Why Scuba Diving?

[UrbanJungle1966]

I am a water person so naturally gravitate to any water. Being under it and cruising around looking at stuff is just me.
I love just hanging above a bunch of rocks and watching all the little critters just going about their life. I can do this for a full tank. Many dives have seen me staying in a few square metres just watching. It is amazing when you have been there for a while what will actually come to you and interact.
I love the noise under water, the clickings and grindings.

 

[boulderjohn]

Hi, I am very new to scuba diving I was wondering what you find so attractive about scuba diving?
I originally got certified because we were planning a vacation to a site known for scuba, and I hate lying on a beach. My plan was to do the same sort of thing every couple of years. Once I was actually there, that plan went out the window. I was hooked on the total beauty of the experience. Not just the beauty of what I was seeing--it was more the beauty of the peaceful calm I felt while doing it.

What goals do you set for yourself?
For the first few years I had none other than visiting beautiful vacation spots. Then i started getting into more advanced diving, and I found that the challenges thrilled me. I started relatively late in life, and in hindsight, my biggest mistake in terms of goals was assuming I was too old to reach some of them. I once said I could never be a cave diver because of my age. I have now been an active cave diver for several years.

How often do you attend scuba realated parties or events? It depends upon what you mean by this, but if you exclude dive trips and instructional settings, not that often.

Why do you enjoy scuba diving? See my first and second answers.

What kind of difficulties have you been faced with? Not much at first, but when I got into technical diving, the biggest difficulty was affording all the gear I wanted. Perhaps you were talking about danger. If so, my most death defying moment was when I made the mistake of trying on a hooded vest alone in the locker room and almost suffocated because it was too small. That was a narrow escape.

 

[PartyStar]

Scuba Diving has been my biggest passion and I love it as much as life itself.
The biggest difficulty is the weightlessness I feel in my bank accounts because
I have to go somewhere tropical and dive at least twice a year.
Sometimes I wished I was drug addicted and could simply go to rehab.
The rehab for quitting diving would be a medical condition.
This is what keeps me running on the treadmill and eating lots of salads.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Good question.

Therapeutic effect: It is a great way to get away from the world and release stress. Ocean and sounds of the waves splashing against a boat seem to have an instant therapeutic effect on me. Every time I return from a dive trip I am happier, more relaxed and totally in-tuned with my life. Similarly staying away from the ocean creates restlessness and stress. So I need it to keep my senses alive.

Photography: As a journalist I am interested in taking pictures and shooting videos. Being familiar with diving has enabled me to produce TV documentaries, reports, features and articles that I would not have been able to produce if I did not know how to dive. Diving adds a dimension to my career / day job that has enabled me to tell some interesting stories.

Personal Curiosity: I am curious about islands, destinations, ship wreck stories, history etc. Wreck diving adds that and getting into the history of sunken ships has increased my understanding of a lot of other related areas.

Friendships: I have been able to build some really nice friendships through diving. I have met people from all over the world who share the same passion and the social aspect of it is something I enjoy as well.

Sheer WOW factor: Diving in North Carolina comes with a certain WOW! To swim with hundreds of sharks all around you has a certain OMG to it that you do not get in real life.

As for challenges, my biggest challenge is being land-locked. Diving from DC Virginia means you have to travel as there is little local diving. This adds costs and feeding this hobby could take away from other areas. Since it contributes to my day job I do not feel as bad or as guilty about it tho. I try to strike a balance where I do not let it consume my life.

 

[Subcooled]

Adventure.
When in good company.
Plastic waste.

 

[cmrangel]

Wild wonderful critters, stuff you could not even dream up. It can also be incredibly peaceful as well.

 

[Storker]

The weightlessness.
The zen-like feeling of hanging almost motionless, with just those minute corrections with the tips of my fins to stay there.
Seeing all kinds of cool underwater things that people topside can't see.
Great seafood
Being able to breath underwater (OMFG, I'm underwater and I'm not drowning!)
It's cool to master what's considered to be an extreme sport (huh?) when I'm well into middle age.
The bonding with my buddy. We ARE responsible for each other, and both know it.
The pre- and post-dive socializing.
Did I mention the weightlessness?
At 20m, rolling to my back and watching the waves from below.
The universe is a pitch black bubble containing only you, your buddy's torch and the stuff in the light from your own torch.
Hanging beside a vertical wall, looking down into the black emptiness, then looking up to see the light rays from the edge of the wall.

 

[kathydee]

It was fully accidental, scuba diving found me . Was riding a motorcycle around Balli Indonesia, stopped in for a snorkel and was talked into a discover scuba. The rest has evolved naturally to tech/cave diving . I have no goal other than to follow my heart.

 

[Learn It]

It's quiet and peaceful...you can slow down the world.