How Dangerous is Scuba Diving?
- Thread starter Mike Boswell
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In what way? I'm 43 (damn...) and I'm fitter now than I was when I was 33 and when I'm 50 I'll be fitter than I am now.
Another example: The winner of the seniors category of the Rotterdam marathon a few years ago was a 74 year old Canadian who ran it in 2:54 ..... Yes... two hours and 54 minutes. He was fitter at 74 than I've *ever* been. At age 78 he still runs it in just over 3 hours.
Personal fitness is related to life-style more than to age, if you ask me. Fitness is 5% age (sure we get get old-and-slow as we go) and 95% the will-power to stay active and NOT do the terrible things to our bodies that turn us into Jabba-the-Hut as we get older.
R..
Just my two cents here.
Life isn't safe. You can go through life, never doing anything considered "dangerous," and still die an untimely death. My Dad never engaged in risky sports or activities, but ended up suffering a slow, lingering decline from cancer for about a year before passing away. He would have been 71 if he'd held on another 2 weeks.
Scuba, like many activities, has its risks, but the lesson that I learned from my Dad is that I can't count on tomorrow to enjoy life. I decided that when Death comes looking for me, I want him to be clutching his chest, out of breath, and worn out from running to catch up with me. I don't want him to find me sitting sedately and safely on my couch waiting for him.
The risks of a sport like scuba are balanced by the way it enriches our lives. I'm sure we've all known people who retired, and died shortly thereafter because they went home and had nothing left to live for. Activities like scuba give us a focus and help us stay active - both mentally and physically - which in turn is generally agreed upon as helping to promote a longer, healthier life.
IMNSHO, it's worth the inherent risks.
I still wonder if my Dad would have had more lucid, enjoyable months in his life if he'd had some kind of mental focus, rather than sitting in his chair, watching television, and letting his mind and body waste away faster. In truth, he was lost to us long before his heart stopped beating.
Life isn't safe. You can go through life, never doing anything considered "dangerous," and still die an untimely death. My Dad never engaged in risky sports or activities, but ended up suffering a slow, lingering decline from cancer for about a year before passing away. He would have been 71 if he'd held on another 2 weeks.
Scuba, like many activities, has its risks, but the lesson that I learned from my Dad is that I can't count on tomorrow to enjoy life. I decided that when Death comes looking for me, I want him to be clutching his chest, out of breath, and worn out from running to catch up with me. I don't want him to find me sitting sedately and safely on my couch waiting for him.
The risks of a sport like scuba are balanced by the way it enriches our lives. I'm sure we've all known people who retired, and died shortly thereafter because they went home and had nothing left to live for. Activities like scuba give us a focus and help us stay active - both mentally and physically - which in turn is generally agreed upon as helping to promote a longer, healthier life.
IMNSHO, it's worth the inherent risks.
I still wonder if my Dad would have had more lucid, enjoyable months in his life if he'd had some kind of mental focus, rather than sitting in his chair, watching television, and letting his mind and body waste away faster. In truth, he was lost to us long before his heart stopped beating.
Nice post. Well stated.
You have seen a number of factors listed that increase the risk of scuba diving, some by quite a margin. I personally am pretty far up on the risk profile. I have some health issues about which I can do nothing. Although I am pretty fit for a man my age, I am still a man my age. I do diving that goes well beyond the normal recreational limits. I do those dives as safely as I can, but if I go out while diving, I know that some people reading the paragraph description in the DAN fatality report will wonder what the heck I was thinking.
What I was thinking was something along the lines of Hoomi's post.
Or as Thoreau said, I do not want to come to the end of my life and realize that I had not lived.
Bullseye.
You get out of life what you put into it. My grandmother is 90 and doesn't show many signs of slowing down because, in her words, she "hasn't been everywhere and done everything yet". In fact at the moment she's gone to Hawaii "because it's there".
The single most important thing we can (and must) do to enjoy a long and happy life is to remain active. The moment you start sitting around and waiting for death to find you, you've already died.
R..
theduckguru
Contributor
Everybody is lined up to have you sign liability waivers because scuba is a safe activity?
Based on waivers alone, I'd say scuba is one of the most dangerous activities on the planet.
Not only is scuba diving dangerous, so is just riding to the dive site on the boat since bubble watchers need to sign a waiver too.
I think scuba is so dangerous you should have to sign a waiver to even go in an LDS. Just imagine what could happen if you bought something.
Based on waivers alone, I'd say scuba is one of the most dangerous activities on the planet.
Not only is scuba diving dangerous, so is just riding to the dive site on the boat since bubble watchers need to sign a waiver too.
I think scuba is so dangerous you should have to sign a waiver to even go in an LDS. Just imagine what could happen if you bought something.
Buoyant1
Contributor
It only gets worse from there! (exponentially!) Actually I SHOULD sign a waiver every time I go into a dive shop, my WIFE could kill me when she see's the Mastercard bill!:shocked2:
To date Scuba is the most dangerous sport I have ever done, It gets me to fly in planes, it gets me to drive to the airport, and to the dive locations. It has me riding in boats, and talking to forigners in far away lands. I eat food not certified by the FDA, I drink beer not pasturized to any standards at all. I risk my finances taking classes and buying gear. I even risk my marriage with all the young stud DMs that my wife might run off with. (not really). but I rarely feel that I am risking anything but a good time under the sea with all the fish to protect me. 
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It's nice that you're 43 and feel good and there are certainly old folks that are in good shape, however the sad fact is that as people age, parts of them stop working so well, and eventually they die.
You can fight it, but eventually time wins.
Terry
I know. But I'm saying (and I'm right) that people give up FAR before they should.
You may be pointing out the cultural reality but you're missing the point that cultural norms can be setting the bar FAR too low. Apparently, 60% of North Americans are overweight or obese. You might be surprised to discover that it's not that bad in other parts of the world. Being sedentary and out of shape is an individual choice but also a cultural norm.
R..
You may be pointing out the cultural reality but you're missing the point that cultural norms can be setting the bar FAR too low. Apparently, 60% of North Americans are overweight or obese. You might be surprised to discover that it's not that bad in other parts of the world. Being sedentary and out of shape is an individual choice but also a cultural norm.
R..
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