What does ScubaBoard mean to you, and has the forum changed your diving?

[Mike]

Scubaboard has made me a safer diver.

 

[lowviz]

What do you see as the most important use of Scuba Board, for yourself, ...//...

By checking in regularly, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the world of recreational scuba that I'm likely to miss.

...//...and if it has changed your diving in any way, how has it done so?...//...

I really, really want to pass solo...

 

[Ayisha]

Hey, I didn't realize I could choose more than one response!

Oh well, I picked the one that fit the best anyway. I first came to SB for research on a local accident, then research for every trip, then answers to questions, and somewhere along the way it turned into a daily and then at least twice daily event. I'm still learning all the time and try to pitch in when I can...

 

[Deep South Divers]

Back in the mid 1990's, I was a member of an internet mailing list for motorcycles. Sportbikes, actually... We'd often "post" on the "list" and go riding together. Mailing lists (previously newsgroups) gave way to internet boards. I was a member of several, including one very large one out of Southern California. Motorcyclers, y'all probably know which one I'm talking about.

In 2001, I moved back to my hometown of Beaufort, SC, and stayed in touch with many of my riding buddies via the boards, but was looking for a new hobby without all of the mayhem... So I picked up diving again (I had first dived in 1986).

Naturally, I sought a similar experience in a diving forum... And Scubaboard fit the bill.

If there had been no Scubaboard, there'd have been no place to solicit opinions on BCs (aside from my LDS, which was trying to sell me what was on their shelves). If I hadn't been soliciting opinions on BCs on Scubaboard, I'd have not learned about backplates and wings. If I had not learned about backplates and wings on Scubaboard, I'd have never been introduced to the concept of DIR. If I hadn't been introduced to the concept of DIR on Scubaboard, I'd have never taken a Fundies course. If I had never taken a Fundies course, this hobby most certainly would have never festered inside of me... And if I hadn't festered inside of me, I'd have probably never have become a commercial diver.

...So, Scubaboard, you helped me get out from behind a computer (I was a professional IT guy) and get in the water, where I belong... I mean, professionally. Thank you. I literally discovered an entirely new career - indeed, an entirely new facet of life - through these blue and white pages.

...And meanwhile provided more than a decade of entertainment for me.

 

[gypsyjim]

There seem to be almost as many reasons that folks have arrived for the first time on ScubaBoard as there are folks, but I see that a great many of us have benefited from the way the forum has exposed us to so much more of the sport than we ever would have discovered locally.

Many, like myself have made a major change in the course of our diving, or gear choices and our training because this forum has allowed us to communicate with and make friends with our fellow divers of all backgrounds, from all over the globe.

 

[DeputyDan]

Some things I learned from Scuba Board:

1) GypsyJim is not 100% crazy for doing 4:30 am dives just 79%
2) That someone stole most of the steps at 1,000 steps in Bonaire
3) That if you have the cash - do the liveaboard.
4) that my LDS is pretty good as compared to what I read here.
5) That the Manta Ray night dive is worth the trip to Kona Hawaii.
6) That Herman needs to zip up his BC pockets prior to doing the "giant" giant stride at oil slick
7) That COCO VIEW Resort in Roatan rocks!
8) That there are way too many dive locations that I will probably never get to in my life time - but would be so worth going to!
9) That if you are a two dive a day type Cozumel is hard to top.
10) That in reality, I am a four dive a day type.
11) That I appreciate everyone's answers when I ask questions about various dive locations and the logistics related to going there!

GypsyJim See you in Bonaire in July!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... all of my friends live here ... need I say more?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ChaosHokie]

The biggest thing for me is that ScubaBoard showed me just how little I knew about diving, skills, techniques, etc etc.

I got OW certified while on vacation in the Red Sea and thought I was an awesome diver, and it was going to rock every year when I went on my summer vacation to do diving. Heh heh heh.... Now I own a drysuit and dive regularly in a quarry with horrible vis, and I'm not so caught up with getting the next certification.

Now, reading about all the various skills, seeing videos of what is actually do-able, reading about people replacing contact lenses while underwater, etc, has significantly changed my impression of the sport. At one point, I thought it would be really awesome to do wreck penetration dives, but reading this forum about what it actually takes, and especially the A&I forum about all the problems in overhead environments has dramatically tempered my desire.

The biggest problem I have with Scubaboard is that it's set my standards higher. I didn't actually believe that hovering or being horizontal to do skills was actually possible. I'm also not impressed by diving with instructors who have worse trim than me (not saying I have good trim). I'm not satisfied by my AOW experience, and I'm exploring furthering my dive training with many of the wonderful instructors and organizations that are represented here.

 

[TSandM]

ChaosHokie, that post warmed my heart. If there is anything I want to accomplish by being here, it's opening people's eyes to what's possible -- and how much more fun diving is when you are better at it. Thank you for brightening my morning!

 

[gypsyjim]

The biggest thing for me is that ScubaBoard showed me just how little I knew about diving, skills, techniques, etc etc.

I got OW certified while on vacation in the Red Sea and thought I was an awesome diver, and it was going to rock every year when I went on my summer vacation to do diving. Heh heh heh.... Now I own a drysuit and dive regularly in a quarry with horrible vis, and I'm not so caught up with getting the next certification.

Now, reading about all the various skills, seeing videos of what is actually do-able, reading about people replacing contact lenses while underwater, etc, has significantly changed my impression of the sport. At one point, I thought it would be really awesome to do wreck penetration dives, but reading this forum about what it actually takes, and especially the A&I forum about all the problems in overhead environments has dramatically tempered my desire.

The biggest problem I have with Scubaboard is that it's set my standards higher. I didn't actually believe that hovering or being horizontal to do skills was actually possible. I'm also not impressed by diving with instructors who have worse trim than me (not saying I have good trim). I'm not satisfied by my AOW experience, and I'm exploring furthering my dive training with many of the wonderful instructors and organizations that are represented here.

LOL! Amen.

I thought I was pretty darned decent a diver at one time, myself. When all you have to compare yourself with is other locals and vacation divers who were planted onto the bottom of the pool or lake to learn their skills, it isn't too difficult to look better than the average diver.

BUT

The first time I dived with some of the SB, DNY crew, some of whom were doing a GUE class at Dutch Springs, and watched Henrik stop and hover totally motionless while practicing his skills, I knew that I was just a novice, and had a lot more to learn to be even 1/2 as good as some of the divers I was seeing there.

Hanging around SB members certainly has raised the bar of what makes for both skilled and safe diving!