What's is scuba diving REALLY like?

[mayjong]

If you like snorkling, you will love diving

[Zoodiver]

Originally Posted by hcl2195

A bad day of diving sure beats the hell out of a good day at work!! Just wish I had more time to go diving.

I dive for work.

Actually, I love being underwater (when I'm not on the clock). It's a totally different thing when you HAVE to dive because there is work to do once you get down.

Recreational diving is amazing. My daughter told me "You're like Peter Pan and get to fly over everything".

[hogfanreefer]

I just finished my classroom and confined water dives 2 weeks ago. It was a blast even in just a 15' deep pool. Seemed very natural to both my wife and I. We will go to Vortex Springs, FL week after next to do our open water dives. Can't wait.

My only regret so far is waiting till I was 57 to start!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by hogfanreefer

I just finished my classroom and confined water dives 2 weeks ago. It was a blast even in just a 15' deep pool. Seemed very natural to both my wife and I. We will go to Vortex Springs, FL week after next to do our open water dives. Can't wait.

My only regret so far is waiting till I was 57 to start!

Well, on some of my live aboard dive trips, there were a fair number of folks in their 80's. As such, you have a lot of years to enjoy.

[NatureNerd]

Originally Posted by mayjong

If you like snorkling, you will love diving

I love both but have taken to snorkling more lately. I like the unlimited amount of time in the water, and I hate carrying diving gear. If only I could hold my breadth for longer.

[RedStangGA]

Snorkeling is too much work lol! Nothing beats a vacation where we can dive. Just needs the kids old enough to get certified so we can have family fun.

[Paul B]

Well, on some of my live aboard dive trips, there were a fair number of folks in their 80's. As such, you have a lot of years to enjoy.

I am not that far from being one of those old coots on a dive boat.

Diving opens you up to an entire new world, literally. Many places you go to are kind of boring unless you get under the water. I remember Aruba for instance. That is just a desert but the diving is pretty good there.
Bora Bora has almost nothing on land as it is just a small, round Island with one road, but the diving is the best I have ever done.
My first dive was on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and I was hooked.
So when you decide to go someplace you can decide on the land activities as well as the under water stuff.
It even changed my life for many years as I used to always go fishing with my friends on our boats, after we started diving, that is what we did every weekend for many years and it was extreamly enjoyable.

[Zoodiver]

Originally Posted by hogfanreefer

I just finished my classroom and confined water dives 2 weeks ago. It was a blast even in just a 15' deep pool. Seemed very natural to both my wife and I. We will go to Vortex Springs, FL week after next to do our open water dives. Can't wait.

My only regret so far is waiting till I was 57 to start!

A friend of mine hung up his fins after doing a dive on his 90th birthday.
You still have 33 years to go!

[rssjsb]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Absolutely. And no sunburn issues to worry about. Some people who have claustrophobia seem to have difficulties with scuba.

I've always been a little claustrophobic, but that's never been an issue for me with diving. I think it's like when I learned to drive a car. So much stuff to learn, and it's easy to get wigged out about it because the consequences of getting it wrong are scary. At some point, though, the equipment gets to be more intuitive and you can just marvel at the scenery. There's nothing quite like that weightless bliss.

[Molly1414]

I would recommend a discover scuba class in a warm water dive location like Hawaii or Bonaire. You take a short class, watch some videos and do some pool dives. If you like that they will then take you in the ocean for two supervised dives with a dive master next to you. We did that and it got us hooked.

[TFP Marine Biologist]

The hard part is getting to the point where you can relax, and breath normally. Once you get there, SCUBA is the one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have. I started Snorkeling when I was 5 years old, and spent time in the water whenever I could, and did not get SCUBA certified until I was in college, for me, it was and easy transition, and by the time I got to my open water certification I was good. Some of the folks who were on my open water trip, not so much, they never got to the point where they could relax and never even made it underwater.

I have been diving for over 20 years, and have worked at an aquarium were I did hundreds of dives, and also volunteered for a SCUBA center during college, that allowed me to go on many off shore trips in South Carolina. Everyone's experience is different when they get into diving, it is not for everyone, but in my opinion it is worth trying if you have the interest, and can make the commitment to take the classes and do it properly.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by TFP Marine Biologist

I have been diving for over 20 years, and have worked at an aquarium were I did hundreds of dives, and also volunteered for a SCUBA center during college, that allowed me to go on many off shore trips in South Carolina.

Were you looking for sand tiger sharks?

[TFP Marine Biologist]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Were you looking for sand tiger sharks?

Never actually saw any big sharks on all the dives I did in SC, even on some of the deep wrecks that are notorious for them, only shadows in the distance. Lots of really big barracuda, they gather under the boats above the wrecks, because people fish in the same spots that we dive. It takes a little getting used to having a large group of 5-6' barracuda hanging out with you face to face while you are doing your safety stop.

[Paul B]

In the Caribbean you rarely see anything larger than a couple of feet except maybe a parrotfish or a sleepy nurse shark.
In the South pacific like here in Bora Bora, you can't get away from them and you have to be careful jumping off the boat that you don't land on one as they are curious.
On this dive we were always surrounded by 10 or 15 black tip reef sharks with large lemon sharks in the distance. There were so many sharks that they got in front of the camera and it was hard to get decent pictures of the more interesting manta rays.
Even if you are standing on an Atoll it is like in the cartoons where you see shark fins all around you.
We rented some tiny boats to go out and feed sting rays, but someone had to stand there and throw fish to the sharks to keep them from coming in close and trying to take the fish out of your hand (along with possibly your hand as they are large)
The guy threw a fish in the water and a bird came in to take the fish, a shark came up and took the bird and the fish. That's why I am disillusioned now with Caribbean diving. The South Pacific spoiled me.



This is a lagoon in Bora Bora where they filmed "Mutiny on the Bounty" That is our ship in the middle.

[snorvich]

Yes, the South Pacific will do that; spoil you that is. Yet, around St. Vincent I saw more frogfish than any other place in the Caribbean because they are not eaten. (No green morays though) Best weird critters was found in Lembeh straits in Indonesia and Batangas in the Philippines, best large animals, galapagos, but northern Papua New Guinea was right up there.

[Paul B]

Best weird critters was found in Lembeh straits in Indonesia and Batangas

The best wierd creatures I see are near my Daughter's house in the West Village in Lower Manhattan.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Paul B

The best wierd creatures I see are near my Daughter's house in the West Village in Lower Manhattan.

ROTFLMAO. I am sure that is true!!!

[tkeracer619]

I'm on my second year as a certified diver. On my 5th open water dive ever I helped rescue a panic stricken diver in 30ft of water. She survived. On my 15th dive ever we "misplaced" a diver for an hour but he was found about a mile north of us...

Both of those situations sorta tossed me in the deep end out of the gate. I am now motivated to pursue my rescue diver certification and have also learned what not to do from others actions first hand.

Whats it like? Well, its probably easier to image like space. You are out of your element so whatever street cred you have at home is useless. You feel extremely vulnerable at first, especially when you come face to face with sealife as big as you are that has teeth the size of your middle finger. You now realize what it must be like for that little copopod trying to survive in your tank.

That soon gives way to relaxation and excitement. For me this happened after that 5th dive. Knowing that all those little things I took seriously in class actually worked I think made my subconscious a little more comfy. This year I was swimming around upside down, sideways, staying level, and able to work on breathing exercises to extend my bottom time. I was able to focus on marine life. Film some cool stuff. I was not always the first up and out of air. It is spectacular and I plan on getting into re-breathing setups after a while. On one of our dives we dropped two divers off and didn't see them for almost 4 hours. They were just sitting on a ledge watching what comes by in the deep blue for the whole time, must be amazing!

I am what they call a Dramamine diver. I have to take 24h Dramamine the night before and 1 hour before I get to the dock. If I don't, I'm chumming that water. If I do, no problems. If you are on a boat AND you get sick let them know but jump back into the water. The sickness will be gone by the time your feet touch the water.

Is it worth it? Heck yea! Every penny. It may change some opinions you have with keeping saltwater tanks.

Plus, how the heck else are you going to experience stuff like this if you're not certified?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDVLPSnjjZI


Some advice I got that I believe has helped me out was initially to invest in a few things...

-Classroom and pool dives on the weekends, not vacation. Open water dives on vacation, you get 4 dives and equipment for cheap compared to normal.
-My own mask and snorkel. Price is irrelevant, how it fits is important.
-My own fins. The more relaxed you are the longer your air will last. Having some high end fins that will help you move through the water easier then heavy duty rentals will go a long way in saving air. If you don't want to run out so quick, buy some nice fins. Side effect is you better really be in good shape or you won't be able to walk the day after a long swim.
-My own booties, my own gloves, and my own dive computer. I picked up a Suunto Zoop used in pool training for under $200. This tool isn't required but most all divers will have one. It makes keeping detailed logs and profiles easy plus its nice to dive with two and hopefully the rental gear will come with its own.
-A safety sausage!
-A cheep shorty wetsuit for fishing (snorkeling) afterwards... My routine in Maui is usually... Dive at 5:30am, snack, remove some tan lines, eat a fish taco for lunch, snorkel till 3, margaritas till sunset under palms. I am in the water probably 5 hours a day.

[Saltliquid]

When scuba diving for the first few dives, you experience extreme claustrophobia and as you go deeper then 30 to 40 feet, usually by 70 feet the way the pressure and the changes upon gases with in you, impacting on you over all and changes your ways of thinking and also the change in how you perceive things is quite daunting initially, then as time goes on you are reminded that this world you are in wants you dead and all around you as you look closely, it is all about kill of be killed.
The extreme beauty that is all around you is so diverse it can become quite breath taking, especially if you keep a reef tank at home, this allows you to recognise what many sports divers have no idea that they just put their fin on it.
Some times you might experience thermo clines, usually at the 60 to 80m feet mark appearing before you as a blurring of the waters, this is because of two completely different waters under the other. If you can balance your BCD you can literally hover then reach through this zone of maybe 25c where you are through to the next at times being down to 13c, now that’s an experience.
Over my 40 plus years of scuba and free diving getting my FAUI ticket in 1970, twice now the ocean by a second or two,very nearly killed me, and quite close, it is to many times to mention.
Sharks are nothing compared to the current, long spined sea urchins and poisonous creatures.
It takes some time to find your way with this sport due to all of us reacting to how the ocean impacts on our minds and bodies so very differently, but when you can remain vigilant while semi relaxing down there and except that it is out to take your life if you are silly enough, then can enjoy being a scuba diver.

[r-balljunkie]

Last dive, it was trigger mating season. Nothing like an 18" titan swimming towards you. Screw the sharks.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by r-balljunkie

Last dive, it was trigger mating season. Nothing like an 18" titan swimming towards you. Screw the sharks.

Amen to that. I have one chase me for 100 yards. I tried to beat him (her?) off with my camera equipment to no avail. Never an issue with sharks, I have encountered sharks many times (usually shark tails).

[Nina51]

diving is something i have wanted to do from the time i was a child. pretty sure i was switched at birth because not a single person in my immediate family showed any sort of interest in it (or any other hobby i wanted to try, for that matter).

now i'm old with fake body parts so i will live vicariously through you guys!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Nina51

diving is something i have wanted to do from the time i was a child. pretty sure i was switched at birth because not a single person in my immediate family showed any sort of interest in it (or any other hobby i wanted to try, for that matter).

now i'm old with fake body parts so i will live vicariously through you guys!

Well, on some of my liveaboard trips we had folks in their 70's and 80's who partook in the diving.

[Nina51]

i have friends who go to balize a couple of times a year. had many chances to go with them but my then-husband got seasick just looking at their underwater videos so it was something we just never did. i am full of regret.

now that it's just me, 2 danes and 4 pot bellied pigs, it's almost impossible for me to get away from home for more than a day or two. don't even get me started on the hassle it is to go through airport security with tin hips!! hehe

[r-balljunkie]

Originally Posted by Nina51

.......... with fake body parts so i will live vicariously through you guys!

one of my dive buddies has a titanium / carbon fiber leg.

no favoritism....he hauls his own gear and gets up and down the ladder like the rest of us.

c