Why Don't You Attend Vintage Diving Events?

Poll ended at Sun Sep 18, 2016 11:53 am

I don't like the location
28%
8
Too expensive
7%
2
Don't have the time
48%
14
Don't like the people
No votes
0
Don't have the gear
3%
1
Feel Intimidated
3%
1
Don't feel welcome
10%
3
 
Total votes: 29
SheriffDiver
Master Diver
Posts: 194
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 9:07 pm
First Name: John

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Tue Aug 30, 2016 5:03 pm

As one of the new people into this vintage sport it can be hard to feel part of the group of divers at any location especially if a group of people have been diving together for years. I've found it takes time just to get used to the new gear, getting weights right and basically feeling comfortable in the water. Every diver has their agenda for what they want to do on any given dive. To me it's not a big deal if I get separated and wind up going in a different direction under water. It's what I feel comfortable with and I'd rather do that than taking a risk on something I'm not comfortable with.

I think when you're new to any type of group you have to become a listener rather than a talker and come off as a "Know it all." I'm trying to learn this vintage sport so I'm willing to do the listening to the more experienced double hose divers. I just basically like to dive and that's what I go there to do. Just like when I go to Cozumel. I want to dive every day I'm there to get the most bang for my buck. Most of my trips are at least 4 hours long so that becomes quite a time investment by the end of the day if you drive to and from the dive site in one day. When that happens I try to get as many dives in as possible so it may seem like I may not want to visit much between dives especially when I'm doing a complete gear change including putting on a new wetsuit.

SeaHunt Jerry, Surflung, SwimJim, DiverDon and others all made me feel welcome at events I've dove.

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

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:48 pm

I get to a fair number of events, but it is usually a long haul. The trips generally are not terribly expensive, but my business has been a roller coaster since '08. That makes it really hard to plan things out.

Pedro
Skin Diver
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 5:47 am
First Name: Pedro
Location: Wellington NZ

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:37 am

I would like to meet in person several of the folks I got to know through the website, but I'm halfway across the world.

Besides to be honest I feel a bit off since I'm not a vintage diver. Coming to think of it, I've never even seen vintage gear in action if we count the Kraken as a modern DH reg

User avatar
Superlite
Master Diver
Posts: 183
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:30 pm
First Name: Andrew
Location: Lafayette, LA

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 1:12 pm

I would love to dive with anyone diving pure vintage or mixed makes no difference to me. My biggest problem is time and finances. My work sometimes makes it difficult to arrange a trip to a vintage gathering and when I do have time finances enter their ugly head. I was able to see the Sea Hunt Forever photos thanks to the Captain (Tom Madre). I feel I really missed a great gathering.
I will always look at the gatherings of vintage divers and hope that one day my schedule and finances come together for a exciting trip with my fellow vintage divers.

User avatar
sitkadiver
Master Diver
Posts: 458
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:30 pm
First Name: Dave
Location: Sitka, Alaska

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 3:09 pm

Bryan,

I didn't respond to the survey, but if I had, expense would be the most fitting category.

Becuase I live so far away (and on an Island), my travel plans almost always include multiple stops to see family and friends in various states. I hope you will keep giving plenty of notice for various events since I do check my schedule and think about making a swing through your area.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were planning to see family in Wisconsin and I was almost certain I would be able to meet up in Portage, but alas, it was not to be.

I do not feel I would be intimidated by anyone here at VDH and if anything I would treat most of the VDH members like long-lost friends. It would be fun for me to finally meet the folks who have provided such good information over the past several years.

Hope yo see you some day.

Dave
I do not believe in taking unnecessary risks, but a life without risk is not worth living. - Charles Lindbergh

User avatar
BigMike
Master Diver
Posts: 161
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:43 pm
First Name: Mike
Location: Southern Illinois

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:40 pm

Great topic Bryan. As a relative newcomer to this forum and group, I need to start off with my observations.

1. It's a dive group where there are two things in common. Scuba and double hose regulators.
The Argonaut Kraken hadn't been produced when I went to my first event with the group.
2. NO ONE has ever said that I wasn't vintage enough to dive with them. Being new to the group, I only had one double hose
reg that I sent to Bryan to rebuild. Everything else was non-vintage. No one cared. I now primarily use my Argonaut Kraken.
3. I'm a user... I haven't rebuilt a reg (single or double hose) or valve. I hope to someday and with the knowledge and willingness to help of the people on
this forum, feel confident that I could. I don't have to sit at a "kids" table when we get together either .
4. Everyone that I have encountered has been welcoming and encouraging. No one looked at my log to count my dives. No one scoffed at my non-vintage fins. I didn't act like my crap didn't stink and no one that I have dived with from this group acted that way either.

Summary: I would rather dive with this group than with my local dive shop. Nothing against the LDS but there always seems to be the "look at my new gear" guy who asks why I don't have the top of the line 6000 SUX reg, BC or computer. I love to dive and wish I could do it more often. I encourage anyone who is interested in diving with this group to do so. Watching Herman let someone try out one of his double hose regs at Alexander Springs showed me that I should do the same. I'm sure many of the people on this forum have done the same so please don't be intimidated at all. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Regards, Mike (BigMike)
You are never too old to start a new hobby.

User avatar
DaveMann
Lung Diver
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 11:12 am
First Name: Dave
Location: Fort Myers, Fla., USA

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:07 pm

I didn't reply to the poll because there have been no gatherings announced since I've been a member. Having said that I'll say this: I've never had a regular dive partner. I'm usually the odd man out on the dive boat. I joined Scubaboard primarily to find other divers in my area, and I ended up getting a link to this site in my first posting. Before I was aware of VDH I came up with the idea of vintage / vintage style diving to make diving interesting for me again. I didn't know vintage diving was a thing. I thought I had come up with something new and then found an existing group interested in the same thing I had been thinking about. Joy!

Since my arrival I have found that I get good responses to my questions and I have bought some things from other members, but the one thing that kept nagging at me (although I couldn't articulate it until Bryan posted this poll) was I'll probably never meet any of these people. Diving in and of itself is OK, but it is so much better when you have someone or a group with whom to share it. I'm retired/disabled and I live on a fixed income. As much as I would love to visit Truk I know it'll never happen. The keys are my dive location because they're close. I could also easily go north to the various springs around Ocala and such.

I do hope that there are more Fla gatherings and I would volunteer to assist in setting up such gatherings in whatever way I'm able. I hope to meet many of you down here some time.

Dave

What would Mike Nelson do?

User avatar
EHowe
Master Diver
Posts: 209
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:59 pm
First Name: Edward
Location: Chicago

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 9:31 pm

I'm quite bummed that I did not make the Fortune Pond gathering. It ended up being the last weekend of summer vacation before kids went back to school. So like a good Dad I opted to spend family time. I feel lucky when I get out to dive at all let alone a vintage gathering that is hours drive away and most likely will involve at least one overnight

rx7diver
Lung Diver
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:22 am
First Name: Ronald
Location: Columbia MO

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:15 pm

It's unfortunate that your survey (1) does not permit people to rank order their responses (if they in fact have multiple responses) and (2) does not include an "other" option with a space for elaboration. None of your options reflects my thoughts about "Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings?", I don't think.

I am new to owning a DH, a 1st generation PRAM I purchased about a year ago from another VDH member. I probably never would have purchased a DH--never would have purchased *another* reg--if this PRAM had not become available, serendipitously, at the time it did. I certainly did not purchase the DH because of some deep yearning to dive vintage.

At the time I was perfectly content diving my SP Mk 10 + D400 (and Steel 72 + Freedom Plate + Hal Pioneer 27). In fact, I could not imagine a better-breathing reg than this SP, nor (with my O'Neill 3/2 jumpsuit) a more comfortable warmish-water gear setup for recreational diving. After all, I had long ago left behind cold fresh water, deep technical shipwreck diving and the alternate gear required to do it. I thought that there was only one more piece of gear that I would eventually purchase: a custom 5 mm jumpsuit made of very high-quality neoprene--so that I could eventually dive sans BC and do so a bit earlier and a bit later in the diving season.

But, then, this PRAM became available, and I jumped at the chance to purchase it. I'm having a wonderful time diving it and learning more about DH regs. I purchased the bespoke VDH backplate and now enjoy diving my PRAM even more. The truth is, to me my PRAM cannot compare, breathing-wise, to my sublime SP. However, my PRAM offers a completely different experience, and it is a tremendous regulator for what it does: Bubbles and noise released behind the head changes everything!

I love diving solo! Ninety-five percent of my diving these days is local fresh water, shallow and solo. It is precisely how I, um, decompress. My PRAM has become my regulator of choice for these dives since it doesn't frighten away the freshwater fish and makes for a quieter dive (or so it seems to me). I am now enjoying using my venerable Nikonos V + 15 mm U/W Nikkor lens even more than ever. (I've long had a serious darkroom photography hobby.)

So, I did not purchase a DH to become part of a DH community (although I thoroughly enjoy being a member here and constantly learning from the extremely knowledgeable VDH members). And I have no real interest in attending a vintage equipment gathering.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

P.S. If I still lived in southeast Michigan, or still travelled to visit ex-in-laws in Columbus OH, and there were a vintage gathering at Gilboa or White Star or one of the other northwest Ohio quarries, I would love to drive in and meet the VDH crowd and do a dive or two with you.

User avatar
Bryan
Plank Owner
Posts: 5279
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:40 am
First Name: Bryan
Location: Wesley Chapel Florida
Contact: Website

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:11 pm

Looks like you had no difficulty finding room to elaborate despite the poor choices provided by the survey.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

rx7diver
Lung Diver
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:22 am
First Name: Ronald
Location: Columbia MO

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:47 pm

Bryan wrote:Looks like you had no difficulty finding room to elaborate despite the poor choices provided by the survey.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
Bryan,

Surveys can be tricky business. If conditions permit it, then using a preliminary, "pilot" survey with a "other" option can help a survey writer refocus his/her survey questions and selection of multiple choice answers so that not only will someone in the target population be more likely to answer the survey, but the survey takers' responses will more likely address exactly whatever it is that the writer is hoping to learn.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

reddiver
Lung Diver
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:10 pm
First Name: David
Location: Youngsville,NC

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Thu Sep 01, 2016 12:50 pm

Being relatively new to the VDH, I did attend the Sand Dog event at BLue SPrings and had a great time. Being from up North, warm water and( warm weather ) diving certainly appeals to me and it seems to many others in order to travel some distance to an event. Perhaps a more advanced notice would allow more to preplan their diving trips for the upcoming year. One suggestion ( to try to attract new members and interest) would be to have some workshops put on by volunteers. There is certainly a wealth of information from the contributors on the forum and I would enjoy listening to almost any topic on diving, especially the vintage diving.

Dave Johnson

DAAquamaster
Skin Diver
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:14 pm
First Name: Larry
Location: Winterville NC

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:58 pm

I agree with Dave. Out reach and increasing the total number of double hose divers overall is the best bet for improving attendance at any one event.

Our local dive shop moved to a location with a pool and had a grand opening. I brought a couple of PRAMs and introduced a few people to vintage double hose diving.

Once they settle in a bit more and work out the pool scheduling issues, I'm going to suggest a "try (semi) vintage scuba" event for certified divers and perhaps a dive club event with vintage double hose diving on the menu. With my three PRAMs we could do a lot of try dives in one afternoon or evening. And I suspect I might be able to get some other Eastern NC vintage double hose divers to show up as well.

The approach here isn't to introduce people to "pure" vintage diving, but rather the introduce them to a modern double hose regulator and show how well it can fit into regular open water recreational diving.

The shop owner for example has a DAM that he had rebuilt but has never dove. He commented that many people thing it's just an old piece of crap, rather than a useful piece of dive gear and I think he'd be willing to host an event to promote the utility of a well designed, modernized double hose reg.

User avatar
Herman
VDH Moderator
Posts: 1315
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:45 pm
Location: Raleigh NC

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:03 pm

Larry, If I can give you a hand, let me know. I have a bunch of serviced DH regs from old Mistrals to a AK. I am sure Henry would likely join us as well.
Herman

User avatar
Bryan
Plank Owner
Posts: 5279
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:40 am
First Name: Bryan
Location: Wesley Chapel Florida
Contact: Website

Re: Why you don't attend Vintage Equipment Gatherings??

Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:53 pm

In the past I think as a group we have done a great job of making the opportunity to try and or at least discuss double hose diving with anyone who wanted to come by the event gathering. Many folks have offered gear and guidance and to some extent we have had a few folks stop by who later delved further into our small end of the diving world.
I know that Herman has done some informal get to know double hose events at his LDS as has Jim and Jerry up north. I have offered many time to provide support and information to anyone else who wanted to do something similar.
If you have ever attended one of the vintage diving gatherings I think you would find it to be a very welcoming group ready to talk vintage scuba and show all who are interested how to get involved.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

Return to “Vintage Dive Trips or Gatherings”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests