Why did you become a diver?

[kathydee]

I was traveling in Bali, took a motorcycle around the island, snorkled in Tulemben, looked down and saw a wreck but couldn't explore it without scuba gear.

I thought about that wreck for a year, then went back and this time saw the rest of the wreck!

I fell in love with scuba 2 years later in Sipadan, blue, blue water and lots of sharks!

 

[DESIGNERDIVER]

when i was 13 the movie jaws was released and scared me out of the water for ever (or so i thought). so from then up until now i loved being on a boat and at the beach just not IN the water..........however,my Fiance got certified about 2 years ago and the 'life" was consumming him so we all know the saying if you cant beat them join them? well thats what i did. i was certified last december and when people ask me if i am still afraid of sharks I say.." I cant be bothered with worrying about sharks! i have to make sure i dont drown to death...........all kidding aside, this was one of the hardest fears to over come but i am truely enjoying the experience and i dont regret this for one minute.

 

[SteveTW]

I've always been interested in diving, growing up with Mike Nelson and all. A little over two years ago my wife told me to watch 'Dirtest Jobs' because Mike Rowe was going to weld underwater (I'm a welder!). Well, I wasn't looking at the welding part but the water part. Next day in the mail was a flyer from the local community collage. A course in diving was offered! I then looked in the phone book and found a LDS that had an opening the next day, Sunday, my birthday, for a new class. It was a sign!!.

I've been hooked ever since. Except for a few surgeries, I haven't slowed down. By the way, I'm 59.
Steve

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I got into diving because of Seahunt in a roundabout way. My first wife grew up in the Nevada desert watching Seahunt as a kid. She always dreamed of being a diver. When she moved to SoCal she told me we were going to begin snorkeling. I'd never tried it, but once I learned how, peering into the depths became my passion. I wanted to spend more time under water than I could on breath-hold dives, so we took OW together.
One day we were diving at my favorite site, Marineland and Mike Nelson himself, Lloyd Bridges was there filming Hot Shots. During a break in shooting I asked him if he'd like to borrow my gear and dive with my wife. He said he would love to, but the production company's insurance probably wouldn't allow it. I thought it would have been the best entry ever in her logbook.

 

[rstofer]

I took a job that landed me in Singapore. Well, I couldn't bring my guns and there didn't seem to be any hydroplane racing or hare scrambles so none of my hobbies could be transplanted.

I had always wanted to dive (since I saw an Aqua Lung in the local sporting goods store circa 1956 or so) and, knowing absolutely nothing about what I was signing up for, I signed up! I had a great time living in Singapore and diving in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Maldives.

Richard

 

[KY_BOB]

(bump)

I thought that I had a great story but there are a ton of great stories out there!

 

[Sias]

I work as a County employee and had the honor of the Sheriff of said County find out I was a volunteer lifeguard for the local community pool. He asked me if I would be willing to go one step up and start a Dive and Rescue team for the Sheriff's Dept.
Well, I couldn't tell him "no," so I signed up at my LDS and explained to them I wanted to be a Rescue diver, and was ready to start the process to get there. So far, I have had the best instructors and DiveMasters and they have greatly helped me on my path to reaching my goal. They have kept in contact with me and are always willing to help me with any questions I have (usually before I post them on the boards. )
I'm hoping by the end of this year I will have my certification and I can return to the Sheriff and say, "I'm ready to start the team."

 

[Chaos the Crazy]

I have always been a water baby, had been snorkeling a lot and always played in the surf at the beach. I grew up with an expensive hobby (horseback riding) and once I was on my own I didn't have the money to continue with that.

Several years later, after a full work burnout my hubby suggested we do a one year anniversary trip. We went to French Polynesia and did one of Windstar's last Tahiti cruises. I snorkeled my happy little brains out just about every day and contemplated getting certified, but the group on the boat was full. I came back with a healing sunburn, lots of pictures and the desire to run away to the South Pacific, never to return.

Fast forward 4 years, and both hubby and I are mildly homicidal with craziness at work (and no real vacation since Tahiti) and family hammering away at us about holiday visits. I throw a mild temper tantrum, suggest that we get certified and go play for a week in Belize on Ambergris for our 5th anniversary. We do the online PADI stuff, get the pool sessions done, then off to Catalina for a weekend of OW cert dives. Three days later we're on a plane off to Belize.

A handful of dives later, I didn't want to come home. Here I am spiraling down to 70+ feet in gorgeous 90ft vis waters, playing with green morays and huge groupers and the thought in my head was "I am home".

Now I'm working through LA Country ADP and plotting my next escape...and trying not to think about how much I've spent on gear. My boas are glaring at me because I didn't get the caging I promised them yet...oh well babies, by Christmas, I promise!

 

[Meanee]

Never really cared about diving. It was on my "Neat to try one day, when I am bored out of my mind" list, but I really couldn't care less.

In Feb 09, researching next vacation destination with my gf, I saw that there are few diveshops. I did not want to spend a lot of money, but I saw that Discover Scuba was not expensive as I thought it would be. So signed up myself and my gf. Got to the shop, watched a very simple video, was shown the gear, hopped into the van and they took us to the beach. I liked it, gf didn't, she is not a big fan of water.

So after DSD, they said that there's a spot on the boat to go to some wreck, which sounded interesting. I paid something like 120 bucks and when I got to the boat they said that I cannot go since the only instructor will be taking students there and cannot keep his eyes on me as well. So we went to sponge beach or whatever area was called. That dive REALLY did not go well, but I got through it.

The reason I went for cert, is so I won't be in a position like this again, where I know how to properly surface and when (Aruba divemaster got me to surface with 75psi), and so I can go where everyone else is going.

I decided to do cert in my LDS, since sitting in classroom during my vacation is not my ideal vacation

 

[rstofer]

oops! duplicate post