So in 2019 I was super depressed, I encountered this clip of the Office, and for some reason, it resonated with me, so I decided to get out of my comfort zone and start to scuba!
There was e-learning, which was easy, and then they made us do a pool dive at the dive shop.
The first moment of my sinking in, breathing underwater through my regulator for the first time was nothing short of magical. I'll never forget it.
A week later I did my necessary ocean dives to get my PADI certification, and I've been scuba diving fairly regularly since. It's been such a fulfilling hobby, I've been mostly a gamer/recluse my whole life so this is the first real thing thats gotten me to get out of the house.
It's so weird to me because on my third or fourth trip down to the local popular shore diving locale, I bumped into my instructor and he told me he was glad to see me because most people get a certification to do a dive for a trip and then never dive again. That seemed crazy to me !! I am completely addicted to the immersiveness and weightlessness of the sea.
So yeah, been scubadiving regularly ever since, barring a pandemic or two. Here are some photographs of some of my underwater encounters.
Have you ever seen a shark? I’ve never done any scuba diving, but I always wondered how I would react to facing a shark. I know they are said to be not hostile and often enough have I seen stunning documentaries, with divers surrounded by sharks without any further protection.
If I were to find myself in such a situation, I’d feel utterly helpless in the water, regardless of knowing that I probably don’t have to fear these creatures.
On March 17 2022 04:53 smille wrote: This really looks like a great hobby!
Have you ever seen a shark? I’ve never done any scuba diving, but I always wondered how I would react to facing a shark. I know they are said to be not hostile and often enough have I seen stunning documentaries, with divers surrounded by sharks without any further protection.
If I were to find myself in such a situation, I’d feel utterly helpless in the water, regardless of knowing that I probably don’t have to fear these creatures.
I see a lot of baby horn sharks, typically a few inches to a few feet long. I don’t think people think of those when they think “shark in the water”.
I encountered a legit ~6 feet long shark in Laguna a month or so ago. It kept its distance in the kelp forest and I failed to get it on camera.
But yeah, divers are an unknown to sharks, they’re not interested in us. Dolphins are bastards tho.
Oh ,I forgot to mention in my blog post, but one of the coolest things about diving is…. I’m used to fish being scared the hell out of humans. Besides koi who want food, I imagined fish as very skittish. But when you’re in the water….. they’re cool with you. They only really get scared if you try to touch ‘em.
On March 17 2022 04:40 dark.matter wrote: Sounds cool. I need to scuba!
Highly recommend it ! It’s a life changing experience, imo. And I think the skill AUTOMATICALLY makes any vacation better.
It’s not too expensive. It’s like 500 USD for the training, ~200ish for personal items (mask, fins, snorkel, boots etc). Although mine was a bit more expensive because I have terrible vision and I needed prescription goggles.
Awesome... I love the photo with the seal. Now you should try freediving too if you look for that feeling of weightlessness and calm under the water. You'd love it - but go a course first for safety reasons.
On March 17 2022 18:09 Elroi wrote: Awesome... I love the photo with the seal. Now you should try freediving too if you look for that feeling of weightlessness and calm under the water. You'd love it - but go a course first for safety reasons.
Maybe! What's the benefit of free diving? Besides the, absence of need to haul 60 pounds of equipment up and down an entire beach. Hehe.
On March 17 2022 18:09 Elroi wrote: Awesome... I love the photo with the seal. Now you should try freediving too if you look for that feeling of weightlessness and calm under the water. You'd love it - but go a course first for safety reasons.
Maybe! What's the benefit of free diving? Besides the, absence of need to haul 60 pounds of equipment up and down an entire beach. Hehe.
Besides not having to carry the weight, I would value the simplicity of it. Doing something challenging within the capabilities of your body grants a different feeling of accomplishment in my opinion. However, I have never seriously done that, so don’t take my word for it. I rather add saving money to the list of benefits. :-D
On March 17 2022 18:09 Elroi wrote: Awesome... I love the photo with the seal. Now you should try freediving too if you look for that feeling of weightlessness and calm under the water. You'd love it - but go a course first for safety reasons.
Maybe! What's the benefit of free diving? Besides the, absence of need to haul 60 pounds of equipment up and down an entire beach. Hehe.
I thought about free diving because it sounded like you appreciated the calmness or the "other-worldliness" (for lack of a better word) of being under water. It makes you feel like a part of that other world even more. It is incredibly meditative and you get your heart rate down. I have never meditated, but I think it's probably a similar feeling. Other than that it's more accessible and less expensive...
On March 18 2022 21:58 EnDeR_ wrote: My top scuba diving moment is swimming next to a tortoise buddy for a good 200 m
Definitely can recommend it as an awesome hobby. It's just peaceful down there.
You scared me for a minute, because in English we distinguish tortuga with tortoise and turtle.... a tortoise in the ocean is gonna have a bad time ! Hahaha
I'm jealous! I've only seen one turtle so far, and we were in the dive boat so I couldnt swim/take pictures of it. I think I have to go more South to San Diego to see them.
And yeah! It's so peaceful, you're so severed from work and the stresses of the world. No talking, just chillin with nature. It's da best!
On March 18 2022 21:58 EnDeR_ wrote: My top scuba diving moment is swimming next to a tortoise buddy for a good 200 m
Definitely can recommend it as an awesome hobby. It's just peaceful down there.
You scared me for a minute, because in English we distinguish tortuga with tortoise and turtle.... a tortoise in the ocean is gonna have a bad time ! Hahaha
I'm jealous! I've only seen one turtle so far, and we were in the dive boat so I couldnt swim/take pictures of it. I think I have to go more South to San Diego to see them.
And yeah! It's so peaceful, you're so severed from work and the stresses of the world. No talking, just chillin with nature. It's da best!
I support anything that forces people to function without a phone for more then five minutes lol.
On March 18 2022 21:58 EnDeR_ wrote: My top scuba diving moment is swimming next to a tortoise buddy for a good 200 m
Definitely can recommend it as an awesome hobby. It's just peaceful down there.
You scared me for a minute, because in English we distinguish tortuga with tortoise and turtle.... a tortoise in the ocean is gonna have a bad time ! Hahaha
I'm jealous! I've only seen one turtle so far, and we were in the dive boat so I couldnt swim/take pictures of it. I think I have to go more South to San Diego to see them.
And yeah! It's so peaceful, you're so severed from work and the stresses of the world. No talking, just chillin with nature. It's da best!
Yes, I meant sea turtle, oops.
This was in Mauritius, but I have snorkelled with turtles in Hawaii, which is a bit closer for you . They're genuinely cool to swim alongside with (at a reasonable distance, don't want to spook them!).
Have you done the advanced PADI yet? Sometimes you need to go a bit deeper for wrecks. They can be really spooky, but it's good fun.
On March 18 2022 21:58 EnDeR_ wrote: My top scuba diving moment is swimming next to a tortoise buddy for a good 200 m
Definitely can recommend it as an awesome hobby. It's just peaceful down there.
You scared me for a minute, because in English we distinguish tortuga with tortoise and turtle.... a tortoise in the ocean is gonna have a bad time ! Hahaha
I'm jealous! I've only seen one turtle so far, and we were in the dive boat so I couldnt swim/take pictures of it. I think I have to go more South to San Diego to see them.
And yeah! It's so peaceful, you're so severed from work and the stresses of the world. No talking, just chillin with nature. It's da best!
Yes, I meant sea turtle, oops.
This was in Mauritius, but I have snorkelled with turtles in Hawaii, which is a bit closer for you . They're genuinely cool to swim alongside with (at a reasonable distance, don't want to spook them!).
Have you done the advanced PADI yet? Sometimes you need to go a bit deeper for wrecks. They can be really spooky, but it's good fun.
Yeah Ive done advanced which lets me go to 30m. I think my next certification will be the Deep diver to work on getting that limit to 40m
I only got to open sea back in 2011 and swam off of the coast of Okinawa Japan. It was one of the best feelings being down there. I moved back to the midwest, so I don't have the equipment any longer and really no way of using it (though I still have my fins...somewhere). I really miss SCUBA diving lol.
On March 20 2022 19:43 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: I only got to open sea back in 2011 and swam off of the coast of Okinawa Japan. It was one of the best feelings being down there. I moved back to the midwest, so I don't have the equipment any longer and really no way of using it (though I still have my fins...somewhere). I really miss SCUBA diving lol.
Oh awesome ! I miss Japan and want to go back to dive. Not sure how to do that kind of itinerary. I’m actually reading a manga about scuba diving.
I hope you find your way back into the water, even if it’s freshwater.
Speaking of which. I haven’t gone freshwater diving, but there’s some place that’s persuaded me to. In Fallout New Vegas there’s this mission where you have to go surface a sunken bomber in Lake Mead. I found out a month ago there really is a b2 bomber down there !! It’s typically 200 feet below the surface but right now it’s…. 9 feet below so it’s a super easy dive. I’m a Vegas native so I need to check that out.
On March 20 2022 19:43 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: I only got to open sea back in 2011 and swam off of the coast of Okinawa Japan. It was one of the best feelings being down there. I moved back to the midwest, so I don't have the equipment any longer and really no way of using it (though I still have my fins...somewhere). I really miss SCUBA diving lol.
Oh awesome ! I miss Japan and want to go back to dive. Not sure how to do that kind of itinerary. I’m actually reading a manga about scuba diving.
I hope you find your way back into the water, even if it’s freshwater.
Speaking of which. I haven’t gone freshwater diving, but there’s some place that’s persuaded me to. In Fallout New Vegas there’s this mission where you have to go surface a sunken bomber in Lake Mead. I found out a month ago there really is a b2 bomber down there !! It’s typically 200 feet below the surface but right now it’s…. 9 feet below so it’s a super easy dive. I’m a Vegas native so I need to check that out.
Just a two week vacation is all you need to go diving. Possible to do it with just one (I'm giving you extra time to sightsee and get your fill on the vending machine style ramen ordering system). I have some friends there I could try to introduce you to in Osaka and Tokyo if you ever make it that way. I've been trying to find a way to go this summer (July-August) if at all possible. Wanna buy my tickets in May so...
On March 20 2022 19:43 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: I only got to open sea back in 2011 and swam off of the coast of Okinawa Japan. It was one of the best feelings being down there. I moved back to the midwest, so I don't have the equipment any longer and really no way of using it (though I still have my fins...somewhere). I really miss SCUBA diving lol.
Oh awesome ! I miss Japan and want to go back to dive. Not sure how to do that kind of itinerary. I’m actually reading a manga about scuba diving.
I hope you find your way back into the water, even if it’s freshwater.
Speaking of which. I haven’t gone freshwater diving, but there’s some place that’s persuaded me to. In Fallout New Vegas there’s this mission where you have to go surface a sunken bomber in Lake Mead. I found out a month ago there really is a b2 bomber down there !! It’s typically 200 feet below the surface but right now it’s…. 9 feet below so it’s a super easy dive. I’m a Vegas native so I need to check that out.
Just a two week vacation is all you need to go diving. Possible to do it with just one (I'm giving you extra time to sightsee and get your fill on the vending machine style ramen ordering system). I have some friends there I could try to introduce you to in Osaka and Tokyo if you ever make it that way. I've been trying to find a way to go this summer (July-August) if at all possible. Wanna buy my tickets in May so...
Oh shit OK, i might have to bust out the piggy bank. Yea, its been my dream to go back. I was supposed to go last year, because I cancelled my 2020 plans because of the Tokyo olympics....the plague didn't help.
On March 21 2022 10:45 FuDDx wrote: Are you for scuba?
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