I'm new here on the boards, but not new to diving....though by no means are my skills where they need to be IMO.
Five years ago, I got my C-card (PADI) and within two months completed AOW. My goal was that every vacation from then on was going to be a diving vacation!
For the next three years, my spouse (at the time) and I took two or three diving vacations per year. We visited the BVI twice, Cozumel, Belize including the Blue Hole, Jamaica, Florida Keys and even Panama City. We took the good dives with the mediocre (finicky equipment, bad vis), learned a lot and enjoyed the experience. I was convinced (and still am) that scuba diving is a wonderful thing. In fact, I chose to pursue the watersport experience over obtaining a private pilots license because the sport of diving was spectacular!
Even another diver's death on our boat dive in the Keys did not derail our chosen sport, though we learned a great deal from the experience.
I've been single for about two years and am seeing someone special now. My *great* idea is to get her excited about the sport and her interest level has heightened. Mind you, I am not trying to force or coerce her into diving, but rather open some doors and invite her in. She is in the medical profession (nurse practitioner) and knows her stuff. We have already discussed some of the material she is likely to cover in an OW class. Several of her friends (married couples and singles) have expressed great excitement in everybody getting trained in scuba this year....5 or 6 newbies to the scuba community!
Fast forward to last evening....we get online and come to these boards and scubadiving.com to do a little surfing and to explore some ideas about a trip, LDS, equipment choices, and of course, other divers' experiences. It seemed that the boards were dominated by complaints against dive shops, fatalities, near drownings, legal issues and the like.....
She has 'cooled her jets' somewhat about the whole experience at this point. We still plan on doing a 'pool experience' and take it from there, but who knows.
As a non-diver, she was left with the impression that diving can't be safe :frown2: She's not an idiot. Obviously, all sports have risks. I, for one, always put safety first on every dive! However, *some* damage has already been done.
I've been warmly welcomed here and don't want to seem ungrateful. But, is there a forum (perhaps for registered members only) that discusses all of the above mentioned issues? After all, I want our sport to grow and thrive (with safety being FIRST), rather than turn people off before they even get going. I'm NOT suggesting important, even life threatening issues, be buried or taboo for discussion, just not the dominating theme it seems to be.
Any suggestions on what to discuss with my g/f about the "current state of diving"? It's been two years since I've been wet. Has the sport changed that much?
Five years ago, I got my C-card (PADI) and within two months completed AOW. My goal was that every vacation from then on was going to be a diving vacation!
For the next three years, my spouse (at the time) and I took two or three diving vacations per year. We visited the BVI twice, Cozumel, Belize including the Blue Hole, Jamaica, Florida Keys and even Panama City. We took the good dives with the mediocre (finicky equipment, bad vis), learned a lot and enjoyed the experience. I was convinced (and still am) that scuba diving is a wonderful thing. In fact, I chose to pursue the watersport experience over obtaining a private pilots license because the sport of diving was spectacular!
Even another diver's death on our boat dive in the Keys did not derail our chosen sport, though we learned a great deal from the experience.
I've been single for about two years and am seeing someone special now. My *great* idea is to get her excited about the sport and her interest level has heightened. Mind you, I am not trying to force or coerce her into diving, but rather open some doors and invite her in. She is in the medical profession (nurse practitioner) and knows her stuff. We have already discussed some of the material she is likely to cover in an OW class. Several of her friends (married couples and singles) have expressed great excitement in everybody getting trained in scuba this year....5 or 6 newbies to the scuba community!
Fast forward to last evening....we get online and come to these boards and scubadiving.com to do a little surfing and to explore some ideas about a trip, LDS, equipment choices, and of course, other divers' experiences. It seemed that the boards were dominated by complaints against dive shops, fatalities, near drownings, legal issues and the like.....
She has 'cooled her jets' somewhat about the whole experience at this point. We still plan on doing a 'pool experience' and take it from there, but who knows.
As a non-diver, she was left with the impression that diving can't be safe :frown2: She's not an idiot. Obviously, all sports have risks. I, for one, always put safety first on every dive! However, *some* damage has already been done.
I've been warmly welcomed here and don't want to seem ungrateful. But, is there a forum (perhaps for registered members only) that discusses all of the above mentioned issues? After all, I want our sport to grow and thrive (with safety being FIRST), rather than turn people off before they even get going. I'm NOT suggesting important, even life threatening issues, be buried or taboo for discussion, just not the dominating theme it seems to be.
Any suggestions on what to discuss with my g/f about the "current state of diving"? It's been two years since I've been wet. Has the sport changed that much?
)
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