I prefer to dive from my boat.
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Having your own boat is of course the best.. then you can go wherever you want and dive from whichever shore or boat location you want..I prefer to dive from my boat.
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If the boat is a liveaboard, or extraordinarily cheap (say, under $40 for 2 dives), I prefer the boat. Otherwise, shore is nice.Hi folks, I've notched about 40 dives, just completed AOW. About a third have been from a boat, the balance from shore.
I'm curious what others think about the pros and cons of each kind of recreational diving.
Not really sure how this is different than a popular shore diving location. However, liveaboards can solve this problem to some degree. They can get out further than the "day boats" can, so, presumably, there is less evidence of divers in these locations, since they get visited less by divers. That's mostly speculation though.Also, the dive boats go to the same spots, day in and day out. This puts pressure on the environments in those spots, and many of them are far from prestine.
That can be a real problem. I don't really like forced guided tours either. If you shop around though, you can find boats that will let you do your own thing.Finally, all of these boat dives are a bit 'canned', and expect you to go along with their program or tour.
Where I go, it's a popular spot. There will often be other divers there. Sometimes people you know, sometimes people you don't know. Often there will be a class going on. But you're free to do what you want. OTHER places we can go, which we have only been a few times, we're the only ones around.When I shore dive, the only divers present usually are myself and my buddy. It is much more relaxing and uncrowded. We can plan and execute the dive WE want.
There is something to that - a bit of "mental preparation" if you will. It's harder to do on a boat full of people who feel the need to make idle chit chat with you until you get to the drop zone - and then it's "ok, everybody in the water!" so I can see where you're coming from here.Finally, when I decide to go dive from a shore spot, there is a slow, thoughtful progression; a continuity, if you will, from the land into the water. I value this gradual immersion into the ocean; it gives me time to relax, to prepare, to appreciate the journey I'm about to embark on, if only for an hour or so. What do you think?
Sas - I've read a great number of your posts. You sound like someone who would be good to dive with. I wish you lived a bit closerI do about two-thirds of my dives as shore dives. I like both and am pretty much equally happy with either. I do more shore dives because I will dive in any weather and there is always a spot that is ok to shore dive when the weather is bad, but boats cannot go out in all types of weather. Also shore dives allow me to dive at my own pace as well as the fact I do midweek night dives when there are no boats running.