Scuba Diving Newbie

Is It Still Safe to Scuba Dive?

2006-09-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

I was so stunned to hear about Steve Irwin's death and even more stunned when I heard how he died.

Since the news of Steve Irwin's death, there's been much talk about how dangerous scuba diving is.

The truth is, for those who don't love scuba diving, the deep seas have always seemed like a dangerous place, regardless of whether stingrays are present or not. I mean, there are always still sharks, jellyfish, sea urchins etc around.

But for those of us who love scuba diving, we have always known that there can be circumstances where we meet dangerous moments during diving - as in all other forms of sport or leisure. Who is to say that some mishap cannot happen to us even as we step out of our house and even within our homes?!

I think for most scuba divers, we do wonder at the "close shaves" we had in our encounters with stingrays, after hearing about Steve Irwin's death. I have encountered countless face-to-face situations with stingrays big and small, have dived behind them, in front of them and floating on top of them. They have always swum away from me and not once have they ever appeared hostile.

I can only guess that the stingray which got Steve Irwin must have perceived danger to strike out like that. After all, a short clip we see on tv usually take lots of time and repeated takes behind the scenes that we do not see. How long the filming was going on before the stingray struck is anyone's guess.

Having said that, I must say that I was really surprised that this has happened to Steve Irwin. I have often told my husband that this man must have a special way with animals for them to allow him to touch and even hold them. It's as if the animals could sense his love and respect for them.

For those of us who love animals, we know how difficult it is to get close to a wild animal. Even getting close to feed a stray cat is not always easy. They need to trust you before you can even get near them.

It is truly our sad loss of this great unique animal lover who brought the beauty of all these wild creatures into our homes. Steve Irwin made us sit up and want to learn about them. That was his unique style and gift and I will miss him.

Will I still be scuba diving though? Definitely. The waters are not any more dangerous or more safe after this incident. Nothing has changed actually. Life generally, will have mishaps happening so it would be crazy to live life in fear of situations which have equal chance of happening (or not happening) to us in our lifetime, whether in water, in the air or on land.

Newly "Open Water Certified"? The #1 Most Important Thing You Must Know Before Your 1st Dive

2006-09-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

Ok, so you've done your theory, cleared your pool sessions and passed the Open Water tests. Now you can't wait to book your first scuba diving trip and join all the cool-looking dudes and gals in the waters. It's all very exciting!

Now before you do that, the #1 thing you must know in order to have a life-time enjoyable scuba diving experience is this ...

"BE RESPONSIBLE! You, and you alone, are responsible for your own actions, safety and scuba diving experiences."

During your scuba diving course, you were probably "nannied" by your dive instructor, who was always on the lookout for your actions and safety. On your first scuba diving trip after certification, your dive instructor is no longer there. Expect to be responsible for every part of the scuba diving trip yourself.

When you first arrive at the dive resort, you will be asked to complete an indemnity form. The dive resort manager will ask you questions about your scuba diving experience. It is your responsibility to tell the truth that you are a newbie scuba diver (although this will probably become evident during the check-out dive!). This will enable the dive resort staff to keep a lookout for you.

If the dive master restricts you from certain dive spots after assessing your proficiency during the check-out dive, accept it. Console yourself you can cover them later when you have gained some experience!

While gearing up, it's your responsibility to check that your BC, gauges and air level are in proper working condition. It's not the responsibility of the dive master and your assigned buddy. Be humble enough to ask the dive resort staff or another seasoned diver for a final check if necessary.

Be prepared to start suiting up with your gear about 30 minutes earlier than the appointed set-off dive time. Don't saunter there just a few minutes before. Seasoned scuba divers may take just 5 minutes to suit-up and check their gear. For a newbie in scuba diving, you will definitely need more time. Doing it in a rush at the last minute will only add to your newbie fears before the dive. So be there early. Suit-up and check your gear leisurely. It will be a good start to the dive.

While scuba diving, be responsible by keeping with the group. It is easy to be distracted and absorbed as everything is a new wondrous experience. Many new divers have got into trouble by becoming separate from the buddy and group. Watch out for currents which may only take seconds before you realise you are no longer with the group, especially in moderate visibility.

Do remember to keep track of your air level. When scuba diving, time loses dimension and it may pass faster than you think. Always keep to the safety air levels (marked red/pink on your gauge), leaving enough air for doing an appropriate-duration safety stop.

Ensure that you are feeling 100% OK before a dive. If you feel weak or nauseous, do not dive! Falling ill or losing consciousness during a dive will not only spoil your own dive experience but leave a negative mark on others' in the group. Do not feel pressured to do 4 to 5 dives a day just because everyone else in the group is enthusiastic about that. Know and listen to your body. Relax and take time off if need be.

If you take responsibility for your own scuba diving experience, you will improve not just your own diving skills in time, but can be sure of enjoying scuba diving for a long time to come.

Too Old To Learn Scuba Diving?

2006-09-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

We are always told we should learn sports when we are young, when our bodies are more resilient to the bruises and bumps which can be afflicted on us when we learn a new sport. This is true to a certain extent.

Take for example, my experience learning wind surfing. I learnt the sport when I was 26. If I were to learn this sport now at age 42, chances are I would probably give it up after 1 or 2 tries. Learning wind surfing was like battling with all the forces at the same time - trying to balance on choppy waves on a slippery wet board, at the same time maneuvering a sail which weighs more than you in the correct direction that you want to go.

But there is a huge difference with scuba diving. It's not a strenous sport. YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN SCUBA DIVING. I can never say this enough. I learnt scuba diving when I was 38. Now I'm not saying that 38 is a ripe old age but still, the body does feel somewhat less strong and less resilient. Added to that, as we get older, we also seem to have more fears. Perhaps we feel we have more to lose if something should happen to us.

I say middle age and beyond should never be a factor in learning scuba diving BUT you do need to have these:

- an intense love for the sea
- a willingness to learn from someone younger than you
- relatively good health

and last but very important ... time and money.

An Intense Love for the Sea
To enjoy a scuba diving trip, you will have to love the sea and I mean really really love it with all its wonderful creatures large and small. You will know what I mean on your first ever scuba diving trip after you have cleared your Open Water tests.

It is unlikely that your scuba diving buddies on your first dive trip will be the same classmates in your scuba diving course. Because of time and money constraints, you will find that you may be the only one keen enough to join a scuba diving trip soon after your certification.

More often than not, your dive buddies will be a dive-crazy bunch who will do at least 4 dives a day plus another at night. This means that on a scuba diving trip, most times you will not do anything but dive, talk about the sea creatures and encounters of each dive, before suiting up for the next dive. For someone who only wants to do one dive a day and then go shopping, he/she may be disappointed as many great scuba diving spots have few of these shopping and entertainment facilities.

In case you are already getting stressed just thinking about this, don't be. Every scuba diving newbie goes through this. Just have an attitude of a newbie, be humble and you will find that the seasoned divers are more than willing to share tips and may even help you to gear up before a dive.

A Willingness to Learn from Someone Younger than You
Your scuba diving instructor is likely to be someone much younger than you. Some dive instructors have an attitude and are cocky so you may have to live with it for at least 3 weekends before you become certified - 1st weekend for classroom and theory, 2nd weekend for pool sessions and a 3rd weekend for the actual open water tests. Put aside your ego and just bear with it, it'll be worth it in the end.

Having said that, that's not to say that there are no good and kind scuba diving instructors around. I was fortunate to receive dive instruction from PC, a very kind and patient man, without whom my dive learning experience would not be as smooth and enjoyable.

Relatively Good Health
It's not necessary to be in peak fitness before you can take up scuba diving (many scuba divers are overweight, believe it or not?!). However, you would need some strength to be able to walk with full scuba diving gear strapped on you. Once you enter the waters with all your gear, you are almost weightless. But it's the few steps you have to make to get into the boat or to cross the beach into the water that may be a challenge for a person who is not used to carrying heavy loads on them.

Having said that, some scuba diving resorts have fantastic dive staff who can help to overcome this by carrying the tanks and gear to the boat for you to suit up inside the boat. And of course if you are on a live-a-board (live, eat, dive, sleep, on board a boat throughout the dive trip), then this may not be relevant.

Time and Money
This is probably the 2 most deciding factors of whether someone continues to enjoy scuba diving after passing the Open Water tests. Getting certified through a scuba diving course is very fast, just 3 weekends basically. And not too expensive, probably about $300 to $400, including an out-of-the country dive trip for the open water tests. But unless you live near a scuba diving area, you are most likely going to have to travel a distance or even out of the country to do a good dive.

Now just think how much each scuba diving trip is going to cost you and multiply that by how many times you would love to do scuba diving in a year. When you do the sums, it can be staggering. So you cut down the number of dives you want to do in a year, and then calculate and cut down some more.

In our scuba diving class, my husband and I were the only ones who continued to dive after the class was over. Even then, we did not manage to do the number of dives we would really have loved to do in a year. That's how it finally ends up that we are doing an average of 1 dive a year. This more or less ensures that we will always be diving as a "scuba diving newbie" (hence the blog's name). A scuba diver gets "rusty" when the interval is too long between each dive trip. Ideally, we should dive at least once each quarter.

I have not even gone on to calculate the other "investments" to personalise your gear such as your own BC (buoyancy control), your own octopus (breathing appartus) and your wet suit.

Having said all this, I still believe it's never too old to learn and enjoy scuba diving. Even with our limited dives since we were certified and diving as scuba diving newbies, we enjoy each and every one of our dive trips. Find the right people to dive with, find a fantastic dive spot that suits your preferences (whether macro to check out small sea creatures, or to see bigger fish) and nearby spa facilities to sooth your body after a dive - it's a wonderful combination that will almost always ensure a great scuba diving experience!

A scuba diving newbie can still enjoy happy diving!