How to Prepare for Your First SCUBA Dive

You've got your Scuba certification, you've got your Scuba gear, and now you're itching to go on your first Scuba dive. And sure, the certification process reviewed all the basics, but there are still other practicalities that an informed diver should know. This article will outline the methods and precautions observed by safe divers around the world.

Attraction - There are many sights under the water including coral reefs, shipwrecks, caves, and any assortment of plants and animals. Coral reefs are found mainly in tropical climates. Shipwrecks and caves can be found almost anywhere.

Visibility - Under the water, visibility can vary from as little as 2ft. to over 100ft. This depends mainly on sea conditions, but can be affected by weather as well. In the Northern Pacific and Northern Atlantic, you will find visibility to be very limited, while in tropical climates, you can see the sun from over 100ft down!

Depth - Recreational divers should not dive below 130ft without advanced training and equipment. The deeper you dive, the higher the risks for injury. As you go deeper, less light can penetrate the water and the ocean becomes darker. Also, the deeper you go, your risk increases of getting Decompression Illness. These conditions may be very stressful for a beginning diver. It's recommended that you dive no deeper than 60ft until you become more comfortable with scuba diving situations. Additionally, due to the compression of air at depth, you use a greater percentage of air with each breath, thus reducing your total dive time.

Temperature - Scuba divers often wear wetsuits to protect themselves from the cold. In most parts of the ocean, there is a temperature gap where in a change of depth of 1 foot, there may exist a 10 degree decrease in temperature, this is called a Thermocline. In some circumstances, in tropical climates you will need only a bathing suit.

Water Conditions - Surf and current are the basic sea conditions you need to know. Currents can be very strong in some areas and can carry a diver away. Even many popular dive sites have very strong current areas suitable only for experienced divers. Be sure you know how strong and in which direction the current is flowing. The current can also be part of the experience; a "drift dive" is a dive that is designed to have you be carried by the current. A boat must be present and the skipper will follow you on the surface by watching for surfacing bubbles. Surf can affect the boat and how safe it is getting in and out of the water.

Wildlife - Observing the local wildlife can be the most rewarding experience of an underwater dive, but it can also be quite dangerous. Every geographical location on Earth has its own unique species. You should know the basic fish and plant life you are likely to encounter and if there are any precautions for dealing with any. Just about all of them are harmless and are more scared of you than you are of them.

Reprinted from wikiHow

Kathy Dowsett
www.kirkscubagear.com

3 Factors Ruining Your Scuba Education

I've seen a lot of good students with bad instructors and I've seen a lot of good instructors with bad students. This has as much to do with the mindsets and motivations of the individuals involved as it has to do with their actual abilities. I find the following three major factors work against both students and instructors in the dive industry:

1. Certification vs Education

When you show up for any level of scuba training, whether it is an open water certification or a technical diving course, your primary purpose is to learn. A student's primary purpose should not be to receive a little plastic certification card, nor should the instructor's primary motivation be to issue one. If it is, you should reconsider your motivation for training and pursuing diving.

A great failure in the dive industry today is that both students and instructors, whether due to irresponsible marketing or money-hungry dive centers, seem no longer to understand the difference between paying for training and paying for certification. Most open water students seem to feel that if they pay for 3-4 days of training, they are already entitled to a certification. Unfortunately, some instructors seem to agree. But what is a certification without the ability behind it?

Scuba diving students are paying for training, not for certification. Dive students should show up prepared to invest time in themselves; to improve themselves, their diving skills and techniques. Certification will follow naturally once a student has spent whatever time and effort is necessary to master the dive theory and techniques presented in the course. Keep in mind, both as a student and as an instructor, that even if a student walks away from a scuba course without a certification, neither party has necessarily failed. As long as the student has gained experience and knowledge, which is the true value of any education, a course can be considered a success.

2. Ego vs Education

I am often asked “how can you pick a good instructor?” In this regard, I know many instructors that offer great courses, some of whom have big egos. I also know bad instructors who have even bigger egos. My response is always this, "Pick instructors that will invest their time in you, not their egos."

Egos, both those of the instructor and of the student, can be a huge problem in dive training. I find that some instructors try to stroke their own egos by impressing upon their students how tough, how cool, or how great the instructors are. Similarly, students may enroll in a course simply out of peer pressure or to prove that they are hardcore. Both of these attitudes can get in the way of the ultimate goal of a dive course: education. When students enroll in courses as an ego-boost, they are less likely to take feedback from the instructor, therefore diminishing their educational opportunities and personal development. Instructors who focus on their own egos will likely care more about their own vanity and how they appear than about the education and experience of their students.

Instead, students should focus on learning skills and should be open and receptive to feedback, even if the feedback is that certain dive skills need to improve. Instructors must surpass their egos and work for the benefit of the students. Instructors should aim to provide students with safe and reliable instruction, demonstrating patience, compassion, and restraint (not acting like dancing monkeys, entertaining students with stories of their greatness or task loading the students just to prove a point.) Remember, we are simple diving instructors teaching highly specialized courses for the safety and benefit of our students, we are not movie stars or politicians. The goal of both the student and the instructor should be to make the student as good as he or she is capable of becoming during the time allotted for the course.

Again, a dive course that does not result in certification does not necessarily reflect negatively on either the instructor or the student. If a student needs more training, the student needs more training. Remember a good student invests money and time in training to improve himself, not to glorify an instructor. I grew up in the world of Marital Arts and thought that only the world of politics could contain and exhibit more ego. I was wrong. Beware: Ego is everywhere!

3. Time and Financial Pressure vs Education

Scuba education is first and foremost an investment in bettering yourself and your diving skills. Unfortunately, education takes time, and time costs money, even if it is your own time. Try to remember that not just your diving education, but any education, is something you can never lose and no one can ever take from you. Even if you lost all the money or property you own, you will always have what you've learned.

I have witnessed many dive students cramming for exams without investing the time to actually learn anything, other than how to forget so they have the space to cram for the next round of useless information. These students are sometimes awarded a certification or diploma simply because they learned how propagate a system. Often, this is done to finish a course quickly and receive the certification with as little investment in time and money as possible.

I have also witnessed scuba instructors brushing over skills and certifying students with a substandard understanding of dive theory or skills simply to finish a course quickly and receive their course fees. In cases where time constraints and financial concerns take priority over a solid base of dive theory and a mastery of dive skills, I would say that the student has wasted both his time and his money.

This is an unfortunate result of the money and the need for profit involved in any system of education, scuba diving included. Many people attain high degrees of rank, authority, certification, accreditation, influence or prominence simply because of money and ego without regard to the true education of their students or how it may affect their wellbeing in the future.


I find these factors pervasive in the dive industry and disgustingly unfortunate. I try to the very core of my being to reverse this way of thinking in not just diver and instructor level courses, but every detail of life. Unfortunately, due to this philosophy I have lost more than one job or student, but as it was well quoted in the movie Kingdom of Heaven: "Who is a man that does not try to make the world a better place."

Thanks to About Sports

Kathy Dowsett
www.kirkscubagear.com

Too Old To Learn Scuba Diving?

Reprinted from Enzine Articles

We are always told we should learn sports when we are young, when our bodies are more resilient to the bruises and bumps which can be afflicted on us when we learn a new sport. This is true to a certain extent.

Take for example, my experience learning wind surfing. I learnt the sport when I was 26. If I were to learn this sport now at age 42, chances are I would not go far and would probably give up after 1 or 2 tries. Learning wind surfing was like battling with all the forces at the same time! We're talking about trying to balance on choppy waves on a slippery wet board, at the same time maneuvering a sail which weighs more than you in the correct direction that you want to go.In the process, I contributed blood and flesh from cuts on barnacles and bruises from hitting the surf board more than once before falling into the waters.

But there is a huge difference with scuba diving. YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN SCUBA DIVING. I can never say this enough. I learnt scuba diving when I was 38. Now I'm not saying that 38 is a ripe old age but still, the body does feel somewhat less strong and less resilient. Added to that, as we get older, we also seem to have more fears. Perhaps we feel we have more to lose if something should happen to us.

I say middle age and beyond should never be a factor in learning scuba diving BUT you do need to have these:

1) an intense love for the sea

2) a willingness to learn from someone younger than you

3) relatively good health and lastly but very important

4) time and money

Now I'm assuming that you are thinking of learning scuba diving because you want to make this a sport that you can enjoy every other weekend if time and money permits and not just learning for education's sake.

An Intense Love for the Sea

To enjoy a scuba diving trip, you will have to love the sea and I mean really really love it with all its wonderful creatures large and small. You will know what I mean on your first ever scuba diving trip after you have cleared your Open Water tests.

It is unlikely that your scuba diving buddies on your first dive trip will be the same classmates in your scuba diving course. Because of time and money constraints, you will find that you may be the only one keen enough to join a scuba diving trip soon after your certification.

More often than not, your dive buddies will be a dive-crazy bunch who will do at least 4 dives a day plus another at night. This means that on a scuba diving trip, most times you will not do anything but dive, talk about the sea creatures and encounters of each dive, before suiting up for the next dive. For someone who only wants to do one dive a day and then go shopping, he/she may be disappointed as many great scuba diving spots have few of these shopping and entertainment facilities.

In case you are already getting stressed just thinking about this, don't be. Every scuba diving newbie goes through this. Just have an attitude of a newbie, be humble and you will find that the seasoned divers are more than willing to share tips and may even help you to gear up before a dive.

A Willingness to Learn from Someone Younger than You

Your scuba diving instructor is likely to be someone much younger than you. Some dive instructors have an attitude and are cocky so you may have to live with it for at least 3 weekends before you become certified - 1st weekend for classroom and theory, 2nd weekend for pool sessions and a 3rd weekend for the actual open water tests. Put aside your ego and just bear with it, it'll be worth it in the end.

Having said that, that's not to say that there are no good and kind scuba diving instructors around. I was fortunate to receive dive instruction from PC, a very kind and patient man, without whom my dive learning experience would not be as smooth and enjoyable.

Relatively Good Health

It's not necessary to be in peak fitness before you can take up scuba diving. However, you would need some strength to be able to walk with full scuba diving gear strapped on you. Once you enter the waters with all your gear, you are almost weightless. But it's the few steps you have to make to get into the boat or to cross the beach into the water that may be a challenge for a person who is not used to carrying heavy loads on them.

Having said that, some scuba diving resorts have fantastic dive staff who can help to overcome this by carrying the tanks and gear to the boat for you to suit up inside the boat. And of course if you are on a live-a-board (live, eat, dive, sleep, on board a boat throughout the dive trip), then this may not be relevant.

Time and Money

This is probably the 2 most deciding factors of whether someone continues to enjoy scuba diving after passing the Open Water tests. Getting certified through a scuba diving course is very fast, just 3 weekends basically. And not too expensive, probably about $300 to $400, including an out-of-the country dive trip for the open water tests. But unless you live near a scuba diving area, you are most likely going to have to travel a distance or even out of the country to do a good dive.

Now just think how much each trip is going to cost you and multiply that by how many times you would love to do scuba diving in a year. When you do the sums, it can be staggering. So you cut down the number of dives you want to do in a year, and then calculate and cut down some more.

In our scuba diving class, my husband and I were the only ones who continued to dive after the class was over. Even then, we did not manage to do the number of dives we would really have loved to do in a year. That's how it finally ends up that we are doing an average of 1 dive a year. This more or less ensures that we will always be diving as a "scuba diving newbie" (hence the blog's name). A scuba diver gets "rusty" when the interval is too long between each dive trip. Ideally, we should dive at least once each quarter.

I have not even gone on to calculate the other "investments" to personalise your gear such as your own BC (buoyancy control), your own octopus (breathing appartus) and your wet suit.

Having said all this, I still believe it's never too old to learn and enjoy scuba diving. Even with our limited dives since we were certified and diving as scuba diving newbies, we enjoy each and every one of our dive trips. Find the right people to dive with, find a fantastic dive spot that suits your preferences (whether macro, to check out small sea creatures, or see bigger fish) and nearby spa facilities to sooth your body aches after a dive - it's a wonderful combination that will almost always ensure a great scuba diving experience!

A scuba diving newbie can still enjoy happy diving!

Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagear.com


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/296755

Don't Take Quickie Scuba Dive Courses!

Oxygen toxicity occurs when the lungs take in a higher than normal O 2 partial pressure, which can occur in deep scuba diving. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Good Advice Dave Albright::::

There are so many dive shops offering abbreviated Scuba Courses. Don't Do IT. Think about it for just a second.... Does it make sense to try to cram a little knowledge in a short time just so you can get certified to take part in a potentially dangerous sport? The cost is almost the same for a full length course and look at what you get. The attention of a qualified Scuba Instructor for days instead of a few hours. Time in the pool to practice what you are taught and to become proficient in the skills.


This is going to sound funny but time to forget how to do the skill and then reacquire the skill knowledge. Anyone, including a monkey can mimic a skill a few minutes after it is taught. If you have some time in between learning and demonstrating, you will find you actually retain it better.

You will not only have a book to read and take quizzes, you will also have a CD to review the material and most importantly you can ask the instructor questions about anything that is fuzzy. Also, others will ask questions that only make your learning better.

Also, ask yourself 'do you really feel qualified to dive in the ocean with kelp, waves, surf & critters if you only do lake dives in a local lake to become certified? I have heard of divers who become so-called advanced divers who never have been diving anywhere but a local lake. That is not an advanced diver and you have been done a disservice being called one. It does a couple of things

1. Gives you a false confidence.
2. Gives others a false sense of your skills
3. Puts you in danger because you can be exposed to diving above your skill levels.

I have been teaching Scuba Classes since 1984 and they have never been quickie courses but rather the 4 week variety (twice a week sessions) with a full complement of dives at the ocean. The divers I have taught are regularly recognized by dive masters both in Northern & Southern California Dive Boats as superior divers, having skills higher that the 'Advanced Divers' that have only had quickie courses. Also, dive masters at resorts in warm diving areas have often commented on the skill level of my former students. This is not because I am some wonderful instructor, but because the students assemble and dis-assemble gear several times, practice skills until they become second nature and have time to make mistakes and get them corrected in the pool before becoming certified!

It takes time and some effort to become proficient in Scuba. It is not safe to jump in 'over your head' to try and do skills you haven't been properly trained for. Remember, you are only qualified to dive in areas and skill levels similar to your training.

Don't put yourself in life-threatening situations by not being properly trained - take only full length and featured Scuba Classes.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6864012

Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagear.com