee in my dry suit while doing Deco stops. I don't do shore dives, night dives or WTF am I doing this dive for dives.
I'm just an old guy now, swimming around at 10-20 meters, pushing a little Tovatech following schools of fish and marveling at the garden of anemones swaying in the surge. I think of Chuck from time to time. He's the one that encouraged me to put my name on the list of people who wanted to go to Truk. I remember thinking as I stared at the sign up sheet, there is no way I can go on this trip( for all those big reasons at the time: money, family, time off from work).
Chuck just said we're just getting an idea of interest. There is no obligation. There were six names already on the lined paper. I picked up the pencil attached to a string on the clip board and added my name on line seven. When I walked out of that shop into the So Cal sun, I just knew I was going to Truk. I didn't know how but I knew I was going. And I did.
So now what is it like being a senior diver? Well, I like what another diver posted: I like riding in the front of the plane, beds in nice hotels, easy warm water diving with great viz and great food. And I'd add, my afternoon nap. I've got friends( not too many left) most who complain that they cant play golf, arthritis kills them, can't do marathons, play squash or pickleball and just suffer in their misery. Me, well I enjoy planning my next trip, and packing my gear and live to hear "dive, dive, dive".
Chuck shared a real life lesson with me, enjoy your life doing what you enjoy. What ever the destination, what ever the reason, no matter what you think you can't do, you can. If you don't believe me, just write down your dive dream in pencil somewhere, it will happen. I'm living proof of it.

WOW! This sure brought back some fond memories of growing up in San Diego! The Dive Locker was one of my hangouts, along with SDDS (San Diego Divers Supply) and New England Divers. I bought my first custom-made wetsuit from the Dive Locker, I knew Marty Snyderman (underwater photographer) from playing racquetball with him at the Atlas Health Club in San Diego.

Here's a nice article with Chick Nicklin. Note what he says at the end about diving and getting old...
Chuck Nicklin - SDI | TDI | ERDI | PFI

 

[KathyV]

Some have said that the reason they are not in America has to do with regulations regarding the use of "elevators" on boats. Those regulations were evidently designed for the sort of elevators that get you to the different floors in a hotel and not a dive boat lift and have not been adjusted for such use. At least that is what some people have posted--I am certainly no expert on the topic.

We did a few Liveaboard trips on the long defunct Nekton boats and I'm pretty sure that they had lifts at the stern, or am I remembering incorrectly?

Chartered in the USA?

I think so, I believe that we left Florida for the Bahamas on a couple of Nekton's cruises.

ETA: Now I remember! The entire dive platform used to go up and down on the back of the Nekton boats and one time it broke off during a heavy storm and the passengers lost all their gear in deep water!

http://www.onewolf.org/images/nek2.jpg

Below are some older messages from @diversteve and @DiveMaven describing the function of the Nekton dive platform elevators. They would lower the platform in the mornings and you would climb down the ladder and put on your gear at the bottom of the platform and step off. You would remove your gear on the platform at the end of the dive.

Of course this information is useless now because the Nekton liveaboards have been out of business for a long time, but I think it indicates that US Chartered dive boats are allowed to install lifts if they wish to do so?

It's very easy. The dive platform is brought up and down depending on when the dive deck is open - generally 4-5 hrs. in the morning and 4-5hrs. in the afternoon - although if there's a night dive, it generally is down till then.

The crew controls how low the divedeck goes into the water, they can put the bottom step into the water(or lower?) or keep it slightly above if there's some wave action. There's a set of stairs built into the divedeck parallel to the boat that you use to get to/from the shower/upper decks - at least on the Pilot - I've never seen the back of the Rorqual.

The divedeck steps are side by side so two people can go off at the same time. There's a 5-6 step ladder below each set of steps to exit the water. There's also two side exits that are generally 4' or so abovewater when the deck is all the way down as they're on the same level as the divedeck. So if the divedeck is up 2-3', it really becomes a "Giant" stride.

On the Pilot, there's a rope out to the skiff, which is always in the water pre-dive and on the left side there's a ball with about a 50' rope on it.

Since the mooring comes off the front of the boat the crew also attaches another line from the back of the boat to the mooring at the permanent ball. So you have a line to follow all the way around if you want to descend/ascend via the mooring line since the boat's mooring is on the main deck and about 30' over your head when tied off. What we did quite often was just drop and swim under the boat between the pontoons, they block the waves/current quite well.

hth,

Steve forgot to mention that there's always a crew member right at the bottom of the steps when you're approaching. As soon as they can reach you, they grab your tank valve and help you up the stairs. You shouldn't have any problem getting out of the water with these guys helping.

 

[boulderjohn]

Below are some older messages from @diversteve and @DiveMaven describing the function of the Nekton dive platform elevators. They would lower the platform in the mornings and you would climb down the ladder and put on your gear at the bottom of the platform and step off. You would remove your gear on the platform at the end of the dive.

Of course the this information is useless now because the Nekton liveaboards have been out of business for a long time, but I think it indicates that US Chartered dive boats are allowed to install lifts if they wish to do so?





View attachment 670918

I don't think it is the same thing as the lifts being described here, in which the diver gets on the lift in the water and is then raised individually up to the deck.

 

[BlueTrin]

A lift would be great!

One time we took a liveaboard trip where the others divers were almost exclusively British. There was one Canadian woman and we were the only Americans but everybody else was British.

The Brits were nice folks but when the boat ran out of tea there was quite an uproar! The Captain managed to hook up with a fishing boat and borrow some tea and so mutiny was averted!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a cup of hot tea myself - but not when I'm in the tropical heat - but the Brits had to have their cuppa! It was a good trip.

Next time they ask for tea, reply with “Lemon?” casually