First I would like to ask exactly how dangerous is this sport? It seems looking around I see a lot of articles about killed scuba divers, I even watched a discovery special on the sinking of that big aircraft carrier for an artificial reef and one of the navies' own divers passed out and floated to the surface while checking the hull. Is this just people being dumb? I also backpack and when your up in the mountains its not exactly dangerous but you can get yourself killed if your stupid and try something your not skilled enough to do. Honestly I am a little nervous about scuba diving, I think drowning would be one of the last ways I would want to go.
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Far_X
Contributor
Dave, it is as dangerous as you want it to be. Many people die by diving in conditions where they do not have the right equipment, right training or common sense to do that dive. There are some people who die and have not made a mistake. There are also countless thousands of divers who do not have accidents and have an enjoyable experience every time. It is mainly down to how you approach your diving. Come on down. 
Thx for the answer far x, seems like every other sport, If you dont think and be smart youll get hurt. I really dont think I want to dive all that deep to begin with, my craving for diving comes from my utter fixation with coral reefs and other marine life. I dont think Ill be very interested in diving for wrecks.
And a little about myself since I didnt say anything in the first post, I am 21 and go to Texas Tech University in the crappiest town in the world, Lubbock. I like to backpack, run, wo, hunt, fish, and keep marine aquariums. I graduate in a year with a finance degree and will promptly move to florida and work for a few years and then buy up some sort of ocean sport related charter business, maybe create an adverture empire......then total global domination. hahah
And a little about myself since I didnt say anything in the first post, I am 21 and go to Texas Tech University in the crappiest town in the world, Lubbock. I like to backpack, run, wo, hunt, fish, and keep marine aquariums. I graduate in a year with a finance degree and will promptly move to florida and work for a few years and then buy up some sort of ocean sport related charter business, maybe create an adverture empire......then total global domination. hahah
cuddlefish
Contributor
The last DAN seminar I went to (Diver's Alert Network)..included some statistics...
Deaths in the US in 2005:
90 diving
700 boating
3,000 accidents in their home
Obviously there are more people "in their homes" than diving...but you can see how hanging out in your own home can be dangerous. You might as well get out there and enjoy the world...above and below the water.
Be careful and have fun.
Deaths in the US in 2005:
90 diving
700 boating
3,000 accidents in their home
Obviously there are more people "in their homes" than diving...but you can see how hanging out in your own home can be dangerous. You might as well get out there and enjoy the world...above and below the water.
Be careful and have fun.
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dave8888:And a little about myself since I didnt say anything in the first post, I am 21 and go to Texas Tech University in the crappiest town in the world, Lubbock. I like to backpack, run, wo, hunt, fish, and keep marine aquariums. I graduate in a year with a finance degree and will promptly move to florida and work for a few years and then buy up some sort of ocean sport related charter business, maybe create an adverture empire......then total global domination. hahah
You never spent much time in Wichita Falls, have ya...? You have two main Dive Shops in town, altho there might be a third getting going...
Best Little Dive Shop on Indiana Ave is the oldest - half full of hockey stuff. Current owners are not there a lot last I heard - unless Terry has retired from the city job. I think they supply the University Scuba Course. I took a Nitrox course from him.
Southwest Aqua Sports across from South Plains Maill next to the Lone Star Oyster Bar is all scuba. Chad is my favorite of the 3 I have trained under - taking Padi Rescue and TDI Decompression. He will teach you very safe diving, even tho he can be a maverick on his own dives. His wife Rachelle runs the store and she is a hoot.
See ya in Santa Rosa maybe...
As the other guys have said, its as dangerous as you wnat it to be. The problem that you have with diving rather than, say, mountain climbing, is that you are now in an element that will not independantly support human life.
I my opinion, deaths and injuries MOST OFTEN occur due to taking the sea for granted, thinking you know it all or just being blase!
There are always the exceptions to prove the rule, but the statistics do bear out the facts.
I my opinion, deaths and injuries MOST OFTEN occur due to taking the sea for granted, thinking you know it all or just being blase!
There are always the exceptions to prove the rule, but the statistics do bear out the facts.
John4455
Guest
dave8888:
"I would rather go like that rather than in some sense-less tragedy"
Truman Sparks
dave8888:
I have spent a lot more time backpacking in wilderness areas in Canada than I have underwater. I consider backpacking to be significantly MORE dangerous than diving (here, I am referring to tropical recreational diving). Mountain climbing is not even in the same league (I am referring to alpine climbing).
Rec diving is a safe sport if you take the Open Water Diver course from a decent instructor, always follow what you have been taught, and acquire some decent equipment (which will cost you less than your backpacking gear).
Pool's open - come on in!
dry heat diver
Contributor
Hey David - Maybe Texas Tech, in its curriculum, forgot to tell you the part about there ain't gonna be no survivors. Nobody gets out of here alive. You can sit in a closet wrapped in bubble wrap but you're still going to die. So once you've come to terms with that you might as well get out there and enjoy the ride.
I'm new to diving over the past year. While it can be somewhat challenging and intimidating at first, it is far less dangerous than a lot of other activities (commuting to work comes to mind) if you just pay attention, get good instruction, work on the skills, and use common sense. Don't dive beyond your ability and comfort level and you will have a truly beautiful and exhilarating experience.
I'm new to diving over the past year. While it can be somewhat challenging and intimidating at first, it is far less dangerous than a lot of other activities (commuting to work comes to mind) if you just pay attention, get good instruction, work on the skills, and use common sense. Don't dive beyond your ability and comfort level and you will have a truly beautiful and exhilarating experience.
Welcome to the board.
Like the others have said, all in all diving is a safe sport as long as you follow the rules. The drive to the dive site is a lot more dangerous than the dive. One of the reasons you see lots of talk about dive accidents is because we do talk about them. We try to learn what went wrong so we can better prepare ourselves to avoid the same mistakes. One interesting statistic I recently saw is over 50% of "diving" deaths are heart attacks. Maybe the diving made it worse but I tend to separate heart attacks out as they can happen anywhere at any time. Getting closer to the heart attack age, I for one would rather have one underwater than at 70mph on the interstate.
Come join the ranks, something is going to kill you anyway, might as well be having fun when it does.
Like the others have said, all in all diving is a safe sport as long as you follow the rules. The drive to the dive site is a lot more dangerous than the dive. One of the reasons you see lots of talk about dive accidents is because we do talk about them. We try to learn what went wrong so we can better prepare ourselves to avoid the same mistakes. One interesting statistic I recently saw is over 50% of "diving" deaths are heart attacks. Maybe the diving made it worse but I tend to separate heart attacks out as they can happen anywhere at any time. Getting closer to the heart attack age, I for one would rather have one underwater than at 70mph on the interstate.
Come join the ranks, something is going to kill you anyway, might as well be having fun when it does.
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