Went for a dive today....

[southern Maine diver]

Jeeesh Citydigger...

I don't know where you get the idea that bottle diving takes very little effort... I guess you don't know anyone that dives in ripping current, 38 degree water, zero visibility, mud up to your shoulders, dragging a hundred pounds of equipment through the brush, coming out of some lakes and ponds with leaches on the back of your neck...[:'(]

I could go on, but I think I made my point. Bottle diving is a lot more than just being a hobby for "wealthy" people who slowly sink down to the bottom, fanning a little bit of sand away to find a bottle.
I dive with a couple of guys and none of us are any where near being "wealthy" []

Come on up our way and you're welcome to join us on a couple bottle dives.

Wayne[&:]

 

[earlyglass]

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[citydigger]

[]

 

[earlyglass]

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[woody]

Please, Josh, let's try and keep things civilized.
There is no better or worse way to find antique bottles, either by digging or diving.

 

[citydigger]

No problem Woody. Mike and I have talked about it over the phone, we are local to one another. I meant no insult. He knows that now.

 

[earlyglass]

Your right Woody. I will remove my posts as this isn't the forum for such discussions.

Mike

 

[VA is for Diggers]

I have always enjoyed diving for shipwrecks, looking at the fish in tropical water, however, most bottles are actually in the mud or rivers/canals with dangerous debris. It also requires quite a bit of experience and stanima. I have not dived enough in rivers yet, but would like to meet some other divers in VA for potential bottle bonanzas!

 

[woody]

Please..... let's keep thing civil.

Remember, I live in New Hampshire, too!!![]

 

[adshepard]

ORIGINAL: citydigger

ORIGINAL: cyberdigger

yep

[] DIGGERS RULE! DIVING IS COOL TOO IF YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO DIG A GOOD HOLE! It is a good way to stay cool in the summer though....[8|] Low gravity in the water makes it nice for people that are too heavy to dig on land. It is cool though, a lot of great bottles lay under water. Just watch out for the leaches!

I have thought about the differences in digging for bottles versus diving for bottles.

Fact number one is the there is no comparison in calories burned. Heavy scuba diving in the cold waters of New England burns over 800 calories in one hour. Digging a hole in the ground burns approximately 500 calories in an hour. You can look those figures up on the Internet.

Diving for bottles is more akin to digging a dump than a privy as you generally do not have a specific spot to look for the bottles. You have to hunt and poke about in the mud and silt and most of the time you come up with nothing.

One difference is time. When digging for bottles you can take your sweet time. When diving you are limited to the air in your tank. When digging you can haul out everything you want. When diving you are limited to what you can hold in your bag.

The biggest difference is possible the danger factor. Certainly a hole could collapse on you while digging but I have heard of few diggers dying while digging for bottles. In the last six years I have had three friends/ acquaintences die diving local wrecks while exploring and searching for artifacts. Being underwater is a fairly dangerous hobby. I've had a few life insurance companies turn me down because of the hobby, they don't care if I dig holes.

I love diving for bottles and I'd love to dig for them on dry land someday too. However there is little question in my mind which is harder to do.

Alan