Do you ever feel like you are diving too much? WELL I DO NOT!!!! Let’s just clear that up right now. Do you ever feel like other things are not getting done because of the fact that so much time is spent diving (even if this is not so much the amount of time but more the specific time – i.e. a Saturday when everything is open and people are available)? Even though I do not dive that much (but a lot compared to some), I can answer yes to this question.

Living in Southern Ontario, I find myself wanting to dive much more but am struggling to find a balance between LIFE and SCUBA. With a 2 hour drive to decent diving (each direction), it is not like we can just jump in the water for a quick dive. Thus the struggle. I want to dive but life is made up of many things and they can all exist together only if you find this balance. HERE BALANCE, BALANCE, BALANCE. Show yourself balance…… Obviously I am trying to find that balance but work keeps getting in the way. This may be my last post for a while because I submerging myself into my alternate reality where I, and a couple others), live on a secluded island with the best diving ever just 100 feet from the shore. And did I mention that this island somehow came with all of the gear and compressors etc.?

Now for a bit of a poll. After a significant thread battle on Scuba Board, it has come to my attention that many people out there do not feel that divers need to be certified. I should perhaps clarify that the people which I speak about, feel “old time” divers do not need certification because they are old and have been diving for years. Well, unless you have watched them do this for many, many years, how would one (a dive shop owner) know for fact that they have avoided Darwin for a long time whilst diving? I believe these people are taking the PADI approach (“If you want to give me money then you will get whatever you want in return!”) and are just filling air for anybody irrespective of “qualification and proof of experience”.

After quite a debate it was obvious that this was a circular argument because neither was going to convince the other of their merit and we stopped. However, I still believe that the only responsible thing for a dive shop to do is to expect and/or demand proof of certification/experience before providing air fills to people. If the law does not prohibit the rental of SCUBA equipment to those that are not certified, I am of the personal belief that it should. I believe that renting gear or filling tanks for uncertified divers is negligent. If an accident happens and it comes to light that the dive shop rented the gear to an uncertified diver, I believe they should be held responsible as a negligent party. It is like renting motorcycles to people with no license or insurance.

Am I really that far out of line with this thought process? Because I simply cannot fathom their line of thinking on this matter. Just curiosity coming out.