Old(er) dude in central Florida takes up diving.
- Thread starter J322Y
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OP
J322Y
Contributor
Dan
Contributor
Hi all. Prepare for dumb questions that have been answered 10,000 times!
No really, I promise to use the search function first....
I've been fascinated by underwater life since I was a kid. Been dating a long time diver for 5 years and finally decided to join her underwater.
I was hooked the first time I drew a breath through a regulator. Didn't matter that I was in an indoor pool...
Even though I'm new to diving I came up with an analogy for sharing the experience with non-diver friends who wonder why I got so into it so quickly. Please tell me if I captured the feeling:
Imagine that you're out hiking in nature. There are interesting plants and animals to see, many of which are beautiful, and some which can also be dangerous. You brought binoculars to see birds up close, and maybe a few large apex predators in the distance, hopefully not too close. Now imagine you're underwater where there is also a wide variety of flora and fauna, however now you can get relatively close to the animals. Instead of hundreds of meters between you and large predators there might only be a few meters or even less. Instead of hoping to catch a glimpse of exotic birds hiding in the trees, you enjoy beautiful fish and other swimming creatures all around you, often close enough to touch (not that you should). Maybe this explains why nature lovers, who are willing to breathe bottled air, go to great lengths to get underwater, where humans rarely go.
Welcome to Scubaboard & underwater world!
I think as divers we expand our opportunity to explore this blue world to several orders of magnitude more than those unfortunate non-divers. We live & breathe on limited habitable land that covers only 30% surface of the earth, shared with 7.5 billions of us. We can explore the land in short order with the vehicle that can cover the area up to hundreds of miles in a day. Pretty soon we cover most of the places that we to see. With the exploration time limited only a few hours & covering over a few feet in a day on the remaining 70% of the earth surface, the field opportunity to explore the new underwater world without bumping into each other becomes limitless in comparison with what we can do on land.
Do you take pictures while diving? That's what makes me want to do even more diving to capture those amazing underwater world, like shrimp goby symbiotic life. I can hover for minutes on the sandy bottom watching & capturing the shrimp bulldozing out rocks & sands falling into their shared hole (home), while the goby guarding the hole from any potential intruders (us, if we get to close to them). Some critters are so small & the visibility sometimes limited, so by capturing the images, I can later relive my underwater experience in our dry land world on the comfort of warm bed on Sunday morning
ram04769
Contributor
Sounds perfect! I can't guarantee any specific days or times as of yet since I don't know what's planned with parks and the such. But I will keep all of that in mind and see if we can meet up. Will there be any places around to rent equipment? I'm just asking because I don't plan on really bringing mine down with me. But there is the possibility I could at least bring my basics (mask and fins).ram, let me know if you want a few buddies. My girlfriend is a seasoned diver and we might be able find some free time. Blue Heron Bridge is about 2.5 hours from Orlando, and it's great for new divers. 15 ft at the deepest, and it's a shore dive. There are several threads here about bhb, and also some good stuff on youtube.
*My gf likes holding the float/flag!
OP
J322Y
Contributor
Thanks for your post Dan_T.
I've heard that a person who is predisposed to an addiction can be "hooked" after their first experience. That sounds like me and diving. After just a few dives I'm already having diving dreams, and thoughts about redecorating my place by hanging scuba gear on the walls. I guess there could be better addictions, like maybe yoga or something, but I'm pretty happy with my new interest.
I've always loved snapping photos although I'm at the point&shoot level. I'm going to resist getting too much into underwater photography at first and see where it goes. So far I bought a $75 GoPro knockoff that I'll play around with for a while.
I've heard that a person who is predisposed to an addiction can be "hooked" after their first experience. That sounds like me and diving. After just a few dives I'm already having diving dreams, and thoughts about redecorating my place by hanging scuba gear on the walls. I guess there could be better addictions, like maybe yoga or something, but I'm pretty happy with my new interest.
I've always loved snapping photos although I'm at the point&shoot level. I'm going to resist getting too much into underwater photography at first and see where it goes. So far I bought a $75 GoPro knockoff that I'll play around with for a while.
OP
J322Y
Contributor
There are a few dive shops near bhb where you could rent. The water is pretty warm of course, but last time there my girl's 25 y/o surfer son said he was chilly by the end of the dive. Then again, we aren't Mainers!
My schedule is pretty flexible, so hopefully we can work something out.
OP
J322Y
Contributor
Dan
Contributor
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