How Deep Is Deep?        1/98

I recently was asked what I thought of deep diving. This started me thinking. What is deep? I know my deepest dive has been to 142 feet. I suppose for many recreational divers that is deep, for others I have not even come close to their "deep" dives. Deep is a relative term.

Definitely every diver no matter how many logged dives, should always dive within the limits of their training and experience. If you have never been deeper than 65 feet than you should restrict your next dives to no more than 75 to 80 feet. We all know how important it is to plan your dive, it is equally as important to stay within your limits. Far too many divers will dive beyond their respective limits endangering themselves as well as their buddy.

Robert Von Maier stated in his book Solo Diving that "deep diving can be defined as twice the depth that you can free dive to." To further explain, if a diver can breath hold dive to 30 feet, than 60 feet would be considered a deep dive for that diver. Does this mean that we should never exceed these breath hold limits? I say no.

We know that SCUBA is an equipment intensive sport. If we equip ourselves and train for a specific depth range than I feel that a dive to that depth can be made with relative safety. This does have limits however. As recreation SCUBA divers we should adhere to the 130 foot depth limit. If we train (this means appropriate courses and equipment) for dives beyond the 130 foot range than even that depth barrier may be broken.

Of course I am speaking about highly specialized technical courses with intense in water training to gain the experience to dive with an acceptable balance of safety and risk.

I can not emphasize enough that "deep" diving is very relative and very individual. We would be acting very irresponsibly if we were to drive our car on race track at high speeds. Race car drivers are trained to drive cars that are designed for high speed driving.

As with any recreational dive no matter the depth, we need to have a plan which consists of first and foremost a purpose or goal. Remember that either buddy should have the ability to call a dive at any time for any reason. If you want to dive deep then I strongly urge you to get the proper training and experience first.