State of Diving

[DivemasterDennis]

My LDS runs kid's only classes among the scores of classes offered each month. We also work with the boy scouts. The fact that many of us "over 60's" dive should not take away anything from the joy of the sport for younger divers. Diving can be a casual hobby or or an obsessive way of life. I suppose it can be a source of "transcendant adrenalin" but as all competent divers know, adrenalin rushes are not want you need as a diver. You need the calm, confident, low metabolic rqate of an astronaut to maximize the experience. I have dove deep, in strong currents, encountered carnivorous animals larger than myself, dove in the cenotes of Mexico, and ye, my overall impression of diving has been that it has taught to to relax, slow down, and see what is around me. I am a nut about dive planning, equipment maintenance, navigation skills, and other things that I suppose takes the risk ( and would antarctica say the adventure?) out of diving, and prefer to dive with those who have the same attitude. The fact is, strapping on bottled air and plunging off the deck of a pitching boat out in the ocean, dropping down 100 feet, and seeing what goes on in that part of the world is and adventure, is exiciting, and is serious fun. But it requires a serious attitude and respect for the inherent dangers of our sport, which are "extreme" unless known and planned for to minimize risk. Diving is an experience, not an "image" to be cultivated such as macho or sexy. Our sport has not abandoned that attitude, it has grown out of it through technological advancement, improved training, and understanding of the physiology of diving. By the way, it is cool to be a diver, and its cool to be a Dive Master. It's very cool to plan a dive vacation, from air fare to ground transport to dive concessionaire, to sites to dive, and do it your self. Con;t let the fact that some greybeards do it, and do it better than youngsters, put you off the sport.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Bert van den Berg]

I dive for fun, exercise, photography and hunting and would rather avoid situations that cause an adrenalin rush. Having said that, our dive club consists mostly of older people and we've been discussing ways to attract additional young people.

 

[freewillie]

I'm about in the middle age wise. I am in my late 40's and have only been diving for about 2 1/2 years. During that time I've racked up numerous dives either locally here in California or abroad in locations such as Hawaii, Cancun, Turks and Caicos, and the Great Barrier Reef. My smartest move diving was to get my then 13 yo daughter equally hooked on diving. Now, when we book our summer vacations she tells my wife that it needs to be a warm tropical location she can bring her dive gear.

But, if it wasn't for her dear old dad she wouldn't be able to afford diving in these locations. I'm fortunate that as a successful professional I can afford to take a few days out of the vacation to hop on a dive boat with my daughter and get in a few dives. I'm also fortunate that the cost of gear, equipment, and rentals is reasonably affordable to me.

I am also keenly aware that I have other responsibilities in my life. Specifically my wife and kids. Taking unnecessary risks just for adrenaline is not appropriate and for me somewhat selfish. Diving is safe enough when done properly that I don't feel scared to let my daughter dive, but I don't think you have to push the envelope of safety just to make it exciting. Just diving itself should be exhilarating enough. Recently I had the pleasure on a dive to interact with a seal. Really cool to have it swim around me and just to watch it move through the water was exciting in and of itself. On the other hand, my last wreck dive to 100 ft. on the Yukon was for my daughter's deep dive skill for AOW. It was cold and I was miserable. Technically challenging for depth and conditions but not very exciting.

The dive magazines feature exotic dive locations with lots of activities and luxuries because the readers they are catering to are the ones that not only have money to travel but also want to have other experiences or like myself will be travelling with non-diving family members. I want to know how many hours it takes for LAX to get to where I'm going, and I want to be comfortable when I get there. Unfortunately poor starving college student isn't really a concern because those divers can't afford to go and there is no interest in putting out an article if you're not able to support the tourist industry. They are after my dollars, not yours. And I like hot tubs after skiing and gourmet meals with any vacation.

As for diving being safe, tell that to most of the general public. I'm constantly trying to tell my wife that diving is safe. She heard through friends that two divers drowned in Florida on Christmas. I thought she was going to ban me from diving. All I heard for days/weeks after was that diving was dangerous and did I/my daughter still have to dive. She begrudgingly relented and I've been able to book some more dives when we go back to Hawaii this summer.

Dive clubs are also more about friends than excitement. You come out to dive because the people you are diving with are your good friends. Diving just happens to be an activity that you all can share that experience. What will make people want to join your club are the activities you plan. Where are you going to dive, what are you going to do after the dive, what special deals did you get to make it more affordable. And as for diving being sexy, never hurt to have a few young coeds in bikinis.