Or a better title would -
You have a goal for this year. funny so do I!
Carl, this everybody, Everybody this is Carl. Carl received his Open Water Cert during our Florida Spring Trip in 2016 and he was hooked. So hooked within a year he did five specialties and 50 dives which earn him his Master Diver. Then he started his career as Dive Professional currently a Dive Guide and soon to be working on his Dive Master looking to Dive Control Specialist/Assistance Instructor this summer. Yeah, that hook set deep.
We were sitting around the shop last week and he asked me if I was going diving this weekend. I told him not if I don't have to the lake is cold. To which he responded, "going diving this weekend?" I relented, Even though I just did my dry suit cert last weekend I chose to use my wetsuit. Since I could not dive the entire weekend due to other plans on Saturday, we dove on Sunday.
During one of our surface intervals, we got on to the subject of personal dive objective for the year. I started the year diving in the Bahamas with dive number 831. During the course of that dive I remember thinking could I get to dive 1000 this year, what would that take. After doing the math figured, okay, dive 1000 might be a stretch but it could be done, but dive 900 was well within reach. I decided dive 1000 was the overall goal for the year with dive 900 as the short term object. Now how to do it. I needed dive buddies and to make the time.
I explained this to Carl and he said it just so happens he is trying to get to his dive 200 this year, he is currently at dive 58. He as a well has short term goals dive 100 and dive 150 knowing that dive 200 was ways out there.
Since it was Sunday we only did three dives towards our goal. Traffic on 95 North on Sunday afternoon can be real pain Beach traffic north of Richmond, then the entire section between Fredericksburg and Woodbridge where the top speed averages around 10-20 mph after 1 PM you didn't hang around long at the lake after 12 PM if you wanted to make it home at a reasonable hour.
We agreed if either one of us needed a dive buddy to let the other know. Let's see how we do!