In the late 60's early 70's it was The Abalone on Catalina and the people who would pay me to get it for them.
What inspired you to start diving?
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TaoH
Contributor
My earliest exposure to diving was probably from TV or National Geographic magazines as a very young child. Growing up, I would tag along with friends who would go to pools they were able to get access to. I didn't know anything about swimming at the time, but I never really lost interest in the water and trying to figure out how to swim.
First year of high school was 1997 and I take swimming for my PE class and learned from an American Red Cross curriculum for teaching beginners how to swim. We had a 14-ft deep end at our pool that was roped off and anyone wanting to go into the deep end during our free swims on Fridays had to be able to tread water for 2 minutes before they were given access. I took almost every opportunity to pass this test and it wasn't for a few months before I could get myself allowed into the deep end. Though I wasn't aware of it, I think that was my entry to diving; I always enjoyed pushing my breath hold limits by just sitting at the bottom of the pool or swimming along the subsurface.
I was pretty much absorbed into being in the water at this point and the next two years, I swam competitively with our swim team and got myself certified in Lifeguarding/First-Aid and CPR. I spent two summers after high school working as a lifeguard/swim instructor at the local YMCA when I was home from San Jose State but eventually lost interest in the work. While at SJSU, I took the SCUBA diving class that I always noticed every semester I was registering for classes and that just opened another door.
After the class however, I never had the money to dive until I worked full time. I spent time reading internet boards like ScubaBoard, North Coast Divers, ba_diving for a while and eventually bought a wetsuit and spent maybe 2-3 weekends/year freediving for abalone. Somewhere along the way a friend sold me a bunch of used gear in a lot but I only got use out of the ScubaPro Mk15 regulator and the Oceanic OceanPro BCD. It all sat around while I was freediving for maybe 1~2 years until I started showing up to meets NCD would host every month.
I've gone through phase changes in gear choice/setup and have things I need to get rid of but have yet made the effort to do so. Now with getting myself back into school while working full time I try to go diving when and where I can. I sure have made a whole lot of new friends since I've started however.
First year of high school was 1997 and I take swimming for my PE class and learned from an American Red Cross curriculum for teaching beginners how to swim. We had a 14-ft deep end at our pool that was roped off and anyone wanting to go into the deep end during our free swims on Fridays had to be able to tread water for 2 minutes before they were given access. I took almost every opportunity to pass this test and it wasn't for a few months before I could get myself allowed into the deep end. Though I wasn't aware of it, I think that was my entry to diving; I always enjoyed pushing my breath hold limits by just sitting at the bottom of the pool or swimming along the subsurface.
I was pretty much absorbed into being in the water at this point and the next two years, I swam competitively with our swim team and got myself certified in Lifeguarding/First-Aid and CPR. I spent two summers after high school working as a lifeguard/swim instructor at the local YMCA when I was home from San Jose State but eventually lost interest in the work. While at SJSU, I took the SCUBA diving class that I always noticed every semester I was registering for classes and that just opened another door.
After the class however, I never had the money to dive until I worked full time. I spent time reading internet boards like ScubaBoard, North Coast Divers, ba_diving for a while and eventually bought a wetsuit and spent maybe 2-3 weekends/year freediving for abalone. Somewhere along the way a friend sold me a bunch of used gear in a lot but I only got use out of the ScubaPro Mk15 regulator and the Oceanic OceanPro BCD. It all sat around while I was freediving for maybe 1~2 years until I started showing up to meets NCD would host every month.
I've gone through phase changes in gear choice/setup and have things I need to get rid of but have yet made the effort to do so. Now with getting myself back into school while working full time I try to go diving when and where I can. I sure have made a whole lot of new friends since I've started however.
Last edited:
SCUBASailor
Contributor
rainynight65
Registered
As a young child I lived in Central America for five years with my parents, and there I spent a lot of time snorkeling. Basically any time we went to any beach I would have my snorkeling gear with me, whether there was anything to see or not. I'd spend hours in the water just swimming around, and some of my favourite beaches had nice, close shallow reefs. My mother still recalls one time when I had just learned to swim, and went out by myself, and they fell asleep on the beach and when they woke up they panicked because they couldn't find me :blush: (I was safe as houses all the time). That specific beach became my favourite snorkeling spot, I'd see lots of different fish, and at times even eels and barracudas there. Once I went out to a deeper site with a group of scuba divers, and I think since then it's been something I wanted to take up at some point.
That was about 20 years back. A few weeks ago I mentioned to a friend who is an active scuba diver, that I would like to learn scuba diving some time. He immediately made contact with another friend who is a NAUI instructor, phoned me back ten minutes later and said "You're starting next weekend" (Luckily I had some cash saved up for the course, and we both figured why wait?) So now here I am
That was about 20 years back. A few weeks ago I mentioned to a friend who is an active scuba diver, that I would like to learn scuba diving some time. He immediately made contact with another friend who is a NAUI instructor, phoned me back ten minutes later and said "You're starting next weekend" (Luckily I had some cash saved up for the course, and we both figured why wait?) So now here I am
Sharkbully
Registered
for me, it was several steps. As a young kid, Sea hunt was my favorite show, and I decided I wanted to do that , then later, watching Jacque Cousteau specials rekindled my interest. But, school, work, etc kept me from trying it.
Then about 15 years ago, I was watching a Discovey channel special with my wife about divers traveling the South Pacific looking for sharks. Every time sharks were spotted, they geared up and jumped in. I told my wife, "Some day I 'm going to do that." She looked at me like I was crazy, and said "not with me you're not."
Well, that again ended my dream. Roll forward a few years, and we were snorkeling in Cancun near Isla Mujeres, and witnessed divers in the water under us, and I again decided I wanted to try it.
Finally a couple years later:
(My sister was alread a diver), and about 7 years ago talked us into trying a discover scuba at the gym's pool.
Well, once I was under the water, I was hooked. I immediately signed us both up for scuba lessons, and never looked back.
By the way, a few years ago, we were in Costa Rica, and my wife and I (and my sister) booked the bull shark dive, so my wife is now offically also crazy.
Then
Then about 15 years ago, I was watching a Discovey channel special with my wife about divers traveling the South Pacific looking for sharks. Every time sharks were spotted, they geared up and jumped in. I told my wife, "Some day I 'm going to do that." She looked at me like I was crazy, and said "not with me you're not."
Well, that again ended my dream. Roll forward a few years, and we were snorkeling in Cancun near Isla Mujeres, and witnessed divers in the water under us, and I again decided I wanted to try it.
Finally a couple years later:
(My sister was alread a diver), and about 7 years ago talked us into trying a discover scuba at the gym's pool.
Well, once I was under the water, I was hooked. I immediately signed us both up for scuba lessons, and never looked back.
By the way, a few years ago, we were in Costa Rica, and my wife and I (and my sister) booked the bull shark dive, so my wife is now offically also crazy.
Then
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