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Scuba There are few sports more exhilarating than scuba diving. Scuba diving gives you unparalleled access to life underwater. The vast majority of the world is underwater, just waiting to be explored, yet very few people have ever ventured into this world to any degree. This is why scuba diving is so amazing: the world’s seas and oceans are some of the last few undiscovered places on our planet. There is also the fact that it can be absolutely gorgeous under the water. If you have ever had an opportunity to go scuba diving in the tropics along a coral reef, you will know how breathtakingly stunning life under the sea can be. (Just remember to not disturb the coral reef – leave it as it is for others to enjoy!). Scuba diving also gives you an opportunity for adventure. Imagine the excitement of swimming around in a shipwreck! From the Mediterranean to the Great Lakes to the English Channel, there are thousands of shipwrecks waiting to be discovered. While scuba diving is primarily seen as a hobbyist sport, its history is steeped in commerce and the military. Police and military forces worldwide have ‘frogmen’ ready to slip into the water on offensive, rescue or covert missions. What is scuba diving? Everybody knows what scuba diving is, but few actually know what scuba means. The word ‘scuba’ is actually an acronym for “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”. Scuba diving is, of course, different from diving. People have been diving for thousands of years without equipment. However, today that is called free diving. Over the years, people invented ways to stay underwater for longer periods of time. The biggest advance came in the 16th century, when people started using diving bells to pump air from the surface to people underwater. Fortunately, things have advanced a fair bit since then. Scuba diving as we know it really developed during World War II. The basic scuba set-up is a tank of compressed oxygen on your back, with a line to a mouth piece. The oxygen flows through your mouth piece, allowing you to breath. Your carbon dioxide is then either released into the water, or, in self-contained systems or rebreathers, back into the tank. The dangers of scuba diving Not surprisingly, there are a number of risks associated with scuba diving; you are, after all, putting yourself under water and hooking your lungs up to a tank. The most common injury comes from changes in air pressure. As you go deeper underwater, the pressure around you increases. If the pressure becomes too much, you can rupture your eardrums or damage your sinuses. If you come up from underwater too quickly, you can also get ‘the bends’, also known as decompression sickness. Learning to become a scuba diver As you can tell, because of the many dangers associated with scuba diving, it is best if you only go scuba diving with proper equipment and once you have received proper training. Indeed, many equipment rental stores will only rent scuba gear to you if you have proof of certification. Most countries have national certifying bodies that can train you to become a certified scuba diver. |
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