How Do I Get Started SCUBA Diving?
SCUBA Diving is a magnificent opportunity to experience the underwater world that has been seen by less than 1% of the world's population.
So many questions:
Is diving for me?
Only you can tell if diving is for you. If you are reasonably fit, reasonably well, and reasonably adventurous, diving may be for you. Before you spend the time and money to get trained and certified, your local Sea Ventures Dive shop offers a one night opportunity to strap on a tank and swim on SCUBA underwater. Some call this Discover Diving others call it Try SCUBA. It generally costs around $25 and is the best $25 you will ever spend. You get about 3 hours of instructor time (valued at $150), SCUBA equipment rental from head to toe (valued at $60), pool access (valued at $50) for a grand total expenditure of $25. After one night in the pool, you will know whether this is the beginning of a lifelong obsession, or a great activity, but one that is just not for you.
The greatest SCUBA misconceptions are: 1) I need to be a great swimmer; 2) I need to be tremendously fit; 3) I must be a male in pristine medical condition; 4) I am too old to learn SCUBA.
Swimming: You do not need to be a great swimmer, but you do need to know how to swim and be able to swim back to the boat at the end of a dive. Generally, training agencies require that you demonstrate the ability to swim about 200 yards (no time limit, any swimming style).
Fitness: You do not need to be in tremendous shape. SCUBA has been called a lazy mans sport. We teach ways to expend the minimum amount of effort. In the case of an elevated current, or a long surface swim, you need to be able to exert a fair amount of energy in a short time.
Medical Condition: Most people, both male and female, are well suited to diving. Diving can be strenuous and can aggravate pre-existing conditions. You will be asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning your medical condition. If you have a medical situation or condition that may be an issue, you may be asked to get the approval of a physician.
Age: Generally you must be at least 10 years old. At the Sea Ventures Shop, our oldest SCUBA diving candidate was 82 years young. Many folks in their 40s, 50s, and 60s find great enjoyment in learning to dive.
Where can I learn to dive?
Learning to dive on SCUBA is best done with the help of a knowledgeable, experienced, and patient instructor. Instructors, such as these, are available through your local Sea Ventures Dive shop.The mission of your Sea Ventures Dive Shop is to make you a safe and comfortable diver and issue a card that will allow you to dive around the world. Sea Ventures Dive shop provides SCUBA instruction for the Students of the Northern Virginia Community College, George Mason University, and Fairfax County. The shop is associated with Scuba Schools International (SSI). SSI is an international agency that is recognized all around the world.
How much equipment do I need?
Diving is an equipment intensive sport. Utimately, you should buy a complete set of SCUBA equipment. For your training and certification, you will be expected to own certain gear. The gear that you do buy must be SCUBA Quality. By that, I mean, that you do not want to depend on a discount store face mask 50 feet under water. The equipment that you would be expected to own for your initial training and certification includes: Mask, Snorkel, Weight belt, Weights, Fins, Booties, and a Mouthpiece. The other gear, such as, tanks, regulators, and buoyancy compensator will be provided by your shop for your class. Upon certification, you will become a more safe and comfortable diver with the purchase of your own regulators and buoyancy compensator. With your own gear, you will always know when the gear was serviced, how and by whom, it was used. Not so much with rental gear.
Will I see a shark?
Only if you are lucky. Sharks are more beautiful than they are dangerous. Let me get on my soap box for a moment. Since we humans kill up to 100 million sharks a year and since the number of sharks in the mid-Atlantic has plummeted to 10% of their levels at the beginning of the 20th century, it is fairly rare to see a shark. For the most part, if you want to see a shark, you have to go where sharks are. If you go to Florida, you may see a lonely Nurse shark. If you go to the Outer Banks, of North Carolina, you may see Sand Tiger Sharks. If you travel to Australia, you may see Great White sharks. Can I say that you would never be harmed by a shark? Of course not. Any sport involves risk. Personally, I feel safer 100 feet down diving with sharks than when swimming at the beach. At 100 feet down, the shark can see that I am not in his/her normal food chain. At the beach, with the waves churning up the water and reducing the visibility, it is harder for sharks to determine whether that shadow on the surface is a seal, a turtle, or a swimmer.
Can my family and I do this together?
Absolutely. My son and daughter are both divers. My wife snorkels. Our family has been on vacations to exotic destinations and dived together. It was a great family bonding experience. Generally, the minimum age for a child to be certified to dive is age 10.
Many diving enthusiasts started as youngsters on the local beach with a pair of fins, a mask and a snorkel, all from the local discount store. The fins fell off, the mask leaked and half of the ocean was inhaled through the snorkel... but, they discovered the magic of the underwater world. Snorkeling is still the best way to introduce children to diving. Sea Ventures offers Snorkeling lessons for young and old. With today's snorkeling gear, your kids can have a better experience the first time out.
Where can I go to dive?
There are diving destinations all over the world. From the warm waters of the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean to the chilly diving in Antarctica, Nova Scotia, Scotland, and Norway you can find fantastic places to dive. When you view the pretty fish and coral of the Caribbean or the Florida Keys the historical wrecks of North Carolina or Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, you will be astounded.
Is there local diving? Most places have local diving. Of course, we have our world famous Millbrook Quarry in Haymarket Virginia. The quarry is a great training facility. In the Washington D.C. Metro Area, we consider the Mid-Atlantic ocean front local. We dive in the ocean in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. We even dive in the Potomac River. Did you know that there is a German World War II submarine in the Potomac River? Did you know that there are five (5) divable German World War II submarines within 400 miles of the Washington Monument? Did you know that there are hundreds of wrecks on the bottom of the ocean off Virginia and North Carolina? Those wrecks range from World War II and World War I wrecks to Civil War to Blackbeard the Pirate!?!?
Where do I start?
In order to dive safely, you must learn to dive safely. Drop by Sea Ventures, your local shop and begin a dialog. Your local shop can help allay your fears, schedule you for training, and outfit you with the necessary gear.
To get more details on how to get started, click on
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