Well what can I say, my 2014 dive season was not at all what I expected. I was very happy and proud to experience my son Matthew becoming a certified diver but, greatly disappointed in the amount of diving I did this year.
I dove in the Quarry and on wrecks such as the Dykes, Terror Wreck, Hvoslef, Oregon and Delaware. I wouldn't even call these few dives a dive "season" and I don't quite know what happened but, I suppose life got in the way coupled with the turbulent fall weather. All I can do is sit back and enjoy the winter and anticipate wreck diving in 2015. I was very happy to finally get to dive the Terror Wreck, that was one wreck that I had wanted to dive for a long time and I finally got there and enjoyed it.
"In wisdom I have gathered over time, I have found that every experience is a form of exploration" Ansel Adams
I recently read an article about the possibility of the dive industry imposing dive certification expiration dates that is renewable when the diver demonstrates knowledge and ability. This would apply to those divers that are not diving often enough. It was strange how I found myself reading this article at the time where I had so few dives this past year.
In the past, once you become a certified diver you are certified for life whether you dive each year or not. I think most responsible divers would voluntarily go through a re-fresher course if they have not been diving for several years but, I fear the day that the dive agencies put a minimum number of dives per year required to maintain your certification. In looking at this year where I only dove a total of about 11 dives, not because I didn't want to dive more but, merely because of weather conditions, I would not enjoy being required to go through a refresher course each time I did not dive a certain number of dives a year especially, if the course was not offered free of charge. It costs an extraordinary amount of money to maintain your equipment each year prior to even splashing and I find that this new re-fresher requirement if it ever came to life would be the last straw. I hope dive leaders in NAUI and PADI realize that the dive industry is shrinking each year and that the very thought of coming up with these new requirements could have a major impact on the industry. I believe the current diver attrition rate is as high as 70%.
I also personally feel that most dive certification courses do not adequately prepare a student to dive. The courses have become very watered down and simply do not provide enough open water skills and practice to build confidence. There are some instructors out there that feel as I do and therefore, are going above and beyond to insure that their students become capable confident divers but, that is not the norm... Without new divers feeling confident in their skills, I am sure it will lead them to find other activities in which they are more comfortable, thus adding to the high attrition rate of divers... OK, enough of my rant!!!
Since this year was a big flop, I hope to get in the water early next year and be a little more flexible with my schedule so that on bad weather days I can dive an alternate day and hopefully not end up with just a few dives like this year. I already know that the Independence II is working on a dive schedule for 2015 that will be as exciting as ever!!!
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever" Jacques Yves Cousteau
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| I took this shot this fall while watching my son surf, it is one of my favorites with the Tall ship in the distance. |
Here is a story that may interest you if you have a love of the sea and wilderness such as I...
http://www.bbc.com/earth/bespoke/story/20141203-back-to-nature/index.html
