NOT fun about diving...?

[clarissa1]

Hi there

I haven't got one single dive behind my name as yet (still doing my course now) but can't WAIT to hit the water.

I've been reading a lot on SB but can't seem to find anything negative about diving. Either I have decided to take part in the best sport there is, or only people that love diving come to this site?

Either way, I would really love to hear if there are any people that did indeed feel diving isn't for them and why? Or maybe you dive but you're only doing it cause you feel bad about buying all that expensive gear but if you'd get the chance you'd give it up straight away?

And for those that dive and DO love it what do you dislike about diving and any suggestions as to how to prevent/better it?

I guess I must seem like someone who is looking for the worm in the apple...trust me ... I'm not! Just more of a contingency planner-type

let me know what is not cool about diving so that I can make sure it doesn't happen to me !

 

[Lisa0825]

I know exactly what you mean! I'm a contingency planner too! I was just certified, and won't be buying much until I know for sure it's something that I'll stick with.

My only complaint so far is that I have had an ear problem for 5 days now. I hope that won't happen again.

 

[Wayward Son]

What's not fun (most can be prevented or avoided):

Getting sea sick.

Getting congested when a dive is coming up.

Getting cold during a surface interval when diving in the winter.

Getting up at 4:00am in order to drive to the coast & meet the dive boat on time.

Getting sun burned.

Getting stung by jelly fish, bitten by critters, stuck by sea urchins, etc.

Being too broke to be able to go diving.

 

[devolution365]

Not having enough vacation time at work to be able to go diving. (I get 14 days a year -10 to visit family =4 days for a diving vacation, assuming I don't ever get sick.)
:mad1:


:idea: Maybe we could get away with just calling them.
Somehow, I don't think so.

Oh well, to the quarry with me. :tongue:

 

[spectrum]

I'll try not to repeat but I'd add....

Getting home and still needing to unload and clean-up after a day of driving and diving.

Getting to the dive site and seeing that the forecast in no way depicted the heavy seas.

Having the perfect dive day but no buddy to go with.

Lossing gear in rough water. Been lucky so far after a few close calls.

Knowing you're obsessed but trying to not come off that way to the rest of the world.

Changing back to street clothes after a wet dive in the colder seasons. It's offset by a strange endorphine rush.

Sure there worms in the apple, just eat around them, it's still great fruit. Good planning and a decent attitude takes care of most of the downside.

The payback is admission to a show that most folks can't even comprehend the richness of.

Pete

 

[Damselfish]

Most people that don't like diving or drop out for some reason aren't going to be hanging out here. If you look hard you will find stories of people with ear problems or other medical problems that get in the way, or problems with comfort in the water or learning certain skills. But if they're discussing them here it's usually because they really want to dive and are looking for solutions.

If someone is learning to dive only because someone else is pushing them, not because they want to, that can be a problem. Then again, some of those people do get hooked.

If someone has a bad or jerk instructor that can be a serious problem, people may not learn everything they need well enough, or get discouraged and give up. Picking the right instructor is important and a way to head off problems. Though it can be hard to pick the right instructor before you've taken the class if you don't know enough of what to look for.

Some people get introduced to diving through resort courses - some have good experiences and get hooked, but some have bad experiences. That's something to be careful of. Also good to be careful of certification courses packed into too short a time, like a weekend. It may work for some people but there's a lot to get used to and this really isn't the ideal way to go about it. It will be too much for some people and they might give up because of that.

Sometimes good divers doing everything right can have bad experiences in the water. Get lost, caught in a nasty current, have a gear failure and run out of air or start shooting to the surface, get bent. Proper training and not diving beyond your limits reduces the chances of bad things happening. (Read the Accidents and Incidents forum and learn from it.)

If you travel, you may find you always want to travel to places where you can dive, and miss the rest of the world.

I personally started diving cold water in New England and got really tired of the hassles involved in diving around here, though obviously lots of people love it. So I don't dive around home anymore, but I solved that by flying south often. If I couldn't do that I may have given up diving.

 

[shortyjrt]

The payback is admission to a show that most folks can't even comprehend the richness of.
Pete

Pete is so very correct everything you go through it worth it all.

The only part I don't like about diving is:
But then, I just got certified myself and haven't been able to go back yet. So I know I was overloaded even taken some of the weights off. But getting in and out of the water was hard with all that weight on. The first dive we had, when it was time to get out. We swam to the steps and I couldn't walk up them. I couldn't pull myself up to be able to walk. Had to drop the belt. Was very glad I didn't have to walk very far to get in the water.:05:

 

[BabyDuck]

sand following you home. i have sand issues i'm slowly working through, but that's my main ick right now. though i agree having to do your gear cleaning when you're tired is a bummer.

 

[The Natural]

Hurricanes screwing up your last 4 dive trips.

 

[AevnsGrandpa]

After 2 years of diving and 37 whole logged dives. I have found the following things take away from the joy I have when diving. Sorry to repeat things listed before.

1. Having to drive a minimum of an hour and a half to go diving. (Problem of living in Illinois)
2. Having to drive back a minimum of an hour and half from diving and still have to hang up, rinse off and store my dive gear.
3. A mask that after the first to second dive develops a small leak then I use a lot of air just keeping clear. (This will be taken care of this Christmas hopefully)
4. Being cold when you dive. (this has been mostly taken care of by moving to a 7mm farmer john, but ther are still times.....)
5. Doing ocean shore dives and ending up having 10 pounds of sand in all your gear and in your wet suit.
6. Putting on your wet suit the next time you dive and realize you didn;t get all the sand out!
7. Lack of vacation and money to go some where nicer to dive.

Now please after reading everyones b***h list you don't get put off of diving as much as you can. Even though some of these things are a pain, it is all part of the diving experience and all make you a better diver and person. To balance things I'll put a few of the most enjoyable things about diving.

1. That first moment on every dive when you descend and the whole world is quiet and all you hear is your own breathing.

2. Seeing things that 95% of folks will never see other than in a picture.

3. Being weightless and moving through the water like a fish!

Have fun diving!!

Jeff