What's wrong with being a recreational diver?

[rockjock3]

There is nothing wrong with staying rec or with going tec. I am trained tec and still do the majority of my diving in rec limits. I do apply much of my tec training to my rec diving to make myself a much safer diver and my team much safer. It isn't a better person, but usually a different type of person. Many tec divers, like myself, are type "A" and also love the loading of gear, planning, gas management, dive planning etc. Trust me, even with all that goes into a tec dive there is still soooo much time to enjoy the actual dive. We have a drift dive here that runs 150-170fsw and is awesome. There are several cool rock formations and huge fish all along it.

It is also important to remember that tec is not all about just going deep, carrying 6 bottles and doing deco. Many of my tec dives are 30-60fsw. Not much nicer than doing an awesome shore dive for 3 hours in 30-40fsw. You can explore your favorite dive spot for longer, go further out or down the shore and get more dive time, in less time, than you can do 2 single tank dives with your surface interval.

 

[Walter]

I wonder what is the mad rush some divers have to move so quickly from recreational to "tech" diving?

For those who are in a mad rush, it's all about ego.

What's the attraction?

Some people love to expore caves, others love to explore wrecks, some just want the t-shirt.

I wonder...with less than 200 lifetime dives...have you been everywhere in the world and seen all there is to see and learned all there is to learn <130fsw on one tank?

With over 2000 lifetime dives, I have not been everywhere in the world and seen all there is to see and learned all there is to learn <130fsw on one tank?

What's wrong with being a recreational diver?

Nothing. "Tech" divers are recreational divers, many just won't admit it.

 

[BobbyT22]

Absolutely nothing wrong with being a rec diver. I am one and love it. But I feel the pull of tec and will likely get more training, driven by primarily one thing:

Location, Location, Location.

If I lived in an area with an abundance of interesting shallow diving, I would be happy staying above 130 feet and within no deco limts. But I don't. Here in the mid atlantic, most of the good diving is wreck diving, and most of them are deep. You dive where you live, and get the training necessary to do it safely. For me that is trending toward tec.

 

[DCBC]

HJeffreyM: You hit the nail on the head! There's nothing the matter with recreational diving. I think too many divers rush to depth prematurely. Perhaps I'm just sounding my age, as I'm from the old school. The standards for diver and Instructor certification have lowered over the years and the commerce prevalent in today's society exploits the "you can have it all now" attitude and the instant gratification requirements of many of today's divers. That said, I don't want to deter others from exploring the joys of deep wreck or cave penetration. Hopefully however they will have more underwater hours than meet the minimum standards and are better prepared than many of them are to face the challenges that await.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

For those who are in a mad rush, it's all about ego.

Not necessarily ... it could be about curiosity, or simply that the reason they got into diving in the first place was a goal that would take them beyond recreational limits.

How many people ... even those who have no interest in "tech" diving ... rushed into their AOW class so they could go deeper than their OW training allowed? I think a c-card that allows them to do deeper dives is the primary reason why most people take AOW. And yet, how many come out of that training truly prepared to do those deep dives without putting their safety into the hands of a guide or a more experienced diver?

Why? What's the fascination with "notching" that 100-foot dive? Or with going to Cozumel and doing deep overheads? Or with going to Belize and doing the Blue Hole? Those are not tech dives ... but the motivation for doing them is much the same as that which attracts a lot of people to tech diving.

I could say the same for those who rush to get in their 60 dives so they can get their DM certification ... or those who become instructors at 100 dives. What's the rush? Wouldn't it be far better to get some experience and comfort with what your doing before getting that "pro" label? Have they really thought through the responsibility that comes with that level of diving?

And yet the majority of those folks aren't doing it for the "t-shirt" ... they're doing it because they have a dream, and however misguided the hurry-up approach may be, it's the path they see to achieve that dream.

Rather than deride those people, I'd prefer to guide them ... give them a positive example of why it's a better idea to slow down and build a solid platform of skills and experience before moving to the next step along the path to their dream.

Patience, grasshopper. Diving is like sailing ... the journey IS the destination ... once you're in the water, you ARE where you want to be. Enjoy the journey ... the goal will be there when you arrive. And by then, you will have discovered that it is just another waypoint along the journey ... with many more goals ahead of you to explore.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Santa]

I like the quote about not going to the next level until youre bored with this one. Mostly because it focuses on getting quality experiences out of what is already there and readily available. I completely sympathise with the restlessness and eagerness to get to a new level and break new ground, and the ver real recreation of learning neat new stuff. but so many people are in such a rush to cover ground that they hardly notice the ground theyre passing or even standing on at a particular moment.

From a point of view of being "pro" or not I think the game in any business changes drastically when the objective of all the effort is not recreation but solving real life problems or making sure that a business thrives and survives. Training and gear, then, is focused on not for reacreation but in terms of how well and at what cost it acheives specific objectives.

However well educated and no matter the amount of gear owned one is not truly pro until one can live off an activity with the knowledge that that income is ever at risk.

Personally i teach mostly for fun and dont really consider my self "pro" in the true sense of the word. I believe that the training and experience that ive accumulated is nothing like what is expected from say commercial or military divers or instructors who dive every day for a living.

Its just a different ballgame and the only reason to get confused about that is arguably to boost ones amateur ego.

I too sometimes think about tech diving - and in my waters there are actually good reasons to do so in terms of cool experiences. I'm sure it would make me a better and more competent diver overall and boost my particular ego a bit. but the time, the money, the need for complete redundancy ... you gotta weigh it against what you can get out of your old rig and limits - I could travel the world and do 200 dives for the price of a new tech set of gear and im not rich enough to do both. If the objective is recreation well ...

 

[Rick Inman]

Diving is like sailing ... the journey IS the destination ...

I like this quote. I have really enjoyed the diving journey as I progress in my diving.

All my diving is recreational. Sometimes I do recreational dives that require technical equipment and skills. I do it because...It's FUN! Whoo-hoo!! That's why I do all my diving, because it's all recreational, and it's all fun.

Look, I'm not putting down looking at the fishies in Cozumel or Hawaii (I have enjoyed that myself). I think it's great. In fact, I'd still rather snorkel around the shallows than read a book on the beach.

But, I now see it kind of like golf. Miniature golf is a hoot. All the colored balls and wind mills and funny houses you try to putt into. Nothing wrong with playing miniature golf - I think it's fun. But there is also nothing wrong with playing 18 holes of golf on a world class course, like Pebble Beach. And there is no reason for one kind of player to judge the other. Both are for different folks with a different commitment level and a different investment in time and money. And the people you play with have a different outlook toward the game.

In diving it's all recreational (unless you are a "pro"), and there is everything from snorkeling to CCR cave exploration. Pick your poison. Do what tickles you. Let others do what tickles them without criticism. Help people along who want to go the way you have been. Encourage people to dive well at whatever level they enjoy (firstly by example).

I don't know what my diving futures holds, but if it's been anything like the last few years, I'm gonna hold on tight for the continuing ride of my life! Here's hoping the same for all...

 

[Seaduced]

There is nothing wrong with being a rec diver. My wife has been certified since 1968, has made 1000's of dives and is content with that. So was I, until I read an article about the Mighty O. The wreck bug bit.

I want to dive the Oriskany in a couple of years. Right now, I've made contact with a tech instructor in my area and we are working a training schedule. I'll also have to find a buddy, because my wife won't be doing that dive, well, not to the props anyway. I may have her convinced to do the island.

Until that time, I'm satisfied with putting around with my camera. Our dives typically range from 15 fsw (we find more seahorses there) to 60 fsw.

That issue of Scuba Diving magazine has a special place on my desk. When I have a little time, I kick back and dream dive the Mighty O, Texas Clipper, Vandenberg, Spiegel Grove... the list goes on... all because of an article in a year old magazine.

Darell

 

[tlt]

I have noticed on the board here, a lot of professional divers, that are also recreational divers. They participate in the forums and add unique insights about diving at times that we would not have an opportunity to have. At the same time, it is natural to assume that some recreational divers might also move to professional diving as a career.

There is nothing wrong with progressing anywhere in professional or recreational diving, based on your own desires and needs. Progress normally, at your own pace or desire and do not be pressured to so something you do not want to do. My dive instructor was a professional diver, and recreational instructor with a 4 digit padi cert #. I was very fortunate to have received the training I got.

 

[Stu S.]

Gotta be careful when reading some posts.

I have a co-worker who is "going tech". For him it means purchasing equipment types and brands that a technical diver may prefer. The long term goal may be applying these items to deep and challenging diving.

I have suggested that his next step be nitrox certification. Then he can dive with us at Jupiter.