We might stop diving

[Brian J]

I enjoy bicycling. It is good exercise and after the pain of climbing a hill I enjoy the rush of a fast descent. But people die on bicycles. I was close to somebody cut off by a car; even with his helmet he didn't stand a chance at 30 or 35 mph.

I am a private pilot and love to fly. You can't be in aviation for any length of time without knowing somebody who dies in a crash.

When I lived in Utah I participated in a lot of rock climbing. I knew people who grew complacent about placing anchors on a climb, one of whom died when leading up a pitch and the two anchors he placed fell out of the rock.

And I am a scuba diver, trying to stay alive breathing air underwater.

I could hide in my house and thereby avoid most risks of daily life, but with my personality that might lead to suicidal depression! Instead I will live and enjoy my life. If I have a close call in an activity I enjoy I might give up that activity, but until that happens I will consider every death in an activity I enjoy a gift from the deceased.

Instead of looking at a death and concluding the activity is too dangerous, I accept the risk and honor the dead by learning from their mistakes and teaching others to avoid the same mistakes. But we have to make our own choices. If the OP does quit diving I won't respect them less just because I don't agree with their choice.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bill ... I'm about the same age as Quero was, and dive with some folks who are older than me. I also have friends younger than me who have made the decision to either stop diving or restrict their diving to warm water only. Their reasons are their own.

Simple answer is this ... we dive for fun, and when it ceases to be fun we need to find something else to do. If it continues to be fun, then don't stop diving until you've given some serious thought to what the real risks are, and what steps you've taken to mitigate them.

As we age, our bodies change. We need more than ever to maintain our health and fitness. The "triggers" for calling a dive or deciding not to get in the water on a given dive need to be adjusted. These are all risk mitigating factors, based on consideration of our age. And they should be taken seriously.

I am of the philosophy that it isn't how I die that will matter ... but how I live. I got into diving late in life, and am determined to make the best use of the remaining years I have available to engage in diving ... because it's something I love to do. I'm determined to pass on what I've learned about diving to those who are younger, who can then ... hopefully ... engage in the activity for years or decades after I'm no longer able to. I'll continue my passion of diving vicariously, through them. Not everyone has this passion ... many folks dive simply because it's something else to do for entertainment. Perhaps for those people the commitment and effort aren't worth it. Only you can decide whether they are for you. And if so, then don't spend your time thinking about how you might die, but focus instead on how you might live. The memories of what you experience now ... when you're healthy enough to do it ... are what'll get you through the years when you no longer are able to.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[AfterDark]

Nobody gets out alive, dying is a sure bet. How? When? Who knows? My wife was very nervous about my diving when we 1^st were married 39 years. We had talked about it and she went into it eyes opened.
My philosophy is I refuse to be so afraid of dying that I never live. Also when your time comes it doesn’t matter what you’re doing you’re gone, out here!
Forty three years of cold water diving and here I am still kicking with a lifetime of diving memories and a mountain of pictures. It’s not how or when we die it’s how MUCH we lived that counts.

 

[Stoo]

I could hide in my house and thereby avoid most risks of daily life, but with my personality that might lead to suicidal depression!

I suspect that what you say is true for many of us. As Mrs. Stoo will attest, I get MISERABLE when I've been out of the water for 10 days.

Diving has risk, but Death By Doritos is the worst fate of all, IMHO.

 

[flots am]

Neither my kids nor myself use weight pockets... I said a weightbelt and I meant that specifically. Glad you figured out the problem before it mattered.

I know you do. I was mentioning it for the drysuit divers that use harnesses. Up north, it's not uncommon to have 24-34 pounds with a drysuit in the winter, and harnesses are very popular.

There are other OW divers that have their weight belts under other equipment or straps and don't even realize that it's not actually ditch-able, so I just thought I'd mention that if you (not you personally) haven't done it in a while, it's good to give it a test and see if it actually works.

flots

 

[SailNaked]

I dont usually post when almost everything has been said already by others, but I just skipped to the bottom on this one and jumped in.

Scuba is a recreational sport, it is fun when it is, and it is not when it is not. If you are not having fun diving then dont do it, that goes for each dive. never let someone convince you to dive. We operate on a 2 failure system with diving, if you are not having fun then you are already one failure in the hole, no need to push it.

there are lots of things that are fun, and have some risk, Diving is certainly one of the safer activities, however if you go into a bar after or drive to the site then you significantly increase your risk, never mind flying to an island. and stay out of high rises and cruise ships because they are totally unsafe. never play basketball, OMG that is dangerous, Football is safer but not if your friends are drunk. Drinking.... never do it. and stay out of africa all of the top 10 most dangerous animals to humans live there.

 

[AfterDark]

I know you do. I was mentioning it for the drysuit divers that use harnesses. Up north, it's not uncommon to have 24-34 pounds with a drysuit in the winter, and harnesses are very popular.

There are other OW divers that have their weight belts under other equipment or straps and don't even realize that it's not actually ditch-able, so I just thought I'd mention that if you (not you personally) haven' done it in a while, it's good to give it a test and see if it actually works.

flots

I dove with someone trained in the 90's, he was AOW. I asked him to help me with my weight belt getting it out of the way of the B/P. He asked why don't you just put it on before your B/P wing? I responded "Gearing up 101 the weight belt is the last thing on 1st thing off just like they taught you in OW". He insisted he was taught no such thing!?! Really? Not surprising so many divers are found with a weight belt on!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... and stay out of africa all of the top 10 most dangerous animals to humans live there.

The single most dangerous animal to humans lives on every continent ... and when you go diving, you take one with you ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[flots am]

I dove with someone trained in the 90's, he was AOW. I asked him to help me with my weight belt getting it out of the way of the B/P. He asked why don't you just put it on before your B/P wing? I responded "Gearing up 101 the weight belt is the last thing on 1st thing off just like they taught you in OW". He insisted he was taught no such thing!?! Really? Not surprising so many divers are found with a weight belt on!

I used to trust things like emergency procedures and equipment.

Since the harness incident I only trust things I've actually verified, and only to a point . . .

flots.

 

[JamesK]

The single most dangerous animal to humans lives on every continent ... and when you go diving, you take one with you ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Nonsense. My wife doesn't dive.


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