How old do you plan to dive til?

[MB NZ]

Planning to hit a thousand dives, then will reassess. At my current rate of two dives per year (outside the anomaly of 2023), that'll take me another 25 years!

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm 57 and fairly healthy. When do I stop? I guess 'till I can't... No idea when that will be. I still enjoy my "techreational"/light deco trips to deep recreational and just beyond trips in the cold dark waters of the Great Lakes. With the family we do cold and warm water recreational diving. When does it end? When I can't do it safely. When will that be? I don't know, nor do I want to know the actual clock...

 

[grf88]

It certainly gets harder as you age. I am pushing 77 and continue to dive the cold water of the Great Lakes and will be visiting Vancouver Island in April and hope to get to Newfoundland again this year. I have switched from a 130hp to a 100hp for back-mount and LP 50's instead of 100hp's for side-mount. The biggest problem is climbing the boat ladder with bad knees.

 

[34109411]

It certainly gets harder as you age. I am pushing 77 and continue to dive the cold water of the Great Lakes and will be visiting Vancouver Island in April and hope to get to Newfoundland again this year. I have switched from a 130hp to a 100hp for back-mount and LP 50's instead of 100hp's for side-mount. The biggest problem is climbing the boat ladder with bad knees.

well you have all my respect cause i am 48 end already struggling! So keep pushing i do dive in the 1000 islands. be safe

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

You don't stop diving because you get old.
You get old because you stop diving.

I dive regularly with folks in their 70s and 80's, and they have the outlook and appearance of people 10-20 years their junior.

I visit folks in their 70s and 80s who have given up on being active, spending their days on the couch watching daytime tv, and they have the outlook and appearance of folks 10-20 years their senior.

 

[RobPNW]

When my doctor stops signing my medical waiver thing.

 

[34109411]

You don't stop diving because you get old.
You get old because you stop diving.

I dive regularly with folks in their 70s and 80's, and they have the outlook and appearance of people 10-20 years their junior.

I visit folks in their 70s and 80s who have given up on being active, spending their days on the couch watching daytime tv, and they have the outlook and appearance of folks 10-20 years their senior.

well i am happy you tell us !

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Two years ago, I would have said until I'm dead.
Then I broke my hip in 2022 and had several months to take a look at what was important to me, what I got out of the activities I enjoy, what it cost me to do them (not just financially), and how much effort did I want to put into just getting to where I could do them.
I still like diving. I don't think I love it like I used to.
I got tired of teaching and trying to compete with quick, cut-rate classes. Along with some other reasons, I retired from that.
Around the time I was cutting back from diving, Covid hit, and I discovered cycling. Way less overhead, although right now, I'm riding a $4,000 bike, and I need to drive 5 minutes to get to the trailhead.
Versus over an hour just to get to the local quarry. It takes 5 minutes to load the car for a ride. 1/2 hour for diving and 3/4 of one to unload and rinse the gear.
Then there's the actual time spent doing what I like. Diving is limited by how much gas I have. Riding is limited by how much hydration and food am I carrying.
60-mile rides are fun. They take about 5 hours.
Last time I dived was in August of 23. It was the only time I went. One 93-minute dive and that was enough.
I felt no urge to go more. Actually, I felt no urge to go through all the packing and prep to go more.
Cold water no longer holds any lure or fascination and I used to love diving under the ice.
I'd like to hit some warm water locations, but I don't want to mess with air travel or driving for two days to go.
If someone said "let's take my plane and fly somewhere warm and dive, I'd go. If I could find a cat sitter.
I might dive a time or two in 2024, but if I don't, it won't feel like a loss.
I never thought I would say that, but there's just not the joy I used to get.
And some of it is due to the industry itself pushing quick classes and putting unqualified people in the water. I don't want to have to deal with the possibility of running into those people.

 

[34109411]

Two years ago, I would have said until I'm dead.
Then I broke my hip in 2022 and had several months to take a look at what was important to me, what I got out of the activities I enjoy, what it cost me to do them (not just financially), and how much effort did I want to put into just getting to where I could do them.
I still like diving. I don't think I love it like I used to.
I got tired of teaching and trying to compete with quick, cut-rate classes. Along with some other reasons, I retired from that.
Around the time I was cutting back from diving, Covid hit, and I discovered cycling. Way less overhead, although right now, I'm riding a $4,000 bike, and I need to drive 5 minutes to get to the trailhead.
Versus over an hour just to get to the local quarry. It takes 5 minutes to load the car for a ride. 1/2 hour for diving and 3/4 of one to unload and rinse the gear.
Then there's the actual time spent doing what I like. Diving is limited by how much gas I have. Riding is limited by how much hydration and food am I carrying.
60-mile rides are fun. They take about 5 hours.
Last time I dived was in August of 23. It was the only time I went. One 93-minute dive and that was enough.
I felt no urge to go more. Actually, I felt no urge to go through all the packing and prep to go more.
Cold water no longer holds any lure or fascination and I used to love diving under the ice.
I'd like to hit some warm water locations, but I don't want to mess with air travel or driving for two days to go.
If someone said "let's take my plane and fly somewhere warm and dive, I'd go. If I could find a cat sitter.
I might dive a time or two in 2024, but if I don't, it won't feel like a loss.
I never thought I would say that, but there's just not the joy I used to get.
And some of it is due to the industry itself pushing quick classes and putting unqualified people in the water. I don't want to have to deal with the possibility of running into those people.

funny Jim i am the opposite of you. In 2018 i had a severe mountain biking accident and broke my humerus. Not working for about a year cause of that and multiple follow up with doctor and physiotherapist. I left mountain biking a bit like you left diving and get into biking. My son was born in 2019.

In 2023 so last spring i get back into diving after a 14 years break ! Gosh i am hook again, diving is easier on me than mountain biking. i start solo diving last august could not stop since than. I truly find calm and serenity. I will stop do dive when my body will tell me.

You move from diving to cycling, It s ok you move from one passion to another like me.

Be safe

 

[Tracy]

Hard to say. I honestly didn't even plan to LIVE this long, let alone dive.