Delve into the depth of the oceans – An almost alien world
and the last place on Earth to be fully explored.
Scuba diving is fun and exciting hobby taken up hundreds of
thousands all over the world. It’s a versatile sport, hobby and adventure that
can be tailored to fit your needs.
For fishermen scuba diving provides the perfect hunting
grounds and advantages by diving deep, seeing and/or chasing your catch with
your spear gun in hand. For explorers scuba diving provides never before
explored areas especially in underwater cave systems as well as its ever
changing seascape.
For marine and wildlife lovers the world of oceans is by far
the most abundant and varied. There are so many different species that us
humans already know and so many more that have not yet been discovered.
There
is no exact figure on the species however it is estimated that over 40,000
different species are found in the waters of the world… and that’s just fish
species. For all marine life it is believed that there are over 230,000
species.
There are also many other reasons why people go scuba diving
and it could be even more simple than the reasons above. Perhaps they enjoy the
skill – navigation, search and rescue, etc, or maybe the fitness that comes
with the active adventure. Others may also just enjoy the feeling of
weightlessness – I must admit it wasn’t on my mind the first time I went but
once your deep enough the weightlessness feeling is incredible.
 |
| Mystery Island - Vanuatu |
Scuba Diving is especially popular on tropical islands as
there are many more fish in the one spot than say under the ice in Greenland.
The South Pacific, Hawaii, Maldives and other islands of Africa and even South
America offer some of the best dive sites in the world.
On top of my list would have to include the Great Barrier Reef in Australia – It is
a Seventh Wonder after all. Next on my scuba diving bucket list would also
include the Galapagos Islands off
the coast of Ecuador which has some of the world’s most unique and rare marine
life.
To start scuba diving yourself you need to obtain Scuba Diving Certification known as the Open Water Licence. This is done over a few
days where you learn the theory, the safety precautions and all the need to
know information about the equipment you’ll be using. Once this has been
complete the rest of the course are practice dives – firstly in a pool and then
moving on to the ocean.
From here Advanced Open Water certifications can be obtains
as well as a whole range of other dive course which includes underwater
photography, navigation, search and rescue, dry suit diving, underwater
naturalists and some of the other more popular recreational dive courses,
listed below;
Wreck diving allows you to circle and enter certain wrecks
including ships and planes. This adds to the skills of the scuba diving as well
as provides an interesting story within history, yet another reason to scuba
dive.
 |
| Sunken Aircraft - Honolulu - Hawaii |
The world is full of underwater cave systems that are being
explored by daring scuba divers. This dive course requires some very serious
skills training which includes navigation, dealing with difficult situations –
like getting your gear caught on rocks within the cave and finding your way
through the cave in the dark.
Ice diving is something that is becoming more and more
popular due to its exclusivity. Tours are found in Canada, Baffin Island,
Greenland and other Arctic based destinations. While on the surface it may
appear that nothing could live the ice and even when you first enter the water.
It doesn’t take long though that you will begin to see some of the rarest and
most beautiful creatures that live within these harsh waters.
 |
| Ice Diving |
You could of course add a whole arsenal of scuba diving
certification to your name and perhaps become a dive master or scuba dive
instructor once you’ve clocked up the hours. At the very least it’s one of the
most fun, adventure filled jobs you get.
No matter what your reasons are and your interests – scuba
diving has plenty to offer you. So I suggest you at least try out your open water certification.
Daniel Hardie
Nothing But Adventure
No comments:
Post a Comment