Maybe you enjoy watching nature films that feature beautiful underwater scenery, or perhaps someone close to you is encouraging you to take up scuba diving. Whatever your reason for wanting to become a scuba diver, you’ll almost certainly enjoy floating weightlessly in the water just like an astronaut in space, searching for interesting species like a wildlife biologist, and investigating shipwrecks like an underwater archaeologist. Scuba diving is more accessible than ever; here are seven steps to making your dreams of diving a reality.
Step One: Determine if You Meet the Physical Requirements for Scuba Diving
While nearly anyone can become a diver, not everyone is fit for diving. In some cases, a medical issue such as heart disease might hold you back from becoming a diver, and in other cases, you might have another issue such as the inability to swim. The good news is that as long as you are in reasonably good health and are comfortable with being in the water, you can probably become a scuba diver. Be sure that you read your local scuba shop’s dive medical questionnaire before you enroll in a scuba diving course. If you have any questions, ask someone to speak with you about whether you are a suitable candidate for scuba diving.
Step Two: Clear up any Roadblocks
If you don’t meet the requirements for diving but your issues are ones that can be solved, work to eliminate these roadblocks. It could be that you’re not quite able to swim far enough or tread water; you can easily improve these skills by practicing at a local pool. If you are significantly overweight, losing at least a portion of the excess pounds can help to qualify you to become a diver, and losing all of the weight that’s burdening your body will benefit you in a number of ways. If you cannot dive because of health issues that you can’t eliminate, consider learning to snorkel. There are many fantastic places to snorkel, and this hobby is a simple one that’s a lot of fun to learn.
Step Three: Pick a Dive Course
Depending upon where you live, you may have the opportunity to choose between a variety of different scuba certification options. Some courses allow for classroom work to be done online, while others are completely offline. Some take place on weekends only for an extended period, while others are more intensive and can get you certified in time for an upcoming vacation on which you hope to enjoy scuba diving. Try to become a certified diver well in advance of a trip, so that you can log more open water dives between your certification and your travel dates. This will enhance your ability to choose from a variety of dive sites, and it will also ensure that you spend the majority of your bottom time actually enjoying the view instead of trying to remember the skills you just learned.
Step Four: Rent or Buy Dive Gear
Scuba diving is one of those sports that cannot be done without the right equipment. As you’ll soon learn in your diving courses, your scuba gear is basically an underwater life support system. Don’t skimp on it! Most dive courses include some rental gear in the price structure for the class; this prevents you from needing to purchase a full set of scuba gear before you are certified. In fact, there are many who never choose to buy all their own gear, electing to rent the majority of it and purchase only highly personal items such as masks, fins, a wetsuit, a regulator, and a dive computer. Of course, there are many advantages to owning all of your own dive equipment, including a buoyancy compensator; when the gear is yours, you can be sure that it fits right and functions properly.
Step Five: Learn the Essentials of Dive Theory
When you dive, you don’t simply see new things, you also experience a number of physical sensations related to the rigors of entering the underwater world. For this reason, it’s vital that you learn dive theory. The basics will be taught to you in your open water course, where you will learn not just how diving will affect your body, but how it might affect your mind and your dive gear.
Step Six: Practice Skills with Your Instructor and Classmates
Once you have obtained basic scuba gear and reviewed the basics of dive theory, you will be able to enter a swimming pool wearing scuba gear, where you will take your first few magical breaths underwater. You won’t quite be ready to explore the ocean, though. Safe diving requires a series of basic skills that include the ability to use your regulator efficiently, clear water from it if necessary, clear water from your mask, learn some hand skills for communicating with other divers, descend and ascend, and more. Don’t worry – while these skills were tough to acquire in the past, today’s dive instructors make learning fun and easy. Once you’ve mastered the basics in the pool, you will be able to take some dives in open water. The number of dives you will need to take successfully in order to become a certified scuba diver vary from one organization to the next; the goal is to ensure that you learn all you need to know to be completely self-sufficient underwater before being certified.
Step Seven: Ask Questions and Keep on Learning
Once you’re certified, you can start enjoying scuba diving anytime you like. The more you dive and the more you learn, the more you are likely to enjoy the sport. There are a number of additional classes you can take once you’ve achieved basic certification including cave diver, wreck diver, and rescue diver. There are certain requirements which must be met in order to take advanced classes, but these requirements are in place to be sure that you are ready to take on new challenges.
Scuba diving is a fun sport that can be relaxing and exciting all at once. When you’re a diver, you get to see things most people never will have the opportunity to witness, and you’ll discover opportunities for adventure in unexpected places. By following these seven simple steps, you can become a diver and enjoy a whole new dimension.
Comments
Helpful tips for beginning divers