How would you describe the experience of SCUBA diving?

[Guba]

You know those dreams you sometimes have in which you simply raise your arms, lean forward and suddenly you are flying? That sense of freedom, of weightlessness, of pure unadulterated JOY?


It's like that.

 

[divermike1011]

For some reason the shop owner thinks diving naked may cost us repeat business. Also, since we do mostly vacation diving out here I don't want to give some poor girl on her honey moon any unrealistic expectations on what its supposed to look like

Michael

 

[Abidon]

I liken it to a spa treatment with sensory overload. At this point, I'm mainly a vacation diver. While my wife spends her days at the spa getting massaged and pampered, I go diving. At the end of the day, we both feel the same way... a little tired, and oh so relaxed and content. :sigh:

 

[eponym]

"You’re like a thought."

Not my words, though I share the feeling. That was part of Jerry Garcia's description of diving, which he also described as "an active, physical form of meditation."

-Bryan

 

[Rhone Man]

It is very Zen (at least unless/until the sh-- hits the fan on any dive...).

The parallel with floating in space is very apt. Freedom from gravity, very tranquil.

You can risk taking the parallel too far - NASA used to have a astronaut training facility in the nearby US Virgin Islands and (apparently) in those days you could dive nearby and watch the astronauts in something appromixating full space suits bouncing around the bottom. Can't imagine that security would be quite so lax today...

 

[Jaydubya]

It really depends on the dive. I've experienced feelings from ranging from extreme anxiety to sheer bliss, from excitement to boredom, from clarity of purpose to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. The important part I guess, is that always feel something and in the process learn something about myself. Perhaps that is why I love it so much.

 

[Kenny13]

I think it's something you really have to experience for yourself to truly grasp the feeling. I don't care how many videos or documentaries of the undersea world you watch, there is no substitute for experiencing the feeling firsthand.

I was just certified last summer shortly before I turned 45 and it is something I had wanted to try for years. To actually do it was far more enjoyable than I had ever imagined, and even though I have a ways to go with things like buoyancy control, the feeling of being underwater in an enviornment that isn't experienced by everyone is just amazing and something that has me hooked.

 

[gcbryan]

To me it's peaceful, another world, and frequently an adventure.

 

[Guba]

You can risk taking the parallel too far - NASA used to have a astronaut training facility in the nearby US Virgin Islands and (apparently) in those days you could dive nearby and watch the astronauts in something appromixating full space suits bouncing around the bottom. Can't imagine that security would be quite so lax today...

It's not. I was chatting with a couple of the divers that assist astronauts training in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab facility (essentially a 6.2 million gallon swimming pool). I remarked that I'd love to get the opportunity to dive there. One of the divers looked at me and grinned, "We'd love to, mate, but then we'd have to kill you."

I grinned and answered, "Wow. What do you guys have in there, a Russian spy satellite?"

Without missing a beat the fellow looked at his partner and hooked a thumb at me, "Looks like we're going to need to kill him anyway!"

He did indicate, though, that security clearances were "quite rigorous". I don't think he was exaggerating at all.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Scuba diving is the only time in my life I've ever known what it feels like to be graceful ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)