What is the BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO DIVING?

[LarryHinDC]

Why aren't more people interested in diving? Because Sea Hunt has been off the air for over 40 years! :az:

 

[Trixxie]

A lot of people, when they find out I dive, immediately say, "Oh, I could never do that, I'm too claustrophobic." I'm not sure what there is about floating around in a huge body of water that's claustrophobic, but apparently the image is to a lot of people.

A friend of mine did a Discover Scuba in Hawaii. Paid for 2 dives but only did one. Between the wetsuit feeling too tight (which probably was a good fit for a wetsuit), not having enough weight on so they were too buoyant, the sound of the bubbles in the water and the mask, it was more than they could handle and said they would never dive again.

These were they reasons as to why they felt claustrophobic while diving.

I have felt that claustrophobic feeling before, like the first time I put my cavern rig on but I didn't let that stop me. Maybe the people who felt or thought they would feel claustrophobic had the chance to get comfortable in the gear would actually overcome that feeling? Say in a pool or confined water setting.

 

[ACR]

... Really, you need to explain to her sharks don't eat people...

Borrowing from the NRA... Sharks don't eat people, people eat ... no wait, that's not right.

 

[ACR]

I run a dive club at my place of employment and I've heard everything from "it's to expensive" to "it's too cold" to "I'm scared of fish"...

It sounds simple but the hardest part for most people is actually deciding that "yes, I'm going to do this"... that's a very different thing than "Ok, I'll give it a try." Just like Yoda used to say.... sort of.

 

[davidryder]

The reason I never got into it was because I was under the impression that I had to spend thousands of dollars on equipment and have a boat. The equipment was given to me and now I've learned I don't need to own a boat to enjoy diving.

I've also learned that you can get started with some basic equipment for fairly cheap.

 

[pir8]

My wife likes to snorkel, but the thought of breathing compressed air freaked her out.

So I thought I would eliminate her fear by hooking up my regulator and letting her breath of it while sitting on the couch.

The only problem was that when she took her first breath she inhaled a spider that somehow crawled into the 1st stage. She gagged and choked and finally coughed it up.

Not only did I not elliminate the fear, but now she has a whole new paranoia of spiders. specifically inhaling them. She is now convinced that regulators are the preferred habitat for arachnids.

Any suggestions?

That is the exact reason I try to teach my students to exhale through the reg first before taking a breath on it. And I do mention the possibility of things taking up residence over the winter, especially if you store your gear in your garage.

 

[Grounded]

It's when you jump on a plane that it gets to the big $. Oh but I love the warm water.

But now you're a kindred soul. we both tried out our doubles in the pool on the same weekend. Any time you want free lodging in south florida, just let me know.

We've got $50 boat trips to some great (warmish water) wrecks.

 

[BKP]

Five kids...

Doesn't stop me... just slows me down until I can think of a new bribe...

 

[Diver Dennis]

I moved to the Philippines now that I have a family and dive a lot in Asia now. My kids are not yet diving age but they love to snorkel and my wife dives when she feels like it. We just got back from a week dive vacation and most resorts here have a pool, massage services and a nice beach so everyone is happy. Most of the sites are usually within 10 minutes so we come back to the resort between dives. I do an early morning dive and get back in time for breakfast, then do an 11 Am dive and I'm back in time for lunch. I can then do an afternoon dive if I want or a night dive, it gets dark at around 6PM every day here.

We are lucky that we can do vacations like this. Some holiday dive spots require you to be gone for almost the whole day to do 2 dives which really can throw a wrench into family time.

 

[Canute]

I actually live pretty near the Monterey coast but don't get out here very much.
My excuses:
1. Difficult to find dive buddies and hate to pay for boat diving at home.
2. I've a lot of other things I can do/too many hobbies.
3. It takes a fair amount of time preparing for a dive day.
4. The water's a bit chilly.
Probably the biggest one is a lack of someone to drag me to the shore and put the dive gear on.
My wife is just kind of scared of the whole mask/gear thing and doesn't like to put her face in the water.