I’m in complete agreement, thinksnow. At about 35-40 feet, your air lasts a long time, you don’t have to worry about decompression, and the sea teems with life.
Go much further down and it’s dark, deserted, cold, and you can only stay a few minutes. I’ll take a shallow dive, thanks.
Spritle, thanks for the link (I haven’t been to DisneyWorld/EPCOT etc. since before they built Space Mountain, so I don’t know much about what’s down there), but I have to ask what’s so wonderful about Living Seas (as a dive) that makes it worth $150 for only 30 minutes. What do you see?
As you might guess by looking at my posting name, I do dive. Certified as Rescue Diver.
Like your wife, my wife started out hating the whole idea. She actually had a feeling of panic when she put her face in the water. At first she was content to sit on the beach while the diving was occuring, but after hearing us all talking about the neat things we were seeing, she got so interested that she worked to overcome her fear and is now an avid diver with an Advanced certification. It’s great to have a built-in dive buddy. We vacation every year on Bonaire for a couple of weeks. It’s a real high point for us.
Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t help that the resort at which we are staying in the Bahamas is the exact (not near, the same) resort where that honeymooner was recently attacked by a shark…
What makes it worth it? Why, the opportunity to spend $35 more bucks to buy a 15 minute video where you may have 30 seconds of screen time! Actually, the dive just caps off the back lot tour. It’s also worth something to be seen by lubbers, if you’re into that sort of thing; I’m not.
About the shallow dives… the August issue of Dive Training has a great article about this same point. I agree that shallow is great for reefs and fish, but I enjoy wreck diving and it’s tough to find much above 50 ft, unless it was sunk in the Carib. as an artificial reef.
About quick training… I hovered[sup]*[/sup] on checkout dives for teenage boy scouts during OW and AOW, about 10 months apart. The sad part is that for some, the OW and AOW checkout dives were the ONLY dives logged! Imagine that you are buddying up on a six-pack and your buddy says that they have AOW cert and have been certified for over a year. You don’t really know if they have 100 dives or 6!! Some agencies require a minimum number of dives before enrolling in AOW (SSI is 25, I think) while most don’t. I don’t want to speak ill of an agency, but some divers refer to the initials as Put Another Dollar In.
pl, night, nav and deep (60+ feet) is pretty much standard for AOW. Some agencies allow you to pick another specialty as a fourth. I chose S+R. Actually got checked off before the dive when the quarry owner wanted me and my dive buddy to move some concrete anchors around on the bottom.
I saw RalfCoder’s mention that he has been diving for 25 years, and my first thought was “gee… he must be one of Jacques’ friends.” Then I did the math and realized that I got my OW in 1980, so I’ve got 21 years (how did I get to be one of the “old” divers).
The only thing I will add for PL since he mentioned cave diving… that is about the only dive that scares the crap out of me. I love a good cavern or advanced cavern dive (some great ones in inland FL), but once you remove my direct assent to the surface I don’t want to play anymore. Could have something to do with the two ex-divers I watched them pull out of a cave while we were waiting to dive the cavern.
I agree with you about cave diving. A friend got bent doing this, but it was her and her buddy’s own fault. She smacked her tank valve against the ceiling and caused a leak. She and her buddy were not checking each other’s gear regularly. She survived, but no longer dives caves, the last I heard.
Peta, despite our scare stories, it’s truly not that dangerous. If you like, talk to pl’s instructor. Ask if you can watch the class from the pool deck. You should be able to see how the class progresses through the process in slow, deliberate steps, where each person learns one new skill at a time, and can practice it until they’re comfortable. If you like, get in the pool with mask & fins & snorkel, and play in the shallow end until you’re comfortable. Marvel at how well you can see now that you’re wearing a mask. Get used to the novel sensation of weightlessness, of literally flying in the water.
Then, if you like, most shops will offer a scuba experience, or intro session. By whatever name, it’s a chance to get in the water with scuba gear, in a protected environment with an instructor or qualified diver who will escort you around the pool. You go only at your pace, and you can get a taste for how great this hobby is.
Sorry - I don’t want to sound like a preacher here, but it’s how I really feel about this. I realize it’s not for everyone, but if someone is interested in something, I really think they should try it. At least he isn’t something dangerous, like racing stock cars, or base jumping, or telemarketing.
I have to agree… I didn’t mean to throw the scare factor in. I’ve made somewhere around 800 dives, and I would say that I only had a “concern” on about three. And on each of those, I thought about what I had been trained on and calmly did what I was taught, and before you know you are back to a normal dive. I think a much worse ratio could easily hold true for driving on a busy highway.
It is a terrific sport, and you will see things you never imagined could be so beautiful (TV doesn’t even come close to the real thing). The thrill of seeing an unexpected creature, to the amazing discovery of all the life when you take a few minutes to really look at what is living on that reef can not be experienced in any other way. Take pictures, but realize that they will only be the catalyst to spark your memory of the true beauty you saw.
Along the “Don’t want to scare you” thing… Mrs. Spritle does not dive and takes no interest at all. She allows me to dive whenever I want/can (She’s a super lady). Her most active role in diving is being concerned about my safety when I’m underwater. While talking to her office mate (another diver) she expressed her concerns about safety issues, accidents, etc. He responded with what I believe to be a great quote about diving:
You are the master of your safety under water.
[li]Purchase the best equipment you can afford, get it checked and serviced regularly. Sure, $60 might seem like a lot of money, but when your reg siezes up at 80 ft, it’s not that much money after all.[/li]
[li]Be very serious in your classroom and OW training. That’s exactly what it is - TRAINING. You are training yourself to think instinctively about things like monitoring guages, vis. contact of buddy, emergency procedures.[/li]
[li]Practice emergency procedures regularly. At the start of every dive, my buddy and I practice OOA and buddy breathing (w/o regulator exchange-just the positioning, etc.)[/li]
[li]Never assume that your equipment is in perfect working order. Check it before you pack it and before you put it on. Then, check it again when you hit the water before you submerge.[/li]
[li]Never assume your buddy is OK. Ask him frequently.[/li]
[li]Never assume your buddy is self sufficient. Be prepared and able to help him at any point.[/li]
[li]Never overestimate your abilities. Sure that wreck looks cool and other people in your group are penetrating, but if you aren’t trained or have no experience stay out (with a buddy). Let the other members know before the dive that you want to penetrate the wreck but have never done so and they may escort you through.[/li]
[li]Never push a dive. I know we drove two hours to get here, and I know it’s only you nad me, but if you don’t feel up to the dive or if the weather looks bad or if the current seems too strong, don’t dive. We can always come back another day.[/li]
[li]Always do a predive breifing with your buddy, regardless of how simple or mundane the dive might be.[/li]
[li]Learn from every dive. Evaluate what you did right and what you thing you should improve on. Don’t get frustrated with bouyancy - it ain’t easy to get right away.[/li]
[li]Experience every dive to the fullest. It’s one of the greatest feelings, being weightless in an alien world. As Jerry Garcia said about SCUBA diving, “If I had known about this 25 years ago I never would have done drugs.” (or something darn near that)[/li]On preview, I realized that I sound kinda preachy. I certainly don’t mean to. I just wanted to give you a bit of unsolicited advice/personal tenets. Do with them as you wish.
and everything else Spritle said. As an ex-Navy diver I’ve seen my share of bent “hobby-lobbist” (squid term for sport divers). Stick with the shallow dives (50 foot max) until you get comfortable with yourself and your gear. Have fun but be safe!!
I need to take some refresher classes out here and a course on kelp diving before I’d feel comfortable diving in Monterey, but I dive in the Caribbean any chance I get.
Thanks for that link Spritle, we’re going to be at DIsney for X-mas and New Years and I think it’d be a neat thing to say I did.
Actually, the dive just caps off the back lot tour. It’s also worth something to be seen by lubbers, if you’re into that sort of thing; I’m not.