Easily bored with warm water diving?
So we go down south for some warm water diving. It's sunny, it's warm, the beer's on ice & we go diving. Day 1, Day 2, Day3, Day 4....
The dive's over an hour long and you've already taken pics of critters for the first few days. Nothing new has materialized, the coral gardens don't seem to end. Your brain feels oddly unused during the dive...in fact it's getting numb from disuse....
Are there others who get easily bored with warm water diving?
I get VERY bored on warm water reef diving. I always perfer a wreck dive. I don't mind warm or cold water.
Now the times on a reef when I run into a large or rare creature, now that is good, but I still rather be on a wreck.
Wrecks are great but hunting is even better. Looking everywhere for your next meal will keep you busy.That's why I don't normally dive nearly as much in the summer compared to the winter because lobster season is closed
Most, okay...all, of my dives are warm water dives. I've taken a camera out a couple of times and I wouldn't say I get bored (simple things, simple minds and all that).
If I'm in a big group, I let everyone else get closer to the reef than me (seeing as they are here for a limited time, whereas I have this stuff on my doorstep all the time), I also practice my buoyancy and breathing control and getting more experience in the water. Plus, it always amazes me whenever I see a turtle (only seen 3!!!!)
Lottie
Turtles are cool.
I prefer to go to tropical destinations where there are other things to do other than diving.
Of course, when I am diving, I am on a mission to find specific animals.....but if I am at a location where there re other things to do, I can be fine with 3 dives a day instead of 4.
To me, warm waters are the best.
I grew up diving in Southern California, including hundreds of deep dives off of Catalina.
I then dove the Hawaiian islands for the next 6 years, logging around 7,000 dives there.
From the great vis, the many critters to play with, to the ease of gear prep, to the fun of just swimming without a big wetsuit or drysuit, (and weights) warm water is much more relaxing...and allows for much higher performance when needed, too.
ASW
"Don't believe everything you think"
7,000 dives in six years that a TON of dives doing the math that 3-4 dives every single day. What were you doing that you dove that much obviously diving was your job? I just don't see how that's even possible to do.
I can spend an entire dive exploring a ten square foot section of reef and never get bored. There is such an incredible proliferation of life large and small on a reef that there is always something new to watch and learn. For example, in Bonaire Ladydog and I watched a cleaning station for most of one dive. To see the fish line up and wait their turn like they were going to a car wash was fascinating. Watching the little banded shrimp crawling in and out the gills and mouths of the fish was one of the most interesting sights of the trip.Originally Posted by littleleemur
Of course most of the divers on our boat never even saw the cleaning station. They were too busy finning away to cover as much reef as possible on their dive. Odds are, in their haste none of them came across anything interesting.
On one of our night dives we had an octopus allow us to tag along with him for nearly half an hour while he went about the busines of scaring up some dinner. Watching him change colors and shape as he hunted was incredible. And when in time he became comfortable with us, and he actually let us pet him between the eyes, we were in awe of the encounter.
Pick up any of the scores of great books about marine biology and learn about what you're witnessing down there. Engage your brain in the activity, rather than shutting it off. Not only will it make diving a lot more interesting but if you're not careful, you just might learn something.
As for Tigerbeaches problem, I can understand that running a dive charter would take some of the fun out of it. Anytime something becomes a job, it loses luster. I will never run a charter, or become an instructor, or even become a divemaster (although my LDS is always after me to do so).
I am a sport diver. I do this for the fun, the excitement, the chance to experience a part of this world that most humans know nothing about and will never even see. There's a whole other world to explore under the waves. There is nothing boring about that.
Mountain Dog
It's not the destination, it's the journey.
When diving in the tropics we either get the DM guided dives or the swim-by-yourself dives: You can get the DM who knows where everything is, but he'll just as soon whisk you off to see something else, so half the time I find that I am playing follow-the-leader. On the self-guided ones, you have the luxury of time, but you really don't know where the stuff is and it all depends on your luck and observation skills; you either see it or you don't.
Unfortunately, they don't divide the dive groups/boats into macro-maniacs & pelaegic-pursuers which would make the most out of the dives for everyone.
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