A Camera keeps ya outta' the water. REALLY? Fall in love with Ocean again!!! It ain't about the gear, it'z about the underwater habitat that we(humans) are guests too. The critters and homesteads they live in are to observe and enjoy. Takin' it home in a camera to share or relive is only a knee jerk response to the Beauty, Majesty, and Wonder of the deep.
Respect, DBD
Don, I hear what you're saying...but please understand it wasn't just about not being able to take photos. That entire dive experience (the one I lost my camera on) was a nightmare - the camera loss was just the nasty icing on the rotten cake. And it was a LOT of f'ing money to lose - ouch, that hurt.
I didn't stop diving completely - I've been out a couple times locally since then (camera-less, of course), but I found that diving brought back some pretty unpleasant memories for me, which gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, reliving that awful dive. I decided I just needed to take a break from it, to get some distance between me and that bad dive.
So I've spent my free time on other pursuits - mainly, working on and sailing our 36-ft sailboat, and doing a little sailboat racing. I'm glad I took the time off - I had way more time to spend working on my sailing skills.
Now it's 8 months since it happened, and that's enough time - I'm ready to jump back in the water. I bought the camera because, well, I like taking pictures down there.
I totally agree with you that the biggest joy is just being there, enjoying the majesty of the underwater world. Now if only it would clear up so I can get down there!
But we have fun, and racing does help us to improve our sailing skills.
