Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?

[Neilwood]

I can see FFM being good in certain circumstances but would suck in others.

If doing a task filled dive (such as logging a wreck or recovering an object) good communication would be ideal.

If going for a bimble, keep the noise to a minimum.

 

[Doby45]

FFM does not automatically mean that it has comms. That is not to say that without a reg in your mouth you can not yell at your buddy more clearly.

 

[Reku]

I've seen people yell with the reg in their mouth - it's possible lol.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I've been reading much of this thread (though I skipped the middle parts) and, from my personal experiences I'd say at least part of the reason is the way the training is now done. Recently, while in Cozumel, my girlfriend (now 65 years old) signed up for the PADI OW course. After sitting in a classroom by herself for hours watching videos and then being subjected to an impatient instructor she dropped out. From her point of view as an educator she felt that the course was inadequate. From my point of view the OW course was so she could rent gear, get tanks filled, and get onto the dive boats. I'll go over everything she learned (and did not learn) and make sure she knows everything she needs to know (including finding out anything that I don't know). But she has the advantage of diving with someone with decades of experience and most people probably don't.

A few days ago my daughter and her fiance dropped by and we discussed their interest in becoming certified. They were in shock when I told them that after they spend $400 for the OW course they will need to spend another $400 for the AOW course plus hundreds of dollars more for all of the other things they don't teach you in the first two courses. They have both snorkeled in Hawai'i and have a great desire to spend more time underwater, enjoying all the beauty etc. My daughter probably also just wants to spend time with the GOD (Grumpy Old Diver) before he goes off to spend time with GOD (Not the Grumpy Old Diver). In any case I think their motivations are what I would consider normal. We are currently discussing a trip to Hawai'i where the three of them will get certified after taking the PADI Online Course. That will be the beginning of their training I have read at least two posts where divers explained the thrill of the adrenaline rush they get when jumping of a dive boat into 75 feet of clear, calm water and descending to the bottom. Really? I assume they feel that they are ill-prepared, otherwise what exactly are they scared of?

As for all of the equipment, I agree with Nemrod who stated in the past that for him scuba diving is like free diving with a tank strapped on your back. At least for beach diving in Southern California. Sure, when I'm on a dive boat I rent a BC but I still consult the dive tables. I prefer steel 72s over aluminum 80s because they are smaller, weigh less, and you need less weight on your belt because they have better buoyancy characteristics. Plus you have a somewhat smaller profile when the waves hit you and it's less to carry up and down the bluffs. I bought my regulator new in the 80s and it was probably about $250 at the time. It performs much better than my old one from the early 60s so it was a good investment. My cold-water wetsuit (1/4" farmer john) I got used for $8 on Craig's List. My tropical wetsuit (full 2.5mm jumpsuit) I bought new on eBay for $30. The fins I use now are ScubaPro Lightning Jet Fins that I bought on eBay for $30. I believe they were manufactured in the 70s. I bought my 1/4" hard sole booties around 1967 along with my dive knife and silicone mask and snorkel. If you rinse the stuff and dry it out of the sun it lasts a long time I have several steel 72s and backpacks from the 60s and 70s and they all still pass hydro tests. I have a set of double 45s which I got for about $15 and they even had a current hydro. I do my own VIPs and equipment maintenance (you can download the manuals) and I have my own compressor so I can get away with not doing the VIPs My weight belts, including the two I gave my daughter and her fiance and my girlfriend, add up to about 70 pounds of lead. Almost all of the lead was fishing weights I found while diving which I melted down and poured into a weight mold. I keep them painted with a can of spray paint to make them look nice and to reduce exposure to lead. My "BC" is an old VOIT vest from the 60s. I generally only wore it for deeper dives (past 40 feet or so) but started wearing it more regularly after I found a big boat anchor and had to swim to shore with it and no extra buoyancy to help me along. My future son-in-law is anxious to start spending money on gear but I suggested that I have lots of perfectly good, well-maintained regulators etc that he can try out first. My point is that you don't necessarily have to spend tons of money to get the equipment you need to go diving. I would also like to add that I recently bought a 3mm ScubaPro shortie suit for $20 in great condition at 2nd Wave just south of Kailua-Kona, HI. My girlfriend also bought a Bare shortie suit and Size M Lightning Jet Fins for $20 each at the same place.

Right now I probably have about nine tanks, 5 or 6 regulators, and bunch of masks, glove, knives, backpacks, and various miscellaneous items, enough to equip at least a few extra divers. The stuff accumulates over the years so one way to find cheap gear would be to find an old fart like me

 

[Diving Dubai]

I strongly disagree that Scuba is decining.

Yes of course I the internet has forced the closure of local LDS - well those away from popular dive places. But the internet has opened up a whole new world.

There is a now large industry for Liveaboards world wide compared to what there was. 10 years ago Raja Ampat was know only to a few, now most divers are aware and travel to far flung places is much easier and more affordable. People are able to tick off most of the top dive locations and still have little more than 150 career dives

Asia is top of the list for lots of Gen x or Millennials - before they get snarled with kids, mortgages and debt - dive shops are everywhere. The fact is that more people chose to dive smarter in places that are nicer rather than making do with their local place because its that or nothing

If I lived back in the UK there is now way I'd go diving locally and save my money for far flung destinations that have warm waters and sun. Now fortunately I live in a place like that so regular diving is easy - indeed to easy. I can decide to not go diving on a whim knowing I can do it next week.

Sure it's not as popular as Skiing for instance - but then when you see how many divers are being put in the water in some places I'm glad its not. The fact that some places are able to market themselves as high end and exclusive charging a ton of money but keeping the numbers of guests low while remaining full year round suggests that there are a lot of people willing to spend more to get away from the crowds

Heck you can even dive in the Antarctic on an organised trip if you are so inclined. Not so 10, 15 or 20 years ago

 

[george_austin]

Should separate the wheat from the chaff, reset and get back to basics. Only accomplished skin divers and water comfortable, expert swimmers accepted by instructors for scuba training CONSIDERATION. No buoyancy compensator use allowed during training. Get properly weighted or drop out.
Training agencies compensate for lack of skills with an over emphasis on " USE THIS DEVICE OR DIE!" so called safety equipment - just my opinion. Too many bubble blowers and not enough divers hangin around.

 

[gcarter]

Need a dislike button. ^^^^^^^

 

[george_austin]

Need a dislike button. ^^^^^^^

Bubbleblower

 

[boulderjohn]

I would just like to offer a thought related to the video game comments.

First Phase: A lot of the video games people are playing feature people playing active sports. When a friend heard that I had recently played golf on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, he got all excited, because that is his favorite course--in a video game. He doesn't play actual golf at all, but he loves video golf. In his basement recently, several people were playing tennis on his Wii. The ones who actually knew tennis and were trying to use actual tennis moves were getting killed by someone who had never played the game in her life and was just sitting on the sofa waving the controller around. So Phase One is when simulating a physical activity on a computer replaces participating in the real activity.

Second Phase: Our local nature and Science museum currently has a big exhibit on robotics. When I attended, i watched a presentation in which the presenter asked the audience to name some things that they would like robots to do for them. The audience was mostly children, and one of them shouted out immediately "Play my video games for me!" So Phase two is when we get robots to play the video games that are simulating a physical activity on a computer replaces participating in the real activity.

 

[2airishuman]

Two part problem. Too much competition for the entertainment dollar and diving doesn't provide as much bang for the buck as, say, video games. Hard to solve that one.

I do believe, though, as the faux Monty Python sketch sort of points out, that there's a lack of respect for aspiring and new divers. That shows up in dive shops trying to monetize aspiring divers, in n00b bashing right here on SB, and in the patronizing unwillingness to share knowledge (because a little knowledge might be bad, etc) or accept styles of or approaches to diving that don't treat full cave as the pinnacle goal to which everyone should aspire.