Why The Scuba Industry is Suffering...

[risototh]

Add in a RB and it jumped another $5-10k.
Most "kids" today don't have $10-20k and 2 years of patience to build up the skill set and knowledge required for technical diving.

I'm not a kid anymore... But still don't have 10-20$ for diving either. I bought my first CCR for 1000 pounds from UK. It was Inspo Classic. First, what i have done with it, i disassembled it to the last screw :D I'm doing this with almost everything i get. When i have seen the cabling on the unit, i was surprised, that the man, who sold it to me, is still alive :D So i made a rewiring, serviced the first stages, cleaned up everything and tested it. Then i got the sorb (no one sold it in Slovakia at the times) and went to test it into quarry. i was amazed, and knew, that this is the way i want to go. With the time, i bought blank head, new sensors, new electronics and got it together. I made also my own electronics (still as secondary)... After a year, i made a MOD1 in Egypt with fantastic instructor and was maybe the only one in Slovakia to dive Inspo. I still don't know many divers here to dive CCR (in fact, only two), but this will change, as few of my scuba mates have tried it out few weeks ago and were truly amazed too :D

But, what i want to say. You do not need a lot of money for diving, or to start diving. Maybe you need only the goal and go for it! Friends are good as support, and i'm very opened for everyone, that wants to try...

The main problem nowadays is, that the youth today has no goals, and a little knowledge. I see it very clearly almost everyday. I'm working as a "home office" software developer. I'm sitting in the office of the students organisation called Internet Klub. This is an organisation made by student and made of students on the University of Zilina, that is responsible for maintaining, developing and extending the network on the college/dormitories within the university. We have also many side-projects in custom electronics, custom network services... (i'm still there as an inventory... ) We are doing 2-3 times a year a tender for new fellows, to keep the organisation alive. And this is getting a huge problem, as the students, that are interested in this kind of work (i can tell you, it's not a boring work) are dumber and dumber. They all think, that they can google everything. But as time shows, they can't even formulate a right question for the google. And when the can, they are unable to use the response for the work. And even worse, when something is not going on first try, they will give up instantly! Also manual skills are very poor. I have seen a guy, that was unable, in his 20 years, to drill a hole into concrete... Unbelievable.
This also is the reason, why i'm still there. For years, i'm the only developer, that is maintaing the information system, that keeps the network still alive. Maybe it was my fault, that i developed this system, as it is doing almost all network configuration and management automatically (for some automagically).
When i was accepted to the Klub, we have visions, we have goals, and the access to the internet and technologies was not a standard. Many of my old mates are highly skilled professionals working at Orange, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cisco... But what would rise from the current "mates", i don't know. Decadent society...

Sorry for the explosion, and my "non-conformal" english. :)

[michael-fisch]

Hey you hurt my feelings!My mom says i should quit diving.

Some things never change, my mom has been saying the same thing for almost 30 years.

Michael

[andrespp]

here in Spain, there are very few young people. Demographics....

[haaginheimer]

Your English is good - and good points

I started with a Dolphin then built it to mCCR - just like you said, by putting things together from raw parts it helps you better understand. The cost references I used include training and a used unit. I've seen MOD1 and PADI CCR classes range in process depending who you go to and whether your instructor is a shop or independent.

Being in the defense world here in the US, my former soldiers alays ask what skills to pick up and I tell them IT - it's a growing and we'll paying industry.

If you're ever in america, bring your CCR to the great lakes

[silent running]

Hello all, as has been inferred above, legal liability has got to add substantially to the cost of equipment and courses. It really is a shame that responsibility is now so diffused across our nominally free societies. This diffused responsibility has clearly produced many unfortunate, unintended consequences beyond the dive industry, like the nanny state and the deluded, fragile snowflakes who gleefully inhabit it.

That being said, I still find CCR diving to be competitive with motorcycle ownership in terms of expense. Plenty of people own motorcycles, presumably because they like freedom and a thrill. Motorcycles also double as transportation, and weather permitting one can get on and go whenever one feels like it. CCR diving on the other hand requires multi step intensive certification and a lot of thinking and forbearance to become a self-sufficient diver. Not to mention the substantial time and effort to plan and travel to the dive sites. The motivation required to follow through would seem to be the same for all of us, whether our interest is wrecks, caves or wildlife. An abiding curiosity about the other world which lies beneath the surface, the kind of curiosity that inspires the imagination and summons the courage to venture out of our comfort zone into the hostile, foreign and unknown environment of inner space. The same could also be said about OC recreational divers, but obviously to a much lesser degree.

Video games are the opposite of this, a kind of ersatz, pre-imagined "adventure" and escape from reality. No need to venture out of the comfort zone, hell, why not make it more comfortable by ordering some ersatz Chinese food online! If the aliens want to bring the earthlings to their knees, all they have to do is capture Amazon and the comfort seeking snowflakes will melt into puddles. In other words, I fear for the future of our pastime... -Andy

[risototh]

Nicely written.

We have one saying in Slovakia: Kde sú tie časy, keď to stálo aspoň za hovno...
In english something like: Where are the times when it stood at least a shit...

[Chett.L]

Hello all, as has been inferred above, legal liability has got to add substantially to the cost of equipment and courses. It really is a shame that responsibility is now so diffused across our nominally free societies. This diffused responsibility has clearly produced many unfortunate, unintended consequences beyond the dive industry, like the nanny state and the deluded, fragile snowflakes who gleefully inhabit it.

That being said, I still find CCR diving to be competitive with motorcycle ownership in terms of expense. Plenty of people own motorcycles, presumably because they like freedom and a thrill. Motorcycles also double as transportation, and weather permitting one can get on and go whenever one feels like it. CCR diving on the other hand requires multi step intensive certification and a lot of thinking and forbearance to become a self-sufficient diver. Not to mention the substantial time and effort to plan and travel to the dive sites. The motivation required to follow through would seem to be the same for all of us, whether our interest is wrecks, caves or wildlife. An abiding curiosity about the other world which lies beneath the surface, the kind of curiosity that inspires the imagination and summons the courage to venture out of our comfort zone into the hostile, foreign and unknown environment of inner space. The same could also be said about OC recreational divers, but obviously to a much lesser degree.

Video games are the opposite of this, a kind of ersatz, pre-imagined "adventure" and escape from reality. No need to venture out of the comfort zone, hell, why not make it more comfortable by ordering some ersatz Chinese food online! If the aliens want to bring the earthlings to their knees, all they have to do is capture Amazon and the comfort seeking snowflakes will melt into puddles. In other words, I fear for the future of our pastime... -Andy

All good points Andy.

Best regards,