Why do you dive?

[Kim]

I hope this question hasn't been asked before - I did several searches but couldn't find any answers.

I just came back from Hawaii and while I was there was fortunate enough to be taken to several sites on the North Shore by someone who lives there who I met through SB. One of the first things he asked me was what kind of diving I liked. Well, I'm a photographer - (still a beginner with UW stuff) - so that's what I told him. Then I asked him what he liked - his reply: collecting shells. It soon became apparant that the differences between these two pursuits made for very different diving. To collect shells he dives mainly at night, and relatively deep. To take pictures I'm more than happy with quite shallow stuff in the daytime. In any event after he'd taken me on a couple of daytime dives he announced that he'd never seen so many fish and was obviously very pleased to have done a few dives which for him were very different to what he normally did.

Obviously there must be a great many reasons why different people dive - so what are they? What are your main goals for diving? Have these goals changed as you got further into the sport? I have to admit that the idea of diving some cold water location with almost no visibilty has never appealed to me - but should it? What do you get out of it. I'd be really happy to hear all the reasons why people dive and what they are getting out of our great sport! Who knows - the differences might give people new ideas that they hadn't thought about before.

 

[coreypenrose]

I dive the California coast and I enjoy diving here because it's so very peaceful beneath the surface of the ocean. For those of you who have seen Big Sur, or any other beautiful example of the California coast, you've surely felt the sense of overwhelming, foreboding beauty which draws people to our beaches. The California coast, at least from Big Sur to the Oregon border, is a very spiritual place which brings tears to my eyes when the weather cooperates.

That same sense of awed reverence is greatly intensified and readily available for those willing to brave the cold water, surge and surf.

 

[JRO]

Originally...adventure, excitement, adrenaline rush, etc (I was 20 and was talked into it by my Marine buddies, what else would you expect)

Today...relaxation, still excitement but a different kind.

Photography and videography.

I've gone from rushing through a divesite to spending an hour within a 20 square foot area on some dives...amazing what comes out if you sit still and observe.

Diving...What a great way to spend your time (beats the therapy couch)

Jeff

 

[SueMermaid]

When I dive, I can fly. Gravity doesn't have the authority to control me. I can totally relax. I can clear my head, and I don't have to talk to anyone. I can giggle at the cute little faces that poke out of the pores of sponges, I can let go of all of my previous notions of what is real and what is surreal, and I can marvel at the impossible colors that nature has created.
The question should not be why I dive, it should be why do I ever come up to the surface?

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Years ago I hunted and that was my main focus. Now I'd rather take photos but photo taking happens on about 1 in 20 dives. I love to explore. Even when I go back to the same old site I'm looking for new things. So there are days when I"ll be shallow and days when I'll be deep.

As an instructor I spend a lot of time with students in the water. Some students are easy to train and they move on quickly. I take pleasure in spending extra time with students with "issues" and it always gives me satisfaction in getting them past their hurdles.

But while I'm down below I don't think about anything else. I don't wonder if the truck will start or anything else, it's about diving.

 

[Charlie99]

Like Hula Girl, I love the 3-D mobility and the sense of flying.

Rather than an adrenaline rush, I find diving a relaxing, almost meditative activity.

Underwater tourist watching the pretty fishies.

 

[Nin's]

Almost the same with Jeff, it's the silence that I like. It's a stress theurapy for me. Spore is very noisy,specially if you take the train/bus and have lunches at food court every day. Now in a bus, my ears can even catch the beeping sounds from the latest row seat while I am stuck nearby the front door! And there are ppl chatting, singing (a Will Hung wannabe), playing games with their cellphones, phone rings.. So each time I plan for a dive trip, I will be soooo looking forward for it

 

[Walter]

I can't imagine life without it. Was there life before diving?

 

[The Kraken]

Because I'd look funny walking around the beach with all my gear on.

Kidding. . .

It lets me get out of my brain for a while. . .
(other than all the duties and responsibilities that accompany diving)

 

[beachdivequeenbelam]

I dive because I love the water. There is no competition in the water like there is on the land. I don't have to worry about my hair or what I am wearing. My kids aren't fighting and life isn't going crazy around me. I can touch a beautiful world, which is as close to heaven as we can get on earth. I feel free and and remember how wonderful the world can be. There are no speeding cars and horrible traffic. It is the best theraphy in the world. I have even gotten my gear on and dived in a swimming pool and just laid on the bottom until my tank ran out. I must have been a fish in a former life or something. I just love the water.