What do YOU consider a good dive?

[Rhone Man]

The dives I really love are the ones you get a real tingle when summarising them in your log book.

When I am old and grey, I intend to bore people in the retirement home by reading out the highlights.

 

[Homunculus]

(1) water condition - i'm prone to sea sickness and no matter how abundant marine life is down there or how warm the water is, i won't care if i feel sick.
(2) assuming i feel good, then it's underwater landscape - rocks, algae, reefs. I'm used to diving in cold water with low visibility, so just diving in silence is awesome;
(3) marine life / treasures / wrecks - i consider this as a bonus to a dive.

 

[Van Isle]

Not only is every diver's idea of a great dive subjective, but it can vary from day to day. Echoing TSandM I'd say that a dive that wasn't "combative" is a good dive, but that can mean so many things. For example I just did a shore dive in 48F water, low vis, mild current, where I forgot my undergarment and was cold. BUT: the dive went well and we collected materials for a marine research project. I felt my skills and endurance tested to a moderate level, under conditions with which I was comfortable, and it was good. I've had better vis, more critters, etc, all the "usual" examples of a "good" dive, and lesser equipment issues and they've seemed like the worst dives of my life.

I think it's not a thing that can be rationalized, but just has to be felt. Did you feel it was a good dive? If yes, then yes.

VI

 

[spectrum]

I learned something
All of the geear came back
Nobody got hurt.

There will be something memorable, that's a given if you pay attention.

 

[knowone]

May seem simplistic. Absolutely everything that occured on every dive that I can remember.

 

[Colliam7]

What do YOU consider a good dive?

A dive where:
1. I learn something new about diving, or about myself as a diver, or finally understand something that perplexed me before.
2. I do something for the first time, or finally do something reasonably well, or do something better than ever before.
3. I see something u/w in a way that makes me feel that I am not just looking at life through a window, but I am part of it. This can be amazing marine life (sand tigers, goliath grouper, parrot fish, morays, whatever), or wrecks where I can mentally put myself on the deck of the vessel at the time the crew realized that the ship was going down.
Conditions don't necessarily make the dive for me. Low vis, cold, current dives can be 'good' and high vis, warm water, calm dives can be boring.

 

[TJF]

A dive where everyone has fun, while diving within their limits, and comes back safely. Everything else is just a bonus.

 

[DianeKim]

There are so many components as to what would be a good dive - but first and foremost one that is safe, respectful and can be shared with friends. I am very fortunate that some of my closest friends and a family member are also divers and that we are able to travel together once or twice a year to dive. All of those dives are wonderful because we all love the ocean and have such great respect for everything that lives in it. Through our love for photography/videography we get to share the experiences over and over and it NEVER gets old. Nice water, lots of sea life, beautiful surroundings...it all adds to the experience. Sharing the experience with family and friends makes for numerous great dives!

 

[DCBC]

I have often wondered what the world of experienced divers think makes up a good dive. ...I want to see if there are conditions that are not generally mentioned that divers with experience may think just 'makes a dive.'

The instructor in me would say that a "good dive" is when everyone has fun. However the diver in me would differentiate what it takes for me to call a dive "truly great." For me, this is when there is a reasonably high element of danger, where I'm pushed to perform to the upper extent of my ability and where the goal is achieved without anyone getting hurt.

Despite being 57 years old, I've always enjoyed taking risks. For the sake of those reading this that don't, I will ellaborate that I've never had a death wish, nor do I believe in taking foolish or unreasonable chances. What is acceptable to one person isn't acceptable to another. That's why people dive deep wrecks and others dive in caves. I believe our right to freedom allows us the ability to do in life what we will, as long as it doesn't place another at risk.

People that undertake extreme sports are generally risk takers. So were the explorers of the past. Not everyone enjoys being an explorer or taking risks, but this element (real or perceived) has always made up my personal diving goals.

 

[TSandM]

Well, I think there is a difference between a good dive and a great one.

To be a great dive (the kind where rereading your log just makes you smile all over again) the criteria for a good dive have to be present, plus something unusual. That can be challenging your limits and doing well, or seeing something amazing. My dive with dolphins in Rangiroa was a great dive; so was the day I passed Fundies.