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SurfLung
Master Diver
Posts: 1763
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:03 pm
First Name: Eben
Location: Alexandria, MN
Contact: Website

My Procrastination Point

Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:25 am

My Procrastination Point
- What keeps YOU from going diving? For me it's the wetsuit. Everything else is easy. But getting on the wetsuit is what has me standing or sitting there wondering, "Do I want to go in or not?" "Will the visibility be worth the effort?"
- I think part of it is the Back Zipper on most wetsuits. I don't like needing someone to help me with the zipper. And wondering if I'll get it jammed half way and get myself stuck in the suit.
- I found some improvement this year when I switched to using my 2-piece, front zip "Sea Hunt" wetsuit with beaver tail. The pants go on pretty easy. And if I suck in my gut, the jacket zips up pretty easy, too. Getting it off I learned a trick from Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt... Unzip the front and just pull the jacket over your head from back to front.
- I actually got in more dives in 2020 than 2019 and it may because of less wetsuit issues. Diving my local lake, I did quite a few dives with no wetsuit... Just mask, fins, weight belt, tank, and regulator. Other dives I used the Sea Hunt suit.

So, what's keeping you from diving? Identify it. Then you can make changes to eliminate it or at least reduce it. We should never miss a chance to go diving! :)
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

SnarkIII
Lung Diver
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:23 pm
First Name: Skip
Location: Lawrence MA

Re: My Procrastination Point

Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:51 am

For me it's the hour drive to Cape Ann, the hour drive back and the hour or so to rinse the salt water off the equipment. This coupled with working the overnight shift makes it rough. I did get in the water once this year and that was a lake dive at my parents camp to recover a mooring for a neighbor. That was good because I was able to wet test the "Snark III super modified"

swimjim
Master Diver
Posts: 1694
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:28 am
First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: My Procrastination Point

Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:33 am

Duplicate

swimjim
Master Diver
Posts: 1694
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:28 am
First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: My Procrastination Point

Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:38 am

Well, lets see. For me it's not location. I live on a lake that is three hundred miles long and 95 miles across and its close to 1000 feet deep. There is a wreck of a 230 foot palace steamer that burn't to the waterline in 1856 with in two miles of my house. I used to be able to launch from home and be on the wreck in five minutes. Also I'm about three and a half hours from Lake Wazee and Fortune Pond. So, it's not a location problem. Dive buddies? The guy I most often dive with is a skilled tech diver who lives and breaths diving. If we have to cut a hole in the ice to get in, it's a minor inconvenience. And then there are guys like Eben, Ron and Rich. A great bunch to not only dive with, but hang out at various dive sites. So, I got good people to dive with. Gear? I could outfit several divers at once. My dry suit is going on it's 13th year. It's getting a little long in the tooth after around 600 dives. Nope, it's not a gear issue. Arthritis is the culprit and is really slowing me down these days. I haven't figured out how to get around that one. At least not completely. It has effected my lower back and hips. I tend to use my fins less and my hands more. That's maybe why the lord blessed me with big hands. They make good paddles. Ha. I still dive my twin 72 set ups. My favorite combo. My LP108 doubles are probably going to be used to transfill to my 38's though.
I'm not complaining. I can still get out there. It's just harder. I view my overall situation as most fortunate. Blessed really. I'm still going and I've gotten more out of diving in the last twenty years especially, than most see in a couple life times. See you on the water!

User avatar
couv
Master Diver
Posts: 453
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:26 pm

Re: My Procrastination Point

Fri Jan 01, 2021 11:49 am

It's mostly the drive for me too.

No decent diving around here without having to drive a few hours-that is with the exception of a couple of "scuba parks." But even those are over an hour away. The other local diving, off-shore boat diving, still takes a couple of hours to get to and is expensive. Add to that the chance of weather/seas cancellation is high.

Notice I did not even mention the fact that I'm a warm water wuss...shhh let's keep that between us.
A sincere THANK YOU to all at VDH who make this wonderful resource available and to all the thoughtful contributors.

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ScubaLawyer
Master Diver
Posts: 1649
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:25 am
First Name: Mark
Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Re: My Procrastination Point

Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:34 pm

I have the gear and ready access to the Pacific Ocean so those factors are not a problem. I dove less than usual in 2020 for several reasons, mainly:

1.  My boat is currently kind of FUBAR (although with enough money I could get it back in ship-shape). Maybe I'll start a GoFundMe page and make people feel sorry for me... :)

2. Covid19 has stopped me from going out on commercial dive boats for the time being.

3.  My long time dive buddies and boat partners have given up diving due to silly reasons such as illness and death (theirs).

4. Beach dives around my town are great but these days I only go out in good conditions (low surf, good visability, etc...). We have had very few of those good diving days this past year - lots of storms in Baja and the mid-Pacific have created some huge south swells in unusual patterns recently.

Here's looking to a fantastic 2021 with lots of diving adventures ahead!
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

tbone1004
Master Diver
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 9:44 am
First Name: Tom

Re: My Procrastination Point

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:57 am

for me the exposure protection is definitely the "why on earth am I doing this". Any time I can dive in a bathing suit it feels like infinitely less effort...

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