|
|
| Non-Divers
Now, I've put this little
section in for all the non-divers who come across this page. Scuba diving,
has been getting increasingly more popular, and the amount of locations
where you can learn has greatly increased. You may have heard of it or
may have even have found this web page by searching for information on
scuba diving. What I will attempt to do, is give you a general idea of
what courses are available to you when starting diving, the time span
involved and the requirements from you. There are quite a few diving organizations,
that have recognized training courses, with set objectives and performance
requirements. But I won't be discussing which is the best organization!
I would only get abusive mail from the supporters of the the different
training organizations. The only thing I would say is that when you learn,
make sure that the equipment is in good condition. You may think how will
I tell as I don't yet know how it works. Well old tatty looking equipment
is old tatty equipment. Also, try to find a dive instructor that is positive
and looks forward to diving. It will rub off on you. So here's what's
on offer. Just trying scuba If you just want to give scuba a try and are not sure if you want to sign up for course, you can just give it a try out in shallow water. This a brief introduction into breathing underwater with scuba, and usually involves a brief explanation by instructor about the equipment and the do's and don'ts. You will not be expected to learn any skills (more about this later), you can sit and listen to the noise of your bubbles or may be taken for a little swim around. This experience is normally limited to shallow depth, such as a swimming pool or an area of open water where the maximum depth (2-4M) can be easily controlled (i.e. a shallow bay that is almost as calm as a swimming pool). Usually numbers on this are limited so that the instructor has a lot of control over you inexperienced divers. Each diving organization has a different name for this (Try scuba, Discover scuba, Experience scuba), so where ever you go make sure that you make your intentions clear. Going for a dive
This experience does not leave you 'qualified' to dive. You can dive again, within a limited time, without repeating the skills again, but you must be with a Instructor or Divemaster/Diveleader. After this specified time period you must repeat the skills again, even if you have been diving recently. This experience is very popular amongst people on holiday, who want to try diving but don't want to spend the time to get 'certified' as a diver. Now this is possible to do anywhere in the world. Most people will probably think that this is only possible in the tropics, with nice warm clear water, but dive shops all over the world will offer this course. You can also see if the price of this course can be taken off the price of getting certified, as the skills you complete now are also part of the certification course (in one way you have already started getting certified as a diver). The different organizations have different names for this again, such as: Discover scuba diving, Try dive, etc. Getting certified When we talk about getting 'certified', we are talking about completing a whole course that will give you a life time certification, allowing you to dive at anytime, without necessarily having to demonstrate any skills. If you are bitten by diving, then this is the point where you would like to get to. To have the ability to go 'just for a dive'. Recently the training organizations, have introduced some new levels of certification. Whereas before it normally took pool training, academic training and 4-5 dives to gain certification, now a limited certification has been introduced that is approximately half of this course. Limited certification is exactly as it sounds, there are limits to what you can do with this certification. The limits normally involve your maximum depth and the fact that you must still be with an Instructor or Divemaster/Diveleader. For the limited certification, you have to complete some skills sessions in a swimming pool or a body of water that is like a swimming pool (often referred to as confined water). Here you add on the the initial skills you have already learnt when you just tried scuba. Additional skills such as: removing you mask for adjustments and being comfortable underwater without a mask (should you lose it), removing cramp on yourself and someone else, dealing with equipment malfunctions, the correct swimming techniques, different ways of entering the water with your equipment on, dealing with being out of air and learning how to control your bouncy. Bouncy simply refers to were you are in the water....you can sink to the bottom, float to the top or stay exactly where you want to stay, it's all about control. But you will not complete all the skills you learn when you become fully certified (more about this later). The academic sessions cover the physics behind diving (don't worry it's not difficult), how the equipment works, how to plan dives and also looks at conditions you can face on dives in open water (ocean's, lake's), such as currents and bad visibility. The dives involve actually completing some of the skills you have already learned in deeper water and having fun! (Again the name for this course will vary from different organizations: Scuba diver, Passport diver, etc.) To get the full certification (Open water, Club diver, etc.), you will need to complete just a few more skills, a little bit more academic knowledge and another couple of dives. You may ask whey not get fully qualified to start off with. Well time and money. This limited certification has been brought in to allow people to get certified quickly. People on holiday don't want to spend there time studying, and maybe the full course was not a cost they had planned. It's just convenient.... and getting really popular. You can upgrade you limited certification to a full certification just by completing the additional training required. The thing is, that the few more additional skills and academic knowledge you learn are the critical to let you dive with just a certified friend (a buddy) rather than an Instructor or Divemaster/Diveleader. You will learn how to deal with being out of air, when you've lost your buddy. How to plan dives so you don't get the decompression sickness (the bends). This is one of the dangers of diving, but with the correct training is easily avoided. To avoid this you will learn how to use dive tables, that tell you maximum depths and times. On the extra dives, you will also go a little deeper and practice more skills underwater. These extra skills leave you able to plan and conduct dives with just a buddy..... you are let loose shall we say. Your learning doesn't and shouldn't stop there, after this course you can complete additional courses to specialize in certain types of diving (such as deep, night, wreck) and gain more experience and knowledge. But these are all optional. So you can climb the ladder in small steps or you can just jump into the deep end. Requirements from you Now almost any one in good health can learn to dive. Before you even get in the equipment, you will be asked some questions on your health, as there are some conditions which are potentially harmful if you go diving. Problems with you lungs or ears. Epilepsy. You can check out if you are fit to dive, by having a dive medical. These are specifically to check out problem areas in diving. Age also plays a part, kids as young as 12 can become certified. They complete the same course, as adults but get a 'Junior' certification. This requires that they dive with an adult as there buddy. This is upgraded to the normal full certification when they reach 15-16. How long will it take? You can complete the full certification in four days. But that is full whole days you need to put aside. In tropics most people do it this way, as they are usually are on holiday and have planned it. Can be quite intensive, but of course you ready to dive in just four days. You can start the course where you live and then complete it somewhere else. This is also popular for holiday makers. They can complete the confined and academic sessions at home, get a referral, and then do the dives somewhere else (maybe somewhere with warm, clear water). The other option, if you don't have the time, is to complete a small chunk each week (maybe a pool session), and finish the dives say over a weekend. This may mean the course takes a while, maybe weeks. You can get certified over any time frame you wish.
|
||
|
|
|
|
