To continue or not to continue

[*dave*]

Heya Dayne,

Diving is a lot of work, but it gets a lot easier as you do it more. You pick up tricks that make things easier and you also tend to make less mistakes. Once you become more comfortable with the routine, it's easier to spread your attention to things you might find more enjoyable.

On your list, I can see a couple issues which could turn a great dive into something less than enjoyable. You mention headaches. My first thought is CO2 retention, which usually comes from working too hard. For a recreational diver, working too hard often means the diver is over weighted and has less than ideal buoyancy control.

With good buoyancy, you work less, much less, than kicking around while you are negative. You can breathe easier and relax more. Relaxing allows you to look around and enjoy your dives more.

On the other hand, diving isn't for everyone and many are content to snorkel. Personally, I get a lot more out of diving than I put into it. It sounds as though you are putting more into it than you are getting out. That can be changed, but would likely take a bit more effort on your part. Only you can say if that effort is worth it.

 

[paddler3d]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Just a little more about me. I have my advanced and NITROX but only have 29 dives.

I'll go by the numbers:

1. I have headaches after every dive. I emailed DAN about this yesterday. Waiting for their response.

2. I have good/brand new equipment.

3. Any decent place to dive is at least 2 hours away.

4. Cost of dives have gone up. Couple that with hotel cost because I have to drive so far for a dive.

5. Most dive outfits are good, but seems like they are packing in more folks.

6. I don't get seasick but at the end of a rough water day, I don't feel exactly good either.

7. Lack of good things to see. I was excited to go to Mexico to see all the pretty things that I have seen in the SCUBA magazines. Unfortunately, I have better dives in Florida.

8. My best dive has been at the Living Seas at Epcot. I got to dive 40 minutes with 2, 11 foot tiger sharks.

9. My 2 coral injuries that I talked about in previous posts were while snorkling.

So I guess my biggest beef is it's not the thrill I thought it would be. If I saw really cool stuff on every dive I may enjoy it. But like I said, it's easier to snorkle and save myself the hassle.

Dayne

I wish a decent place for me to dive was only 2 hours away...

I appreciate and hear what you are saying about how the snorkeling is less of a hassle than SCUBA.

I've gotten to a point where I'd rather free dive certain things than SCUBA.

I love to free dive on the reefs that are 35ft and less. I can get closer to fish free diving than I can on SCUBA.

HOWEVER there is a lot of cool sh%t out there that you simply can't get to on SCUBA. There is definitely a point for me where it becomes worth the effort to hump out the SCUBA.

The off shore wrecks in North Carolina come to mind. They're out of the range of my free diving abilities. They're around 100ft. I've never seen as much wildlife as I've seen on these wrecks! Tons of Sand Tiger sharks. Tuna. Jack. Rays. Barracuda. Spadefish. Mola-mola. The list goes on.

Night diving! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to do a night snorkel. Night diving is awesome. It is amazing how much life is out there that you see at night which doesn't come out in the day.

I looked up some of your earlier posts about dive operators and stuff in Eleuthra. One of my most memorable dives was with Ocean Fox on a dive called The Arch. Our second dive that day was on a reef called 'flower garden'. I've never seen coral like that again. It was amazing. I would hump my gear back to Eleuthra to go do some of those dives again.

Wall dives kick ass! A couple of months ago I did a drift dive off of Bimini where it went from 120ft to 2000-3000ft...that was amazing.

There is snorkeling and there is SCUBA diving. Try different areas before giving it up.

As for the operators, ask folks on the board here about operators. If you don't like the cattle call boats, try a six pack boat. Sounds like your in FL. Get a few buddies and rent a boat in Largo. Dive on your own schedule.

One of the guys I volunteer with (we dive at our local Aquarium) did the Epcot dive a few weeks ago and loved it. Hard to argue with that one.

Don't give up, but realize there may be times where it is better to snorkel and times where it is better to dive.

 

[Papa_Bear]

The thing about any activity is they are personal! Not everyone likes Jogging, Skiing, Boating, Off-Roading, Poker, drinking, and yes SCUBA! They are all hard in their own way and take practice and dedication, and most importantly you get out of things what you put into it!

I love the feeling of completing a great dive and getting the shot I was not expecting! I love the bull****ting with my friends afterwords! I love the commandeer you get with a boat load of divers! I love doing five dives or more in a day and being a "Good tired" and sleeping well in order to get up and do it all again! I love eating a good meal with friends and getting to hear all the stories! I love the self competition to improve my stats, bottom time, number of dives, improved buoyancy on every dive, and finding those critters that I challenge me so much!

I hate Cars, Planes, Trains, and all the hassle of TSA! I hate the packing, unpacking, lugging my over weight gear, and paying extra to fly it! I hate arguing with the flight attendants about my carry-ons and if they will fit (They do and I fly the same all the time) and the fact that "I got here with this and now I would like to get it home" the inconsistencies of a consumer product called air travel! I hate crappy accommodations with uncomfortable beds and bad food!

BUT I AM A DIVER AND WHEN YOU ADD UP THE PLUSES THEY OUTWEIGH THE MINUSES! BUT I AM A DIVER, WHAT ARE YOU?

 

[Hank49]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Just a little more about me. I have my advanced and NITROX but only have 29 dives.

I'll go by the numbers:

1. I have headaches after every dive. I emailed DAN about this yesterday. Waiting for their response.

2. I have good/brand new equipment.

3. Any decent place to dive is at least 2 hours away.

4. Cost of dives have gone up. Couple that with hotel cost because I have to drive so far for a dive.

5. Most dive outfits are good, but seems like they are packing in more folks.

6. I don't get seasick but at the end of a rough water day, I don't feel exactly good either.

7. Lack of good things to see. I was excited to go to Mexico to see all the pretty things that I have seen in the SCUBA magazines. Unfortunately, I have better dives in Florida.

8. My best dive has been at the Living Seas at Epcot. I got to dive 40 minutes with 2, 11 foot tiger sharks.

9. My 2 coral injuries that I talked about in previous posts were while snorkling.

So I guess my biggest beef is it's not the thrill I thought it would be. If I saw really cool stuff on every dive I may enjoy it. But like I said, it's easier to snorkle and save myself the hassle.

Dayne

Getting a headache from something every time you do it definitley takes the fun out of it....although people do drink and get hangovers again and again.
You sound like you might be "skip breathing" or holding your breath and getting CO2 buildup. Just relax and breath.
Also, have you noticed that after two or three days diving, you start to get used to it? You don't feel bad after being on a boat. Muscles that you normally dont' use start to adapt.
Also, diving with outfits where you just follow a DM is less enjoyable for me. Diving with a buddy who has a boat...or off my own boat is a lot more fun. We do what WE want.
On the other hand, I can relate to the snorkeling thing. I have done close to 2000 dives but lately, I just free dive and spearfish. I take a tank and rig along just in case I get the anchor stuck or a fish goes in a hole and I can't get it out free diving. Free diving...or snorkeling is great too.

 

[Clanggedin]

You and your girlfriend can't join the 100' club if you only snorkel. I guess if you are already a member then there's on less reason to continue diving

 

[Deep-6]

As stated earlier, Diving is just an activity that is not for everybody. Not everybody can figure skate either. Alot of people try sports or hobbies and decide it's just not their cup of tea. I'm not trying to discourage you. I think you should give it a good chance until you're sure. But don't feel bad if you ultimately decide against it. If you're not enjoying yourself down there, the risks can be too great.

 

[TSandM]

Well, we all make cost-benefit analyses on stuff. I know people who live in Eastern Washington who don't do ANY local diving at all, but make a couple of dive trips a year to resorts like CocoView, and have a ball.

I think it would be hard to be an obsessed diver if I had to drive hours to get to a marginal dive site. But I know an entire community of people who dive Monterey virtually every weekend, who drive hours to get there and pay for hotel rooms, and they dive the same limited set of sites again and again, and find new and interesting things all the time.

There are a lot of reasons we dive. Some of them are related to the time underwater, and some of them are social. If you can't find things that make it worth while for you, perhaps it isn't your sport.

 

[drdaddy]

I'm very surprised to hear about somebody that doesn't like to dive.
But then again, perhaps there are some people on the globe that don't understand why I don't like jogging.

Maybe if you can tell us what it is that you dislike, we can help you.
But then again, it might not be for everybody.

I hate jogging, but then again the knee surgery (2xs in both knees) might have something to do with it. But I can remember the days when I got my new PF Fliers, and I really could "run a little faster, jump a little higher".

Yes, every activity is not for everyone.

P.S. I do wish these 59 year old knees could "run a little faster, jump a little higher" - I'm waiting for Heaven!

 

[Van Isle]

When I first started hanging around with divers (my now-girlfriend) a half hour dive at 40 feet with bad rental gear in cold water was an all day affair. I was not certified, but I hung around for surface support and aprés-dive beers. I could not understand the drive.

Then I got certified by my now girlfriend/instructor. Even then, although I enjoyed it, it seemed limited. There was lots of time and work "not diving" involved in a 30 minute dive.

Yet, after a while, things clicked. Checklists pared down, set up eased, readiness to dive at any time increased. My prep time, my down time became absolutely negligible. In water time grew and grew. And because I had more bottom time and more experience, I began to see more of all the life around me. And I got more and more of those magical moments. Spending time with the girlfriend and "her" sport is awesome. But I dive for me.

If this is not working for you, so be it! But 25 dives, sporadically, is not enough to really get in to a comfortable groove. It might not be easy to obtain such a groove under your circumstances. I was lucky because of the serious diving company I kept while starting out: there was lots of experience bestowed upon me in a comparatively short time.

As others have said: it might not be your bag, baby. wwwdotcraigslistdotcom to schlep your "old" gear.

Good luck with your choice.

VI

 

[lavachickie]

So I guess my biggest beef is it's not the thrill I thought it would be. If I saw really cool stuff on every dive I may enjoy it. But like I said, it's easier to snorkle and save myself the hassle.

Different strokes for different folks. I have friends obsessed with watching football, and I don't freakin' get that, either. =-) I admit that during my OW training here in the PNW I thought, "Damn, this is a LOT of stuff, a LOT of work, and a LOT of cold!"

But I felt, deep inside, a pull to what I knew the payoff would be. For me it was a deeply buried dream; I spent most of my childhood glued to the TV watching National Geographic specials, checking every marine biology book out of the library, and writing to scientists that published articles in National Geographic magazine. But well intentioned parents who told me, repeatedly, "We live in the Midwest, you can't do that," killed it. And it took until almost middle age for me to quite accidentally stumble upon the renewed possibility. There's something so amazingly rewarding to be in the water--a whole other world (which is actually MOST of this globe)--and interact with its inhabitants (many of which seem to be pretty interested in the divers, too!).

If I experienced any bigger thrill than I did emerging from the coral to see the drop off at the wall than I did in Cozumel last week... my brain would implode, my heart would explode and the rest of me would turn inside out. In my journal I wrote:

The coral formations were behind me, under me was 1500 feet of water that faded quickly into blackness, and the 87 feet of beautiful blue water above me. I did a good 360 in both directions to take it in, and then followed the group into the next path to get out of the current.

It was like floating in outer space. A more awe inspiring moment... I simply cannot comprehend. At that moment, I felt so incredibly, infinitesimally small... and yet more alive than I have ever felt.
​

It does it for me, even at this early stage. Weigh me down, bruise me up, sunburn me, make my muscles hurt, chafe me, stuff up my ears, clog up my sinuses, make me go into debt buying Sudafed, but just LET ME IN THE WATER! I don't care if it's hot, cold, clear, murky... it's all good!