What do you enjoy the most about your diving?

[TSandM]

I was thinking about this on my last few dives, because they haven't been particularly noteworthy ones. Visibility has been very limited (and even worse when there are seals), and we haven't found anything terribly exciting. The weather has been somewhere between inhospitable and unpleasant, and the water has gotten cold. So there has to be some reason I'm still doing this.

After giving it a very little bit of thought, I came up with two things: One, I truly love the ability to sit still in the water. To be able to stop doing ANYTHING, not even twitching a fin, and be as close to weightless in space as anybody tied to the planet will ever get, is utterly intoxicating.

The other thing is the moment when I look at my buddy and we are both grinning ear to ear over something we've both just enjoyed, whether it's finding something unusual, or just Kirk trying to sneak up on a spot prawn. There's a great camaraderie associated with sharing the underwater experience with somebody you enjoy diving with.

So, it's winter -- What do YOU find to enjoy about your diving this time of year? (Warm water people can post, but we'll blow raspberries at you )

 

[SparticleBrane]

I'm breathing underwater...enough said.

 

[Tigerman]

Diving in the winter, staying dry and warm in 4 degree water, hovering "weightless" in the 40+ feet visibility, crystal clear freshwater, looing up through the mirror blank water.. Seeing the trees and the mountains bathing in sun.. Oh my god!
Can I upload more pics than one to my profile?

Edit: Thats supposed to be 4 degree celcius (40 F) and not 4 degree F (-15 C) of course..

 

[dive_lover88]

^(SparticleBrane) i agree. And i get to have silence and peace!!

 

[rubbachicken]

Seeing the trees and the mountains bathing in sun.. Oh my god!
Can I upload more pics than one to my profile?

i can't remember how, now, but you can open a gallery

 

[almitywife]

no... its actually Summer

and what i like about our diving is its all year round

what i most like about diving is that there are no interuptions, no phone ringing (yet) or being bothered or annoyed by people

just breathing in and out and cruisin.....

 

[Tigerman]

i can't remember how, now, but you can open a gallery

Yeehaw, i found out
Lots of pictures uploaded

Its supposed to be snow by november 29th tho.. none of that yet

 

[creamofwheat]

I don't know really. I just pulled a 50 minute dive 43º water, and was utterly shaking by the end of it and couldn't feel my hands or feet for a good hour after the dive. I wasn't exactly warm or comfortable on that dive. Yet I continue to dive in the cold temperatures, even though it's not comfortable. Why? I don't really know. The thrill of finding an octopus, perhaps, or having a seal tag along for a while, or finding grunt sculpins and trying to identify all the nudibranchs, or finding a 4ft lingcod and getting a foot away from it and staring it in the eye. It's just so thrilling, interacting with the aquatic life, and knowing that not many people have the guts (or perhaps they are just sane?) to do it, and not many people get to experience what I experience. Breathing underwater for extended periods of time. Not listening to people ramble on about anything...it's a world without sound, except for my breathing. It's peaceful and thrilling all at once.

 

[limeyx]

I was thinking about this on my last few dives, because they haven't been particularly noteworthy ones. Visibility has been very limited (and even worse when there are seals), and we haven't found anything terribly exciting. The weather has been somewhere between inhospitable and unpleasant, and the water has gotten cold. So there has to be some reason I'm still doing this.

After giving it a very little bit of thought, I came up with two things: One, I truly love the ability to sit still in the water. To be able to stop doing ANYTHING, not even twitching a fin, and be as close to weightless in space as anybody tied to the planet will ever get, is utterly intoxicating.

The other thing is the moment when I look at my buddy and we are both grinning ear to ear over something we've both just enjoyed, whether it's finding something unusual, or just Kirk trying to sneak up on a spot prawn. There's a great camaraderie associated with sharing the underwater experience with somebody you enjoy diving with.

So, it's winter -- What do YOU find to enjoy about your diving this time of year? (Warm water people can post, but we'll blow raspberries at you )

When the short movie of Casino Point is done rendering (um, 3 hours to render a 60 second movie in H.264 format?) I will give you the link.

This will be what I currently enjoy most about diving.

But yes, being able to sit in one place and not flail around like I did for the first 40 dives or so is definitely nice.

 

[headhunter]

Well, our temperatures in SoCal are a bit warmer than they are in the Washington area, but I like winter diving in this area better than the rest of the year.

What I enjoy most about diving in the winter:

• Serenity (meaning a lack of chaos and drama, which goes with your weightless intoxication)
• Visibility (our water is usually clearer because the colder water does not support many of the micro organisms that lower the clarity of the water)
• Lack of Crowds (During summer it can be tough to find parking)

Christian