Happy to always dive advanced within recreational limits, forever ? [Poll]

[Roger Hobden]

I am curious to know how many advanced divers on SB are perfectly happy to always dive within recreational limits, and who have no plans whatsoever of moving on to more "technical" types of dives ?

Non-technical vs technical has naturally always been a moving target, and has evolved a lot in the previous decades.

So let's say we use these terms as they are currently understood by a majority of divers in 2018.

Please don't hesitate to post any comments to explain your vote.

 

[arew+4]

Maybe some light deco, if there is a compelling reason to go deeper or stay longer, red sea live aboard, or a special wreck, or something like that. Will probably never get into trimix, or multi step decompression. Might try CCR at recreational depths someday.

 

[Superlyte27]

Consider this...
You've booked a trip to Key Largo. You just can't wait to see the famous Spiegel Grove. Sitting in about 137' of water sits a 510' ship that is just friggin awesome. You've saved all year long. You make the long drive, packed full of dive gear. You've paid your $85 to make the 8 mile trip to the site. You've finally arrived. Oh man, the excitement. You can't wait to see the two enormous Jew Fish or the giant Yellow Fin Tuna that live there. You get kitted up, jump in the water, and then do a 20 minutes of bottom time. Woohoo!

Screw that. LOL

Or, you could just book a double dip and be the first in the water. When the other divers are doing their surface interval, you're still in the water. When the other divers are getting kitted back up to make their second 20 minutes of bottom time, you're still in the water. While everyone is baking on the boat.... you're....still....in.... the.... water!

You end up just under 3 hours of diving, instead of 40 minutes.
Last I remember, I have over 37 hours on the Spiegel Grove. I have still probably only seen 40% of it.

Anyway, that might be one little reason for the guys who are on the fence about moving deeper into technical diving.

 

[Antmany2k]

same as above. don't mind going into light deco. have done on a couple of occasions but i don't think i will ever go technical for 2 reasons:
1 - too expensive. the gear i have now cost me enough and having to get all new gear for tech would be exciting and fun albeit too much for me to afford at this moment in time

2 - don't see the point. i see the things i want to see at a recreational level so only reason for me to ever go tech is for shipwrecks

BUT i also said after OW that AOW seemed too deep and scary and i would probably never do it. then after a lot of dives at 18m i did AOW and then said seems a waste of money to do the deep diver to get to 40m and now i have that so by that logic in 2 years time i am going to be tech diving to 70m with a big grin on my face and a mountain of debt haha

 

[snowdog61]

what superlyte27 said is it in a nutshell. Bottom time and reducing narcosis is what would draw me in. Not a fan of the long deco obligations and boy does it add up quick.

 

[Superlyte27]

same as above. don't mind going into light deco. have done on a couple of occasions but i don't think i will ever go technical for 2 reasons:
1 - too expensive. the gear i have now cost me enough and having to get all new gear for tech would be exciting and fun albeit too much for me to afford at this moment in time

2 - don't see the point. i see the things i want to see at a recreational level so only reason for me to ever go tech is for shipwrecks

BUT i also said after OW that AOW seemed too deep and scary and i would probably never do it. then after a lot of dives at 18m i did AOW and then said seems a waste of money to do the deep diver to get to 40m and now i have that so by that logic in 2 years time i am going to be tech diving to 70m with a big grin on my face and a mountain of debt haha

If your dive count is right, then I understand.
I tell people all the time, this is a marathon, not a race.
When I built my first massive pile of dive gear, it took 20 years. I didn't do it overnight.

 

[nolatom]

Nah. I dive often enough (let's say 10-20 dives a year) to keep me and my recreational gear "in shape". And that way diving is still kinda "new" for me, after a few months not doing it. And the 60' to say 120' dives remain a sufficient thrill to keep me from getting bored or hungry to go to the next level. In a pinch I've gone to about 150' to stay with buddy while she was helping a narced and lonely diver ascend to non-narced depth, or to 135' to go through Hole in the Wall off Jupiter, or to briefly touch the main deck on the Oriskany..

Plus I'm getting older, and kind of a cheapskate about diving/gear. So I guess you could say I'm content with what I've got.

Not to throw any shade on the techies, all the best to you, and stay safe.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I tell people all the time, this is a marathon, not a race.

At age 50, I'm being Shanghaied to buddy up with a guy in a GUE JJ-CCR course here in the 1000 Islands in October. I started diving at 13 and 37 years later I'm still expanding my diving. I thought I wouldn't want to switch to a rebreather, but that may change after training.

 

[caruso]

Consider this...
You've booked a trip to Key Largo. You just can't wait to see the famous Spiegel Grove. Sitting in about 137' of water sits a 510' ship that is just friggin awesome. You've saved all year long. You make the long drive, packed full of dive gear. You've paid your $85 to make the 8 mile trip to the site. You've finally arrived. Oh man, the excitement. You can't wait to see the two enormous Jew Fish or the giant Yellow Fin Tuna that live there. You get kitted up, jump in the water, and then do a 20 minutes of bottom time. Woohoo!

Screw that. LOL

Or, you could just book a double dip and be the first in the water. When the other divers are doing their surface interval, you're still in the water. When the other divers are getting kitted back up to make their second 20 minutes of bottom time, you're still in the water. While everyone is baking on the boat.... you're....still....in.... the.... water!

You end up just under 3 hours of diving, instead of 40 minutes.

Anyway, that might be one little reason for the guys who are on the fence about moving deeper into technical diving.

I'll play Devils Advocate here. Having done the Spiegel Grove multiple times and being a non-deco recreational diver my experience differs from your description in many ways.

1- I don't drive all that distance and wait all year just to dive the SG. I plan a dive trip that will be perhaps 12-18 dives over 5-7 days. I do other things during the trip such as dining out and sightseeing and just plain relaxing so it's not "all about the diving" although it's "mostly about the diving".

2- My dives on the SG average about 40-45 minutes because most of what is to be seen on that wreck is in the 60-80' range. Being aware of depths and maximizing bottom times by staying a bit shallower on average can make quite the difference. 2 - 45 minute dives on the wreck are more than enough for me. On a recent dive we swam from the stern mooring, through the wreck almost to the bow and back again. Yes, on one dive we saw most of the wreck.

3- It can also get somewhat chilly when you're in the water close to an hour or more. I don't mind the SI to relax and warm up and enjoy some time in the sun.

4- I have no interest in hanging on a line for an hour looking at nothing but an occasional passing jellyfish. I bore easily.

5- Totally not worth the expense and extra gear and the weight of the additional tank. Besides where does a technical diver on vacation rent a rebreather or double tank rig anyway?

6- So my bottom time is about 1.5 hours vs your 3 hours. It's not clear to me if you are including deco stops in that 3 hours, if so it's a no brainer that it's not worth the extra trouble to tech dive under those conditions. Even if the deco stops are over and above the 3 hours it's still not worth it. That's a ton of time in the water. Also are the other non deco divers sitting there waiting for you to decompress after the second dive when everyone wants to head back to the dock?

 

[doctormike]

At age 50, I'm being Shanghaied to buddy up with a guy in a GUE JJ-CCR course here in the 1000 Islands in October. I started diving at 13 and 37 years later I'm still expanding my diving. I thought I wouldn't want to switch to a rebreather, but that may change after training.

Hey, glad you chose the right rebreather!

I agree with Superlyte. It's so nice to have the extra time at reasonable depths when you learn how to do staged decompression. The Oregon is a 19th century ocean liner at 125 feet off the Long Island coast. I used to spend all day getting out there for two 15 minute dives. That's why I did tech training. Not to do extremely deep or very long dives (I can't stand hours of deco either), but to do longer dives at intermediate depths.

The other reason to do tech training is that it makes you a better diver, because it really is about teaching a mindset as much as it is about learning a specific set of skills. It's about planning your gas and bottom time ahead of time, and coming up with contingency plans for lost gas, extra time or extra depth.