I got certified when I was 13 in '81 and did most of my diving in the NY/NJ area. In my 20's I worked as an instructor and sold equipment and mixed gas at a shop on Long Island. Back then Wreck diving and Tech diving were in thier evolution and the shop I worked at was at the forefront. It was a very exciting time.
I moved to Florida in the 90's and dropped out of diving for about 15yrs. Then my oldest son (who loves the water and is a great freediver) turned 12 and decided he would like to try SCUBA. We took an openwater class together and have been diving an average of once a week.
I feel like I got transported through a time portal. I look around at the changes in recreational and Tech diving and I am amazed how far the industry has come. Recreational diving has fully accepted O2 enriched air as the norm and deep diving has fully moved in the direction of rebreathers and tri-mix. When I was involved in the industry there was only a small group using the "voodoo gases". Great to see that the industry accepted the wake up call.
I'm glad to be back diving again (especially with my son). We stay pretty shallow nowadays, but diving is just as much fun as the old days.
I moved to Florida in the 90's and dropped out of diving for about 15yrs. Then my oldest son (who loves the water and is a great freediver) turned 12 and decided he would like to try SCUBA. We took an openwater class together and have been diving an average of once a week.
I feel like I got transported through a time portal. I look around at the changes in recreational and Tech diving and I am amazed how far the industry has come. Recreational diving has fully accepted O2 enriched air as the norm and deep diving has fully moved in the direction of rebreathers and tri-mix. When I was involved in the industry there was only a small group using the "voodoo gases". Great to see that the industry accepted the wake up call.
I'm glad to be back diving again (especially with my son). We stay pretty shallow nowadays, but diving is just as much fun as the old days.
