SCUBA Diving
Note: this page is under construction
MY RECENT DIVES
I've been on a few dives on the third lung with dad while he was cleaning the bottom of the boat but nothing really great until we got to 'Los Roques' a small group of islands off the coast of Venezuela when Mom, Dad and I went for an amazing dive. Lots of coral and fish, it was fun the best dive I'd been on in a while. That was great but we really got going in Bonaire one of the diving capitals of the world!! The first dive I went on was with Dad and we got to rent tanks for it, just the once though, it was amazing Bonaire has earned it's title well.
I didn't get to go on quite as many dives as I would have liked because we had to come back north to beat the Christmas winds. But I got to go on three really, really great dives; Mom and I took turns staying on the boat with Marcie and Jillian, except once when they were playing with friends and all three of us got to go. Bonaire was truly amazing all the other reefs we've snorkeled are miniscule in comparison. Well more about my dives when I do some more.
Certification Pictures
Scuba Diving is a great experience, but there are things you have to know. I just got certified, so I'm no expert, but I can tell you the basic stuff.
TO GET CERTIFIED:
To get certified the first thing you need to do is read a textbook. It tells you what to expect, what you'll need to do, what all the equipment does, the things that can happen, and how to scuba dive. It generally covers all the basics. After you've read the book, you can take the three day course that will teach you how to scuba dive.
On the first day, you watch videos explaining the chapters in the textbook, and do little quizzes. On the second day, you first do a swimming test (a ten-minute float, and some laps), then you assemble and take apart the gear a few times. Next you learn to check that everything's working. Then you do some pool work, and for the first time, you breathe under water. In the water, you do some skills, not even moving. Here's a list of some of the skills: buoyancy control, mask flood and clear, mask remove and replace, regulator remove and replace, snorkel and regulator exchange, blowing bubbles with regulator out of your mouth (you never hold your breath!). You need to complete all these skills before you can swim around.
But hold on, you're not free yet! You still need to learn skills that involve movement. My favorite is the emergency swimming ascent, where you have to exhale the whole way up. I like it...it's fun, and because you're going up, you're lungs expand, so you don't run out of air! Here's some more skills: tired diver tow, remove and replace gear (while under water), remove mask/swim without it/replace mask, fin pivot, and finding your neutral buoyancy and resting there. I know you're curious about buoyancy, so more about that soon! All of these skills are fun, but you need to pay attention. Scuba diving is a great activity, but you also have to take it seriously; there are dangers! Once you've mastered all these skills successfully, you get to play around for awhile. Then you're done with your pool work. Soon you'll be on your first open water dive!
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
Breathing air from a tank is like breathing dry, cold air, but you get used to it. The reason for it being dry is that if you put moist air in a tank, it will rust. Out of the water a tank weighs a lot, because of all of compressed air, but under the water, the tank and gears weigh almost nothing. Breathing under water is really fun. It's also a little weird at first. If you want to be an astronaut, scuba diving is good practice. Under water is the closest you'll get to feeling like being in space without going there.
SCIENCE STUFF
If an object displaces less water than its own weight, it will sink. If an object displaces more water than its own weight, it will float. If an object displaces the same amount of water as its own weight, it will neither sink or float, it will just sit there half-way to the bottom, and half-way to the surface. Floating also can be called positive buoyancy, and sinking also can be called negative buoyancy. Sitting half-way between can be called neutral buoyancy.
MY INTERPRETATION
Scuba diving is a very exciting experience! A scuba diving course can be really fun if you listen to your instructor. If you fool around while scuba diving, I'm pretty certain you won't like the outcome!
There are some exercises I like more than others, and you probably will, too. There are going to be things you don't think are fun, but when you finish the course you'll see it was worth it. I can barely begin to describe the wonders of everything you see; millions of fish, and so many different kinds, and lots of coral. You can visit shipwrecks, and if you do a special course, you can dive in caves. If you've seen scuba divers on TV, it's NOTHING compared to actually being there!