Scuba Diving Is A Wonderful Sport: Just Eliminate The Risks

Adventure channels and tourism channels show glorious breathtaking visuals of blue skies and crystal clear water and people scuba diving among the fishes. The question that arises is whether we are safe, amongst a vast variety of underwater life, some of which can be extremely dangerous and in territory that is alien to humans, we are not born to swim and we cannot breathe underwater, can we?

The simple answer is yes and no. It is similar to mountaineering. When Edmund Hillary was asked whether mountaineering was dangerous he said, not if you respect the mountain. Scuba diving is also not dangerous if you respect it. It is not dangerous as long as you follow security guidelines, have the right equipment, know your limitations and stay within those constraints.

A little risk is involved, the operative word being 'little.' According to the DAN Diving Fatalities Workshop Report, fatalities are extremely rare and in their 2010 survey they found that fatalities happened once in every 211,864 dives. How risky is that? More drivers die in road accidents and chances of you dying in a long distance race are higher than in scuba dying - so the likelihood of your dying in scuba diving is rather remote.

As with any extreme sport, an element of risk is always there. Divers are totally dependent on their equipment to breathe. Their journey back to the surface depends on their skills, using gear rightly and emergency training. Approach the sport with the right spirit and character. Grow into it with practice and training. Don't take undue risks. The larger fish down there may seem docile, but they are not dogs that you can pat and hug so maintain a reverential distance.

Surveys have revealed that most of the fatalities that have occurred in the sport were caused by human errors and were completely avoidable. The three prime causes were a pre-existent disease in the diver, straying beyond one's capability and descending rapidly.

People who died owing to a pre-existent disease did not declare their medical conditions in the scuba diving medical questionnaire. Had they done so they would not have been allowed in the waters. Descending rapidly makes for poor buoyancy control and makes the diver panic and make mistakes. Finally you are so pumped up and in over-confidence you stray beyond your limits and cannot alert your partners when an emergency occurs - false bravado often ends in disaster, not only in scuba diving, but in all walks of life.

To ensure that your scuba diving is a great fun-filled experience, just make certain that you plan your dive before you step into the water. Never dive deeper than your first dive. Check your dive gauges continuously and stay within the prescribed ascent and descent rates.

Carry a 3-minute safety stop halfway in the dive, to see if everything is under control and don't continuously ascend and descend when you are under the water. And never exceed the limits of your training and skills.

What if you were to suddenly encounter a shark? Don't panic, be calm and remain close to your dive buddy. Sighting one is rare and an awe inspiring sight, so enjoy it. However, maintain a respectful distance and don't swim away rapidly. You cannot out-swim it but after its curiosity is satisfied it will swim away. This is what happens almost every time - think of the great time you will have regaling your friends and family about your great shark encounter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_S_Sims

Kathy Dowsett
www.kirkscubagear.com

Scuba Diving::::Is It An Extreme Sport?

How extreme do you want your sport to be?

What is your comfort level with risk?

When it comes to scuba diving, these are questions you will have to ask yourself if you wish to advance to some of the more extreme elements of the sport.

That is one of the strengths of scuba. It’s versatile. You can choose the level at which you wish to participate.

“Scuba is not extreme, but it lends itself to extremes,” says Catherine Donker, a dive master from St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. “It is user friendly. You can take a casual approach if you are not looking for a lot of physical challenge or excitement. You can choose dives according to your level or interest. You can do 15-to-20 foot dives on top of a reef or if you’re getting into the extremes, a wreck such as the Andrea Doria.”

While approaching the coast off Nantucket, Massachusetts, the Andrea Doria and the eastbound freighter MS Stockholm collided. The Andrea Doria sank on July 26, 1956, resulting in 46 deaths. Diving to its wreck is difficult and dangerous and it involves depths beyond 200 feet. It is only for highly qualified technical-certified divers, whose certifications include training in the use of mixed gases.

For scuba divers who want to push the limits in other ways, there is cavern and cave diving.

PADI describes the cavern zone as the area near the entrance of a cave where natural light is always visible. Cavern divers always keep the entrance in sight and use a guideline to help them find their way back in case they lose sight of the entrance. However, cave divers will go much farther into the cave, sometimes thousands of yards.

The majority of scuba enthusiasts will probably never want to advance to cave diving. They are happy with what they set out to do – explore the underwater world of coral reefs and occasionally dive to a shipwreck that is accessible enough for the dive certification they hold.

There is no shortage of sites for either experience. Florida and the Florida Keys are popular destinations for people living on or near the U.S. Eastern seaboard.

“The Keys has both wrecks and reefs covered,” says Catherine. “There are hundreds of wrecks in Florida.”

Dive sites include the USS Oriskany, a former aircraft carrier that was sunk off Pensacola, and the USS Spiegel Grove, a former U.S. Navy dock loading ship that rests on the bottom offshore from Key Largo. Both of these dives can be done with an Advanced Open Water certification.

Viewing reefs and shipwrecks is more in line with what most divers envisioned when they began scuba lessons.

“I would say the most common reason people enrol in lessons is a reference from a friend. They’ve heard exciting stories of the incredible colours of the reefs and amazing aquatic life or maybe a compelling historical wreck,” says Catherine. “If you can get them to watch your video creations, people see what they’ve only seen before on National Geographic and they know that it really is accessible to anyone. They know you are not Jacques Cousteau, just a regular person.”

Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagear.com