Who are the people who dive ?

[Sam Miller III]

Walter, old buddy,

Great to have your input all the way from Florida...
You always are welcome and appreciated here on the burning left coast,
take care,
sdm

 

[Gilldiver]

Someone who makes 5 dives a year is not an active diver, in fact these folks are not divers at all, they are people who dive. An active diver at a minimum goes diving 4 times per year and makes at least 25 dives.

The 5 dives per year was what NAUI and PADI used to use to define an "Active" diver. They justified it as someone who made at least one trip to the warm water and did 5 dives on that trip.

 

[NudeDiver]

What a silly definition.

I guess that leaves me out - as I only have 6 dives for 2008 - made for my drysuit and rescue diver classes. Maybe they should have called it a "People Who Rescue Dive" class.

 

[Walter]

The 5 dives per year was what NAUI and PADI used to use to define an "Active" diver. They justified it as someone who made at least one trip to the warm water and did 5 dives on that trip.

Not a surprise that they want they numbers to look higher than they really are.

 

[Gilldiver]

I have not been to a dive resort or a Liveaboard for way too many years, but I bet that the 1 trip/5 dives per year still captures close to 50% of the "Divers" that you will see at many of those resorts - especialy the all-inclusives where diving is what you do between Breakfast and Golf (or the topless/nude beach).

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I guess I messed up the statistics. I've been scuba diving since 1989, free diving before that. I've never made a resort nor liveaboard dive. I'll be 50 on my next birthday and more than half my dive buddies are at least ten years older than I am. I don't bother trusting "number" of dives made, as some count class dives, pool dives, etc. I know one woman who counted every dive she made during her rescue course, including each two minute bounce to bring up a victim.

 

[ronbeau]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron,
The question and my answer has been of concern for some time. I answered the question as I interpreted it.

I never had or took the opportunity to complete a basic SCUBA course; there were very few around, and all poorly subscribed

Like most of that era I obtained my waterman ship via water polo & swimming and by spending every available waking moment free diving or surfing, diving experience by annihilating every thing that swam or crawled in the ocean, my academic training by studying the USN Dive manual, Clinical Symposia, Underwater edition for the medical aspects and books by the God of underwater of that era Hans Hass. (Who FYI did every thing 10 years earlier and 10 times better than JYC)

I progressed from an active recreational diver to a card carrying instructor almost fifty years ago by completing the very demanding and certainly prestigious LA county Underwater Instructor program; at that junction in history it was the only available civilian dive training program. (LA County types are "Underwater instructors" - the term SCUBA was not in common usage in 1954)

So that is why I said I was never certified, and indeed I wasn't as a basic diver--only at the instructor level.

Suggest that you might want to read my post of about a month ago about Harry Vetter, LA Co Instructor and NAUI instructor #4

sdm

Thank you for the clear explanation. You certainly earned your stripes the hard way. You were becoming an instructor the year I was born (1954).

I can only hope that I am anywhere near the shape you are in when I reach your age. That will mean I am still enjoying diving and in good health.

 

[Walter]

I have not been to a dive resort or a Liveaboard for way too many years, but I bet that the 1 trip/5 dives per year still captures close to 50% of the "Divers" that you will see at many of those resorts - especialy the all-inclusives where diving is what you do between Breakfast and Golf (or the topless/nude beach).

It very well may, but they still are far from active.

 

[runway1]

Thank you for the clear explanation. You certainly earned your stripes the hard way. You were becoming an instructor the year I was born (1954).

Sam,
Wasn't that when they had those spinning things in front of airplanes?

 

[White Knight]

No way that many divers in the USA. Perhaps people with mutiple certifications are being counted twice--or more. Just no way that many divers. If there were, local dive shops wouldn't be having such a difficult time. And this sport/hobby "is" very expensive. Young people simply can't afford to get involved in it anymore.