Fellow scuba divers, why do we do it?

Question

I was reading a little booklet tonight called "Dive Like A Pro: 200 Tips & Techniques" from the editors of Scuba Diving magazine. It was very informative, basically reiterating everything I've been taught, and telling me a few items I didn't know.

As I went along reading, especially in the emergency procedures part, it suddenly ocurred to me to wonder, why do we dive? We're going into an environment for which we have not adequately evolved; although 99% of scuba training to me seems to be about prevention of problems, we still have them UW; every dive has potential danger... are we nuts, or what? Why do we dive?

Answer 1

1

Answer 2

Personally, I go for the nitrogen narcosis.

Answer 3

because its fun and no one else but us and the fishes can breathe underwater so we can go into a whole new realm of weightlesness  and everthing else that encompasses scuba diving

Answer 4

for me, it is one of the only ways to totally relax (besides good s*x) and get away from the noise of the regular world. Sure if a boat goes by or your buddy keeps banging on this tank constantly it gets noisy, but you can find quiet spots. Not to mention getting to see different things not readily found above water.  If you were to get technical, anything and everything is dangerous in some way so you just have to decide what is over the edge for you. I don't think my diving experiences have been very dangerous yet, except maybe the one time I dropped down a wall planning to go 60' and didn't get stopped until 90. But it didn't kill me and I will try it again. I dive, to get away from the people who can't.  Living a normal day has potential danger, so don't live normal, live the extreme.

Answer 5

Firstly i have to mention, Whilst I am certified, I'm not the most experienced diver, so I cant speak for everyone,but I think everyone dives for their own reasons, and some of us may not be all that sane :) but I can tell you why I do. It is like going to another planet, the beauty never fails to surprise and amaze. Every single dive is different and you never know what you'll see. If your want you can interact with amazing wildlife, and some of them want to play with you! As a water baby I find an awesome sense of peace by just being underwater, I cant believe that not everyone feels the same way...And the way you feel more alive just after a dive is worth all the trouble. Yes we do have to ALWAYS have to keep in mind the dangers, there are so many of them, but I think that goes hand in hand with respecting the amazing environment we are about to enter, our bodies are not built to go where it cant get its most fundamental need, air, but a lucky few of us brave it anyway.. Hopefully the dangers keep people who shouldn't be diving out of it..bad buddy experience..

Answer 6

I need to put food on the table for one and originally, I used to have my shrink sessions at 90 ft, but the Doc went Tech on me, so did I. Now the couch is a rock next to the wreck of the Jodrey.

Seriously though.I still dive for fun, but it's really limited to wrecks and scrounge dives. I like the history involved. Not just how and why these ships went down but the history behind each ones travels etc. The scrounges are just that. Looking for dumped pioneer artifacts to the evidence that rum runners used to dump overboard during prohibition in the St Lawrence or old medicine bottles and china. I've built up a nice curio cabinet of these types of itmes.

Answer 7

We go where others fear and explore what has been forgotten by man.