Scuba diving is a truly amazing and empowering experience that involves exploring the underwater world from the safety of an air-tight diving suit. For many people, it’s an activity that brings you closer to nature and opens your eyes to a whole new world.
However, before you can take the plunge and explore sunken ships, tropical reefs or freshwater lakes, you need to complete a significant amount of training and preparation. After all, scuba diving isn’t as simple as jumping into a pool or a lake and hoping for the best. It’s an activity that requires training, dedication, and preparation.
Even though scuba diving might seem like something only experienced divers can do, with the right amount of research and practice, anyone can have a great scuba diving experience.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of how need to prepare for your first dive.
Familiarize Yourself With the Risks and Dangers
Before you start preparing for your first scuba dive, you need to understand what the risks and dangers are, so you can minimize them as much as possible. Some of the risks you face when scuba diving include:
Asphyxiation
When you’re scuba diving, you’re breathing through an open-circuit or closed-circuit breathing apparatus. This allows you to breathe normally underwater, but if your breathing apparatus gets flooded, you won’t be able to breathe, and could run the risk of drowning.
Decompression Sickness
Even though you’re breathing underwater, your body is still under a ton of pressure which means that your body is being exposed to decompression sickness. If you don’t ascend properly, you could experience symptoms such as joint pain, severe headaches, and paralysis.
Know Your Gear
When you’re scuba diving, your breathing apparatus is responsible for supplying you with oxygen. There are two main types of oxygen delivery systems that divers use: open-circuit and closed-circuit.
Open-Circuit Scuba Diving
This type of respiratory system uses a demand valve, which releases the oxygen from the tank when you breathe in. Open-circuit scuba systems are often used for commercial diving, scientific diving, and underwater welding.
Closed-Circuit Scuba Diving
Closed-circuit scuba diving is the most common type of scuba diving, and is used by recreational divers. The system uses a regulator, which controls the supply of oxygen, and a breathing bag. The breathing bag is filled with oxygen-rich water from the scuba tank, and then you breathe the oxygen out of the bag.
Confirm Your Fitness Level
When you’re preparing for your first scuba dive, it’s important to confirm that your fitness level is good enough to handle the activity. Not only will this make the whole process more enjoyable but it will also ensure that you’re safe and comfortable during your dive. However, it will also.
When you’re scuba diving, your heart is working harder than it does when you’re above water, so you need to make sure it’s in good enough shape to withstand the pressure. Make sure that your lung capacity is also good enough to allow you to hold your breath for long periods of time.
Find a Good Dive Shop
When you’re ready to go scuba diving, it’s important to find a reputable dive shop to help you get ready for the experience. Dive shops offer a wide range of services, such as equipment rentals and sales, scuba diving lessons, and dive tours.
Once you’ve found a few dive shops near you, you need to do some research and check out their credentials and reviews. Make sure they offer the services you need and are equipped to handle divers of all skill levels.
The Final Word
Scuba diving is a sport that requires you to be able to think on your feet and remain calm in tense situations. It’s not something you can just pick up one day and expect to be good at it.
As such, it takes practice, planning, and a lot of preparation to become a skilled scuba diver.
The tips listed above should provide you with a good place to start your underwater world journey.
