Just think, if Jacques Cousteau had pursued his first love—flying, we would not have had the Aqualung so soon. But he was hurt badly in an auto accident, and in the recovery process started swimming, then free diving with Frederick Dumas and
Philippe Taileiz, and got hooked on diving. After they invented the Aqualung, he never went back to flying.
I was in the U.S. Air Force, and flew a lot, but not as a pilot. I did get a little stick time in a HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter, but never thought about getting a pilot’s license.
Flying and diving don’t mix well, as both can result in decompression sickness, and when combined by flying within 12 hours of diving, the risk is compounded.
Now, about diving being an expensive sport, it really is not that expensive. I earned my first scuba unit by picking strawberries and beans during a summer as a kid. I bought the unit used, but even a kid could make enough money to buy one in the 1950s. Now, with the extra safety gear, it becomes more expensive. We didn’t used to have an octopus regulator, or BCD, or dry suit (I bought my scuba unit before I got a wetsuit). Also, while travel diving is a huge part of our current diving experiences, it doesn’t have to be. We can dive locally, and get some wonderful experiences.
IMG_0054 by
John Ratliff, on Flickr
Scuba diving is one of the only sports (aside from free-fall parachuting) where one can experience extended periods of weightlessness. And, you don’t need to pay a huge amount to do it.
SeaRat