What do YOU consider a good dive?

[drbill]

I'm not sure I've ever had a truly "bad" dive in the nearly 50 years I've submerged. The worst was probably the time my tank valve clogged unexpectedly at about 80 ft and I wasn't carrying my pony bottle... but even that dive taught me something very important!

Of course I absolutely love any dive I return from with video of some unusual behavior in a common marine critter, or some "new" species... because I get to share it with those who buy my DVDs or watch my cable TV shows.

 

[SailNaked]

a good dive for me:

any dive my wife discovers something new and gets excited.
most any dive with my wife.
Wreck dives that we can go inside a little ways.
doing something new, and fun.
dives with no issues, except pushing the NDL.
Sea life interaction. sharks that smile, and rays that allow close inspection.
challenging dives that work out as planned.
unexpected stuff like, jelly fish at the safety stop.

well I have to say I really have never had a bad dive so I guess I have no idea what a good dive is, maybe some are just better for above reasons.

 

[knowone]

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!

As good as it gets. Best wishes.

 

[ajduplessis]

According to plan, without incident.

 

[Rick Murchison]

It's much easier to answer "what isn't a good dive?" - for "not good" dives are rare indeed. Those almost always involve students who just refuse to listen...
--
Last winter I was diving in Lake Martin, cruising along the old Kowaliga bridge rubble. Water temp was cold, in the high 40's; visibility lousy, about 3 - 4 feet; no fish, no life of any kind evident; no bright colors, dim lighting, just brown mud bottom and mud covered debris. And yet I loved it! Then it dawned on me that because I loved it, there must be something fundamentally wrong with me
That was a good dive.
Rick

 

[mikecw]

lets put it this way any dive is a good dive. your worst dive is still better that the best day at the office.

a dive still to beat is a cliff/ drop of dive. get yours self netrally bouyent in the water and swim off the edge and then turn around so that you can not see the edge or the bottom your just flotting it's the closest you'll get to been in space. all the groups i'hve taken on the dive have raved about it for hours after the dive.

 

[super7]

Any thing except a bad dive.
My current definition of a bad dive being "too sea sick to enjoy the dive"

 

[Herk_Man]

For me it is sharing an experience with my sons or wife that is new and exhilerating. I will never ever forget our first wreck dive. The Hilma Hooker on Bonaire. Just my two boys and me. On shore, a diver was coming out and we asked him how to get to the wreck. He said, "Just swim straight out, can't miss it." I'm kind of a details guy so I pressed a little about it and he said, "Just swim straight out, can't miss it." Boys and I just looked at each other, smiled and shrugged.

So... we swam straight out, and swam, and swam a little bit more... and just when I thought we'd missed it... HOLY CRAP! A hull like an Imax screen blitzed out of the sea at us and we all pulled up vertical, finning a little faster than usual. Just wow.

After exploring the whole thing for 30 minutes we returned to shore. It was the quietest we'd ever been taking our gear off. Several minutes down the road on our way to get more tanks and something to eat we all said, almost simultaneously, "Wow." Not loud, not emphatically, just "Wow."

That's what makes a dive great for me.

 

[TSandM]

Herk man, that was a great description.

That's exactly how Kevin and I felt after our first cavern dive. Wow. Just . . . wow.

 

[Herk_Man]

Ya. And it didn't really end there. We were almost in a state of catatonic shock. It was a very eerie feeling. We would go between little fits of incredulous laughter and then just say, again, "Wow." Went on all the way back to the hooch.

Then the boys attacked mom, who said she was absolutely no way gonna dive on a wreck. (Getting her to dive in a swimming pool was a small miracle.) She dove the Hooker with us on our last day there and while she would not go below the port railing (boat is laying on its side, starboard rail down) she really enjoyed the dive and I've got some cool pics of her by the prop. She's really glad she did it and the boys felt like wilderness guides showing mom their latest conquest. They were just giddy with excitement getting her to go out there and see it. (So I guess that qualifies as a good dive too!)

My avatar is now our family hero shot after that dive. One of my favorites from Bonaire.