What Dictates your diving style/path

[scuba g]

Was sitting back last night and rummaging through old dive photos and some current ones and was thinking when I started, did I ever think I'd either be an Instructor or be diving mixed gas? From having worked in the diving industry for several years, I had a chance to meet and chat with many divers from many backgrounds, and got to see the divers who would start diving and potter along picking up bits of gear as they had other commitments, but wanted to do more (had a passion but lacking funds) in their diving, and then the ones who had no issue with cash, start and end up in a year or so on a rebreather, where like myself and others, had to wait nearly 10 years before it was financially viable to make such a purchase. Im wondering if other divers feel they would have been doing the diving they do now much sooner had the situation been different, i.e. more money, more time?

[turbanator]

The guys I chose to dive with influenced me a lot.

Some had the cash and others had been doing it for a while and had slowly gathered kit and experience.

Guildford BS-AC used to be known as a bit of a 'deep club', but things were tailing off a bit as I got to that stage so I went outdside of the club for training then tried to bring my experiences back.

So really, for me, it was buddies, rather than say a long-term goal to dive a particularly advanced wreck, which I've seen in some people.

r
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[robertsT]

Originally Posted by scuba g

Was sitting back last night and rummaging through old dive photos and some current ones and was thinking when I started, did I ever think I'd either be an Instructor or be diving mixed gas? From having worked in the diving industry for several years, I had a chance to meet and chat with many divers from many backgrounds, and got to see the divers who would start diving and potter along picking up bits of gear as they had other commitments, but wanted to do more (had a passion but lacking funds) in their diving, and then the ones who had no issue with cash, start and end up in a year or so on a rebreather, where like myself and others, had to wait nearly 10 years before it was financially viable to make such a purchase. Im wondering if other divers feel they would have been doing the diving they do now much sooner had the situation been different, i.e. more money, more time?

Possibly, but with hindsight lack of funds has allowed me to build up my experience and take my time, which has probably made me in to a better and safer diver.

Have been diving for 5 years now and only just moved on to twins. I also learnt with Guildford BSAC and remember lots of stories from the older guys about deep air dives and exploring virgin wrecks. At the time I thought wow I want to do that, although now I'm a bit more knowledgeable I'm not so sure!!

[scubagit]

I suppose at the start it was a case of get some gear as cheap as possible which meant buying a load of Coltri Sub Gear which did its job for the first couple of years but has thankfully been filtered out. (Although I still have the fins).
Now I'm trying to figure whst the next steps should be.
I have the instructor bit sorted and will expand that end over the next year.
Might go the extended range route although how much use it will get is the big question.
Can't see myself going the RB route any time soon due to cost ( and they are Satans plaything!!)
DIR.....Doubt It Royally, Caves give me the shits and Halcyon gear cost an arm and a leg.

I guess if there was one change I could make I would simply just get wet more often. Doubt if I'll go away this year so I thing the Muglins will be sick of the sight of me!!!

[scuba g]

I agree with taking your time, I can honestly say from the 1000 dives Ive done that from the shite ones, the "that was close" ones and the amazing ones that all the experience helps in all my diving. Ive had the chance to train with some great instructors and characters that make diving truely fun and hopefully I can pass that onto the students who I have the chance to dive with. Ive dived some cool wrecks and am still taking baby steps into caving, but still feel like I did when I completed my OW, excited and like a 6 year old after wolfing down a bag of sweets!

[Mark Chase]

Dived single tank reefs for 10 years. Got board, dived a wreck and was hooked again. Dived UK wrecks and soon discovered deeper was for the most part better and ive been chasing the wrecks ever since. Necessity drove me to twin sets and then trimix. The cost of trimix drove me to CCR.

Since PADI AOW every course or developmnet has been to get on the next wreck. Only exception is the Cave course i just did with the sole intention of diving the Caves in Mexico.

Chased depth for a laugh but i am over that and will soon be limiting my dives to Max 50ish m. I might do the ocasional deeper dive but it will only be on ocasion rather than the 30+ 60m+ dives I have booked this year.

ATB

Mark

[grazie42]

Coincidense about sums it up I think!

-I started diving because I liked to snorcle (get cold just thinking about the amount of time I spent snorcling without a wetsuit in local waters) and diving would let me stay down longer and deeper.
-Got on a red sea trip and discovered wrecks. At the same time I discovered that trusting dive guides or myself without training was a bad idea (had some close calls).
-Went looking for a "good" wreck-course, ended up in florida with an instructor who told me I needed mix to dive the "good ones". Took a course (followed by a few more) for that.
-Spent a year or two diving before I met up with a guy who thought cave diving was the best fun there is. Took a cavern course from him and then a cave course from someone he recommended.
-Ended up doing more and more "helping new divers" on club and other trips so decided I needed DM-training to do it "properly" (not convinced that´s what I got out of it)
-Finally came to a point where it was either give up local mix-diving or change the parameters (logistics/cost was taking the fun out of it) so finally got an MCCR (rEVO), now I´m back to "square one" doing OW-dives and working my way deeper, slowly...It has made diving "fun" again...

With more diving/time, I´d have dived a lot more and propably ended up where I am now, faster...

[Captain Deco]

I always wanted to get into diving as I love being underwater (Hence the name change to Capt.Deco). I had a lot of time off work and spent it diving and loving the sport even more.

Went on a dive through YD in Dover and for my sins fell into the diving obsession that comes from diving with Paul Oliver, Chasey, The Dud, Trebor and Aide (Dovershark).

Slowly accumulated my kit over 4 years, and did courses to suit what i wanted to dive. I want to do more of the undived stuff so am doing the He3 course in July. Long term goals may lead to a rebreather but they still scare me so maybe not just yet.

Got a porthole the other day(Yes I am still going on about it ) and am still buzzing - and that buzz is what I am like whenever I am diving.

[TerryH]

With hindisight I can be honest and say that becoming an Instuctor Trainer
etc. wasnt to do with any altruistic motives.

Kept seeing loads of divers who had poor skills and yet still thought any sort
of review after a years absence wasnt for them. It got worse when on the
odd trip decisions were made by those I thought knew better, that would if
anything had happend had seen them in court.

Same people I knew would do stupid depths on air as the first dive of the
season and yes even with new or recently serviced kit.

So add that lot up and I thought I needed to do more and know enough
to tell when I was being fed a line. What better way than to have to demo
skills again and again and again and know your stuff.

Hence becoming an instructor

Nowdays I spend 90% of my time teaching or diving with less experinced
and TBH still get a buzz when you see the beaming smiles.

So yes selfish motives to start with, but very rewarding in the end.

[nigelH]

Duuh...

Diving is just the kit to do the things that interest me.
Tomorrow we are diving an unknown mark in what was a minefield so it may be a long way down to inspect a pile of rocks but we hope for better. It could be one of the 'missings' listed for that part of the coast as the dates match.