The dangers of abalone diving run the gamut from being eaten alive to losing your significant other over your "unacceptable" obsession. This discussion will be limited to the physical dangers of abalone diving, real or imagined. We'll leave the dangers of mixing abalone diving with significant relationships, work demands, or family time to other venues.
Are there any real physical dangers? Absolutely. Each season, it seems, abalone divers lose their lives in the waters off northern California. The past couple of years, the number of deaths has jumped dramatically. Because most abalone divers are relatively young and in decent physical condition, it's worth noting the whys and hows some of them get into trouble. Reviewing the physical dangers of abalone diving is an opportunity to distinguish between the real dangers and the largely imaginary dangers of the sport. This is an important distinction simply because most novice divers tend to focus on imaginary dangers while the real dangers go unnoticed or ignored.
Last Modified: November 11, 2008
