Posted by AADIVER on June 06, 2001 at 11:38:09:
In Reply to: Golden Days of Cailifornia Diving posted by Jon Davies on June 05, 2001 at 22:22:10:
I learned to dive in Australia in 1964 at the age of 32. No C cards, just paid 30 bucks and took the course, 1st the pool, then the ocean. Back in Sou Cal had to get an NASDS card to get air! Gear was real simple: wet suit, steel 72, no SPG, no BC, no octopus, no computer. Gear options were limited, mainly U.S. Divers or Scubapro. Buddy pairing was mandatory, deco diving forbidden, no going deeper than 130 fsw, all diving based on the Navy tables. OOA meant buddy breathing or making a controlled free ascent no faster than our slowest exhalation bubbles. Primary focus and attention was on the diving environment, lots of big fish, big legal abs and bugs and wrecks with brass everywhere. Very little focus on or obsession with gear, gear configurations, or diving procedures. Individual, personal gear choices were respected. The occasional fatality was 99% of the time "pilot error".
The main difference between then and now is now more obsession with gear and gadgets and less with why we dive in the first place. More fun then? Yes and no, a purely subjective evaluation. Is diving safer now than decades ago? NO!! Don't ever take Mer Madre for granted. She's a totally unforgiving, beautiful, fascinating, alluring...bitch. And I love her!