How old are you?

[ozzydamo]

Dude, where are you coming from? Not trying to rag on you, but "Elders?" Really?

IMO, every diver has to carry his or her weight and prove himself on every dive. "Respect of your elders" is something you give to the guys giving the lectures or writing books, as most have grey hair and seldom get wet anymore.

Younger divers have every right to be suspect of us older divers. Most older divers are out-of-shape, don't dive on a regular basis, are too cheap to keep their gear updated and upgraded, cut corners, and BS more than they dive. I don't respect them and don't see why they deserve anybody else's respect, least of all because of their age. (For those of us who don't fit that profile, my hat's off!)

If you want to sit around with newer divers and tell them about the great dives you did back then, go for it. But understand that they see you just as an "old guy," just like you see any other "old" guy who's trying to relive his past. However, put on your tanks and dive with them and you will earn their respect.

I'm betting that I'm older than most, and still doing as many solo dives off boats and in caves as I can. My rebreather has given me the freedom to spend all day in the caves, and the heated vest + dry gloves have given me the freedom to spend much longer on the bottom with a wreck. When I come out of a cave hours after I went in, or climb back on the boat when everyone is going in for their second dive (or coming up with them and they're on their second dive), I think the younger divers take note. I can see a difference in their attitudes, in their wanting to include me in their converstations all of a sudden, and in the questions they are now asking because now they want to learn from me. I don't dive ths way to earn their respect; I do it because that's the way I enjoy diving.

So we have to earn the respect of younger divers in the same way they have to earn our's. That's the way it is, and should be, IMO.

Tragic Irony!
Time catches up with everyone, the respect I am talking about is a compassionate humanitarian one;
Not a competitive one from people who are really only amateurs and will end up dead, just the same, some other day.

 

[sylpha]

Tragic Irony!
Time catches up with everyone, the respect I am talking about is a compassionate humanitarian one;
Not a competitive one from people who are really only amateurs and will end up dead, just the same, some other day.

it's not just an age thing, i am just so fed up with people who have not been diving 5 minutes trying to tell me how to do it. the classic one was i taught someone how to run dives & as soon as he got his book signed he started telling me i had it all wrong.

 

[bletso]

In technical diving it's worse. The young bucks with the bucks think they know all five minutes after buying their new toys.

In contrast some of the older divers I run into may not approach diving like I do, but I can respect that there is no one correct path to nirvana. I certainly know few would dive the way my DB and I do, but the older folk just nod and plod on and the young ones are full of sage advice and firmly advise us of our impending demise.

Safe Diving,

Dale

 

[ozzydamo]

it's not just an age thing, i am just so fed up with people who have not been diving 5 minutes trying to tell me how to do it. the classic one was i taught someone how to run dives & as soon as he got his book signed he started telling me i had it all wrong.

Better just enjoy yourself Sylpha, life's too short'
:cool2:
I dive almost exclusively with friends or solo, out of our own private boats-some of us are ex-fishermen, now fully evolved!

We aren't in clubs, don't worry to much about cert tickets and love diving in shallow coral reefs with heaps of pretty fish to take color vivid photo's of what we love, the fish, the habitat and the skills/luck involved in taking a pretty photos- none of us are Alpha domineering type people, we don't have time for playing childish mind games.

I am into it for fun times, not hard times!
There is lots of good people to share the enjoyment with don't suffer fools with chips on their shoulders- the exile of silence works a treat! Don't call us, we'll call you............

 

[ozzydamo]

In technical diving it's worse. The young bucks with the bucks think they know all five minutes after buying their new toys.

In contrast some of the older divers I run into may not approach diving like I do, but I can respect that there is no one correct path to nirvana. I certainly know few would dive the way my DB and I do, but the older folk just nod and plod on and the young ones are full of sage advice and firmly advise us of our impending demise.

Safe Diving,

Dale

Happiness is a mode of transport, not a destination.

 

[captain]

Dude, where are you coming from? Not trying to rag on you, but "Elders?" Really?

IMO, every diver has to carry his or her weight and prove himself on every dive. "Respect of your elders" is something you give to the guys giving the lectures or writing books, as most have grey hair and seldom get wet anymore.

Younger divers have every right to be suspect of us older divers. Most older divers are out-of-shape, don't dive on a regular basis, are too cheap to keep their gear updated and upgraded, cut corners, and BS more than they dive. I don't respect them and don't see why they deserve anybody else's respect, least of all because of their age. (For those of us who don't fit that profile, my hat's off!)

If you want to sit around with newer divers and tell them about the great dives you did back then, go for it. But understand that they see you just as an "old guy," just like you see any other "old" guy who's trying to relive his past. However, put on your tanks and dive with them and you will earn their respect.

I'm betting that I'm older than most, and still doing as many solo dives off boats and in caves as I can. My rebreather has given me the freedom to spend all day in the caves, and the heated vest + dry gloves have given me the freedom to spend much longer on the bottom with a wreck. When I come out of a cave hours after I went in, or climb back on the boat when everyone is going in for their second dive (or coming up with them and they're on their second dive), I think the younger divers take note. I can see a difference in their attitudes, in their wanting to include me in their converstations all of a sudden, and in the questions they are now asking because now they want to learn from me. I don't dive ths way to earn their respect; I do it because that's the way I enjoy diving.

So we have to earn the respect of younger divers in the same way they have to earn our's. That's the way it is, and should be, IMO.

You lost me at "Dude"

 

[sylpha]

Better just enjoy yourself Sylpha, life's too short'
:cool2:
I dive almost exclusively with friends or solo, out of our own private boats-some of us are ex-fishermen, now fully evolved!

We aren't in clubs, don't worry to much about cert tickets and love diving in shallow coral reefs with heaps of pretty fish to take color vivid photo's of what we love, the fish, the habitat and the skills/luck involved in taking a pretty photos- none of us are Alpha domineering type people, we don't have time for playing childish mind games.

I am into it for fun times, not hard times!
There is lots of good people to share the enjoyment with don't suffer fools with chips on their shoulders- the exile of silence works a treat! Don't call us, we'll call you............

yeah, i do enjoy myself, diving's hard enough battling the weather without the idiots. we boat owners should stick together

 

[sylpha]

You lost me at "Dude"

even Dude is a foreign language to me

 

[Eff]

Started diving at 21.
Started solo at 22.
Currently 23.

I would say that maybe 20% of my dives are solo.
I do find it funny when someone freaks out about it. Although up here in the NJ/NY/PA wreck area it is pretty well accepted.
When solo, I carry multiple isolated, redundant air sources, extra various bits of gear when needed, only dive on familiar sites under certain conditions, carefully plan and limit the profile, etc...
Had some good training, but no official courses yet. In the future, I guess I'll take one so if I ever go on a live aboard or whatever they don't freak out.

I had somebody ask me what would happen if I had a heart attack or stroke while solo?
Well, that sucks. Oh well. Natural selection at work I suppose.
My worst solo-related fear is getting bad gas (CO, etc). Which is why I only fill at shops I know well and trust, analyze the gas before using it, etc etc etc.
As for gear, I am obsessive about maintenance and inspections before every use, so I'm not too concerned about that. I carry all the redundancies described above (and more) and practice using it, but I don't worry to the point of distraction.

When doing anything new, deep, dark, sketchy, deco, or in heavy seas I always take a dive buddy. Sometimes I'm in a team.
Maybe the hardcore solo divers think of me as a weenie that way, but that's just my comfort level.

We all manage our risks differently.

 

[ozzydamo]

yeah, i do enjoy myself, diving's hard enough battling the weather without the idiots. we boat owners should stick together

The weather is more predictable I would argue!