Miscellaneous Blogs
Why do we dive?
I posted a series of questions on my favourite, unapologetically uncensored Facebook page, Scuba Divers Uncensored, which has 35,000 members – all mostly dive shop owners, completely irreverent and as crude as hell.
It was a real revelation.
I asked why the members dived. All they had to do was pick a number.
1 Adrenalin Rush? 8 %
2 Love the Ocean 29% (a lot of them dive in quarries)
3 Social scene 6%
4 Feel good 4%
5 Just love diving 51% (many women chose this)
6 Other 2%
These percentages speak for themselves. The answer was primarily love of diving and love of the ocean. Many expanded on these- they love the solitude, the silence, the lack of demands, and the freedom of personal space. They love to be part of the ocean, part of the movement to save the planet, part of the unity of divers with a common goal.
Photo Confetti Bay Mauritius Ian Haggerty
PADI advertises scuba diving as a means to Go Places, Meet People Have fun, and only 5% of these guys chose that as a reason for diving. So, it looks as though the social scene is not a big priority, yet many of our divers love it. The camaraderie, the snacks and drinks, the new connections- all good. But its more than that. Once you are a diver, you have seen and felt things other people can’t understand. The only people who do understand are other divers.
The anticipation of the sense of euphoria is my strongest reason to get out there despite the rough seas, cold days on land, early start- once you are in the water, the magic happens. We belong in the ocean, weightless and wet and warm and looking at beautiful things.
I have made a video exploring the reason why we dive, and it comes down to the feeling of excitement when you see a creature you have never seen. Or shot an event you have never watched before. Or watched as a terrified newbie slides down the rope into the ocean and first truly enjoys the magic. But it’s a deeply felt atavistic return to our primal roots.
So far as feeling good is concerned, I will never forget the guys I interviewed who dive for a living. All looking to be in their 30s, unlined, vital and vigorous. Yet Colin Ogden of Amory Diving (Nitrox breather) was in his 60s and looked around 45, Barry Coleman, 56 (dives on a rebreather) and looks 25. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather_Association_of_International_Divers
I realized then that the beneficial effects of breathing oxygen under pressure is in fact virtually un researched. Many small beauty places sell an hour of breathing pure oxygen as a pick me up. There are plenty of rumours that ageing movie stars sleep in hyperbaric chambers. So clearly breathing oxygen under pressure has some benefits. As far as I’m concerned, under the ocean is the best place to be.
If you want to breathe oxygen under pressure, it helps to live on a tropical island, which is why I live in Mauritius – safe, virus free and plenty of clean air and of course plenty of Nitrox. Once you guys are free to travel it’s a great place to come.
- Words: Jill Holloway
- Copyright: Ocean Spirit www.osdiving.com
- Images: Ian Haggerty
Gemma and Ian visited DEEP and were hosted by Phil Short, Research Diving, Training Lead, and were given a tour of the facility at Avonmouth and then over to the Campus at Tidenham.
DEEP is evolving how humans access, explore and inhabit underwater environments. Through flexible, modular and mobile subsea habitats that allow humans to live undersea up to 200m for up to 28 days, work-class submarines, and advanced human performance research, DEEP completely transforms what we are capable of underwater and how we conduct undersea science and research.
You can listen to Episode 173 of the BiG Scuba Podcast here.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast. Please give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us as each share and like makes a difference. Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via The BiG Scuba Bat Phone +44 7810 005924 or use our social media platforms. To keep up to date with the latest news, follow us:
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Gemma and Ian chat to Dr. Joseph Dituri. Dr. Jospeh Dituri lived undersea for 100 Days in a mission combining education, ocean conservation research, and the study of the physiological and psychological effects of compression on the human body.
Dituri enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1985. He served continuously on active service upon various ships and shore stations where he was involved in every aspect of diving and special operations work from saturation diving and deep submergence to submersible design and clearance diving. Now that he is retired from 28 years of active service to the United States, he is the president of the International Board of Undersea Medicine. He also volunteers his time as the CEO of the Association for Marine Exploration. He is an invited speaker on motivational, sea and space related topics.
Fuelled by his passion for exploration, discovery, adventure, and making the greatest possible positive contribution to the world, he is fighting for change in a big way and with great enthusiasm.
You can listen to Episode 172 of the BiG Scuba Podcast here.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast. Please give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us as each share and like makes a difference. Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via The BiG Scuba Bat Phone +44 7810 005924 or use our social media platforms. To keep up to date with the latest news, follow us:
We are on Instagram @thebigscuba
We are on Facebook @thebigscuba
We are in LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian%F0%9F%A6%88-last-325b101b7/
The BiG Scuba Website www.thebigscuba.com
Amazon Store : https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/thebigscuba
Visit https://www.patreon.com/thebigscubapodcast and subscribe – Super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.
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