Scuba Diving Equipment » Underwater Environment

Online Scuba Diving Lessons

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:17:15 +0000

These are some of the popular websites and agencies in the United States that offer academic online training, lessons and certifications for scuba diving.

SDI’s on-line scuba diving learning program:
(http://www.scubadiver.cc/onlinetraining.htm)

Dayo Scuba, based in Orlando, offers the SDI (Scuba Diving International)’s online training program concentrating on the academic part of scuba diving lessons, for $84.95. This program is aided by graphic illustrations and animation of key concepts by using motion pictures, animated pictures, and diagrams.

The course can be taken according to one’s own pace and schedule, and any lessons can be repeated. There are also periodic quizzes related to important concepts before progressing to new material and lessons. The academic is followed b the in-water training dives which costs $234.05. After completion of both courses, you’ll receive an Open Water Diver certification from Scuba Diving International.

Dayo Scuba also offers free software for better understanding of buoyancy, and forms and drivers that may be essential, on this webpage.

Force-e:
([http://www.force-e.com/instruction/sdi/sdi_online_scuba_training.shtml])

Force-e is a diving center based in South Florida. Approved and authorized by Scuba Diving International, the Force-E online scuba diving academic instruction offers an online training program, which must be completed before continuing with the pool and open water dives, and scuba diving certification.

The online course includes subjects such as underwater environment, dealing with the effects of pressure, planning and monitoring dives, and important considerations when selecting scuba diving equipment. The online dive training also offers a text book after completion available in order to review the information anywhere. The Academic Online Dive Training is subsequently followed by Confined Water Dive Training and Open Water Dive Training.

You can call their toll free number for $ 84.95 to receive the sign-up code which you need to enter in the website. Otherwise, you can simply register online with a credit card.

Scuba-training.net:
(www.scuba-training.net)

Scuba-training.net, based in Vero Beach, Florida, offers several online scuba learning courses including open water scuba and specialty courses, like dry suit diving, surface supplied air diving, and many others. They also have advanced training and certification including Nitrox and Rebreather Diver training. You have to pay $84.95 for the online academic portion of your Basic Scuba class while specialty classes will cost you $49.95.

Scuba-training.net eliminates the need to repetitive and time-consuming classroom sessions since the system adopted by the course is designed to let student work with materials that are specifically personalized, which can be learned according to one’s own pace and schedule. Dive instructors and shops also have full online access to all of the students’ records and study information for review.

The organization offers CMAS (The World Underwater Federation), PSA (Professional Scuba Association), and SDI (Scuba Diving International) certifications.

Onlinescubalessons.com:
(www.onlinescubalessons.com)

The website offers an Interactive Online Scuba Dive Lessons and Training Correspondence Course mainly concentrates on Physics and Physiology of Scuba Diving. The $49.95 course includes 5 modules, final exam, and Academic Certificate.

The modules include subjects such as Equipment, Underwater Sciences, Physiology, Diving Environment, and Planning and Decompression Sickness. Before proceeding to the next section, you need to have a 100% score on each quiz that will be given to after completing each section.

After passing the final examination, you can take your certificate to any instructor or agency and continue with the pool and open water dives trainings.

By: Carl Walker

A Look at Skin Diving

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:56:07 +0000

For centuries, people have tried to explore the aquatic environment. Before, their main reason was to gather food or to salvage some items from rivers, lakes and oceans. Also, young girls and boys were trained to free dive to gather shellfish and seaweed, and even sponges from the sea floor.

In modern times, although people still continue to dive for valuable objects and food, diving’s popularity grew especially in warm vacation destinations. Tourists and diving enthusiasts skin dive to explore the underwater world. Without any special training and equipment, they were able to observe the beauty of aquatic life.

Basically, skin diving is defined as a water activity wherein swimmers depend on their lung capacity, a diving mask, snorkel, and fins to move about underwater for several minutes. It is an extension of snorkeling, where a person views the underwater environment from the water surface.

Skin diving is termed as such because of the little equipment it requires. Its basic requirements are only a waterproof mask, fins for the feet, and a snorkel. A snorkel is just a tube about 38 cm long with a mouthpiece on one end, used for breathing underwater.

The diving mask should allow the skin divers to see clearly even when underwater. A mask which completely encapsulates the nose and eyes to form an air space between the water and diver’s eyes is preferred.

Fins, or also called flippers are like the webbed feet of a duck. These enhance the divers’ movements below the water, and helped to propel them in a smooth and efficient motion. All fins have a foot pocket to secure your feet in, and large sheets of flexible plastic.

Snorkels are also helpful in observing shallow marine life. As long one end extends out of the surface, the diver will be able to breathe normally. However, snorkels shouldn’t be more than 15 inches long since air can’t be drawn to greater depths.

If you want to go deeper into the water, you have to hold your breath. Since you can’t possiblily live without breathing for hours, you could only stay beneath the ocean for brief periods, usually about two minutes. Experienced skin divers, however, however are known to stay underwater for several minutes.

The main difference of skin diving from scuba diving is the device used by scuba divers. Scuba stands for “self-contained underwater-breathing apparatus”, which is basically just a metal tank filled with air. This tank should be connected to a valve regulator for pressure adjustment so the diver can breathe comfortably even at greater water pressures.

Also, since scuba diving involves exploring the water at greater depths, there are other major considerations. A scuba diver needs a suit to keep him warm enough while underwater.

Scuba divers also make use of buoyancy compensators to help them control their position while underwater. A diver just controls the amount of air in these buoyancy compensators to adjust their overall buoyancy.

Of course, there are several pressure related injuries which a scuba diver is exposed to. Ascending or descending too quickly causing significant rapid changes in the pressure difference between a diver’s body and his surroundings may be fatal. That’s why, scuba divers need to go through specialized training to be able to stay safe and remain alive even when more than a hundred feet below water.

That’s basically the difference between scuba diving and skin diving. When you scuba dive, you are largely dependent on your diving gears for survival. Skin diving on the other hand is a simpler form of exploring the underwater environment, that’s probably what makes it very popular. As mentioned, you only need to rely on your own swimming prowess. You won’t need to pay for any expensive special breathing equipment.

So if you plan to stay at greater depths for a longer period of time, you can take some scuba diving lessons. Scuba diving is mostly beneficial for those who wish to study and collect date on marine environments.

Skin diving is mostly used for food gathering underwater. In some parts of the Caribbean, it is illegal to catch lobsters using any scuba equipment, thus, those who are good in skin make hundreds of dives each day to collect lobsters.

By: Ollie Donovan

The Benefits of Scuba Diving Forums

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:12:06 +0000

A person who loves the outdoors especially the waters should get a hobby that incorporates both environments. One such hobby that is a hit for both sexes and for all age groups is scuba diving.

Scuba diving isn’t a hobby that one can just take on or go into without getting the necessary training and examination. For starters, prospective divers should know the basic swimming lessons. However, even the best swimmer in the world still has to undergo scuba diving training and make the grade.

One thing common to scuba divers is their love for nature and the bounties of the sea. But just like mountain climbers, scuba divers should make sure that when they dive, they take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints or its equivalent in diving lingo. This is to make sure that they preserve the underwater environment for future divers.

Scuba diving hasn’t always been available as a hobby for ordinary people because of the constraints in going several feet underwater. Men aren’t like fish that have gills and can breathe underwater so it took the invention of the scuba or the self contained underwater breathing apparatus in the 1930s before men were allowed to scuba dive.

Future scuba divers are urged to join organizations that can help them with their training and with safety methods in scuba diving. These organizations conduct regular check ups on the capabilities and efficiency of their scuba diving members so they at least meet the standards required by the hobby.

Scuba diving can be expensive so it is always best to join groups to minimize the costs. It is becoming a worldwide hobby so it easy to make contact with scuba divers in any part of the globe.

Scuba divers can also make contact with their counterparts all over the world by joining forums where they can ask questions, give out information or just simply exchange experiences with their colleagues.

Scuba diving is a niche group and most of the scuba divers in a certain area basically know everyone. It is important to join scuba diving forums to keep in touch with what everyone is doing in the scuba diving world.

A scuba diver who needs some equipment not available in his area can join a scuba diving forum and see if his fellow scuba divers can suggest where to purchase such equipment. Some scuba divers may also be selling their own equipment and where else to get such information than in scuba diving forums?

By: Ollie Donovan

Scuba Dive Vacations – Get Immersed in the Pleasure!

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:36:26 +0000

Some say that the choicest scuba dive vacations can be found in the Caribbean. Now we’re not going to agree or disagree with this idea. We will leave it up to you to tell us what you think and where your best scuba dive locations are – if you want to share the secret?

Of course the Caribbean is well noted for its excellent underwater visibility, warm water temperatures and an abundance of marine life and dive sites that appeal to both beginners and seasoned divers alike.

If you went to the Caribbean scuba diving for solely the underwater creatures you are surely missing out on the most impressive range of treasures to be found there: from shipwrecks of old, drop-off wall sites to make you blink more than once, drift dives galore, cave adventures of an underwater kind you didn’t expect, as well as shore and boat diving.

Preservation is extremely import to the Caribbean diving community and they are devoted to ensuring that the underwater environment is more than adequately preserved. Not only does the Caribbean have protected marine parks with thriving aquatic life, but the scuba dive vacation areas offers the most varied examples of tropical marine life imaginable, including angelfish, barracuda, crabs, dancing eels, goat fish, grouper, lobster, octopus, parrot fish, seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, snappers, spiny puffers, and stingrays.

If your are a complete scuba dive beginner, don’t worry. All scuba dive vacations have dive facilities that appeal to beginners, who probably don’t know a regulator from a wet suit. But that doesn’t mean that the experience scuba diver and certified divers are not catered for as well.

We’re sure you’ll find a variety of dives to suit every notion you’ve had about scuba diving, and you can most definitely be assured that trained professional staff divers at the scuba dive vacation places will lead all dives. They will also provide instructions, high-quality Cressi SUB equipment, as well as courses for non-certified divers, and PADI (Professional Association of Dive instructors) or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) certification courses. That about covers what to expect whether you are a beginner or advanced scuba diver.

By: Peter Robson

Colorado Scuba Diving Equipment For Your Next Big Ocean Adventure

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:12:49 +0000

Whether you are new to the sport or a seasoned veteran, you known that having appropriate Colorado scuba diving equipment can be the difference between life and death when you are in an underwater environment. It makes sense to utilize the knowledge and expertise of Denver diving gear center that has experience with diving situations you will encounter at your next diving destination. There are several pieces of Denver diving gear that you will need in order to scuba dive effectively and safely.

Regulators are the very basis of your scuba gear. Denver divers learn that the compressed air held in the tanks cannot be inhaled as is, because it can be harmful to the diver. Instead, a regulator is attached to the tank and its job is to control the air pressure. The two parts of a regulator are the first and second stages. The first stage connects to the tank, and the second stage, which contains the mouthpiece, is attached to the first stage with a hose. Several popular brands of regulators, including those made by Aqualung, Atomic, ScubaPro and Mares, are available from better Colorado scuba diving equipment merchants.

You will also need a buoyancy compensator as part of your diving equipment. Denver scuba divers know that they need to stay at the proper depth in the water, and in order to do so they need to wear a BC, or buoyancy compensator. These are often constructed as a vest, and weights may be inserted into them. They all have an emergency release mechanism to jettison the weights if necessary.

A final important piece of Denver diving gear that you will need is a computer to finish out your set of divers equipment. Colorado divers value their computers, because a computer helps you to keep track of many kinds of important information when you are underwater, including direction, how your tanks are doing and more. Certain features found on this Boulder dive equipment can include a compass, gas-switching capabilities, different operating modes, information on remaining air time and cylinder pressure, ascent rate indicator and altitude adjustment, among others.

If you are uncertain as to which brands of Boulder dive equipment you prefer prior to purchasing your own gear, you may want to try out rental Boulder dive equipment first. To get started, you may want to rent an entire gear package of diving equipment. Denver scuba stores rent these by the day or week. You can also rent individual computers, BCs and regulators to consider as you purchase your own diving equipment. Denver divers will also find wet and dry suits, as well as masks, snorkels and fins. Your local Colorado scuba diving equipment store can answer your questions and help ensure that you find the gear that you want.

By: Wayne Hemrick