Recreational diving is one of the more exciting water sports. A diving course to prepare for safe diving enables anyone to acquire the necessary skills and paves the way for further training in this field.
Depending on the type of diving, different techniques and slightly different equipment are used. Find out if a scuba diving course is something for you and how you can prepare for it.
At what age can you start a scuba diving course? Is it necessary to have very good health?
Diving is an activity that can be associated with a very demanding sport. Many may think that it is a sport only for adults, and those who do not have any health problems. Meanwhile, anyone can learn to dive!
Courses are organized for both adults and children from 10-12 years old. There is no upper age limit for learning to dive. In addition, there are also no significant health contraindications to starting your diving adventure.
Those who have doubts may want to consult their doctor just to be sure, especially if they want to try freediving, or breath-hold diving.
Do I need to be in good shape to start a scuba diving course?
Very good physical condition is also not required to learn scuba diving, although it is advisable to have at least an intermediate level, since diving requires more strength and endurance than swimming.
Nevertheless, it is a sport that will even help take care of your fitness and figure. Diving strengthens muscles in all parts of the body, while relieving stress on the spine, tendons and joints.
If I can’t swim, can I start diving lessons?
A scuba diving course is not reserved only for people who can swim, although of course it is better if the person starting to learn scuba diving feels comfortable in the water.
In most cases, the ability to swim is not necessary, but in order to accelerate progress and experience comfort and more satisfaction from diving, it is worth having the ability to stay afloat on your own. In parallel with the development of diving skills, it is worth training in swimming as well.
People who cannot swim at all and for some reason are even afraid of contact with water, and who want to try scuba diving, should first overcome their fears.
Why take diving lessons at a dive center under the guidance of a qualified diving instructor?
Wanting to learn to dive, it is best to receive training at a professional diving school. This is a guarantee that you will learn the correct diving methods and techniques, use the right equipment, and be certified to dive independently under the guidance of an instructor or with a partner.
The presence of an experienced and qualified instructor increases safety, but also contributes to faster and more effective learning. This is because the instructor can provide valuable tips to quickly master the art of diving.
Main types of diving – Freediving, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling
Freediving is the English phrase for “free diving” and means diving without an aqualung, on held breath. The diver goes underwater to a certain depth on a stopped breath.
The length of immersion time depends on how long the diver is able to hold his breath underwater. For this reason, breathing exercises are carried out before the first descent underwater, as well as familiarization with the principles of safe submersion and emergence from the water.
Scuba Diving is equipment diving, in which the diver is equipped with an aqualung that allows him to swim and breathe freely underwater. This is the only diving method that allows you to stay underwater for a longer period of time and is used for exploring the underwater world, viewing sunken wrecks and other objects.
Freediving and Scuba Diving can be practiced in open water, as well as in closed water, i.e. special pools that mimic diving conditions. The contractual depth for recreational diving is a maximum of 40 meters.
Snorkeling is a type of amateur recreational diving available to everyone, especially novice divers. It involves floating or floating just below the surface of the water with simple equipment that allows you to breathe. In this way, you can see the underwater world, but without going to greater depths.
Snorkeling is a type of diving available everywhere and to everyone. It is popular especially among tourists vacationing on the beaches of Egypt, Greece, Croatia or Italy.
Freediving diving – what diving equipment is needed for it?
Freedivers do not use traditional diver’s equipment that allows them to breathe underwater, but use small equipment such as:
- Mask and goggles – protect your eyes and allow you to admire the underwater world, thus providing an unforgettable experience,
- Foam or swim skin – protects against cooling when the water temperature is low (about 15 degrees Celsius),
- Flippers – increase mobility and allow rapid submersion and ascent,
- ballast – allows you to control the depth of immersion more effectively.
Scuba Diving Equipment
In order to practice Scuba Diving, the following are essential:
- ABC equipment (mask, snorkel and fins) – a snorkel will come in handy, among other things. When you want to go up to the submersible without using a compressed air cylinder,
- Breathing machine and compressed air cylinder,
- Foam or dry suit.
In addition, they can also be useful:
- Dive computer – a device in the form of a wristwatch that indicates the depth of immersion and the time spent underwater, displays warnings against ascending too quickly, informs about the limit of no-decompression time at a given depth,
- Diving flashlight – useful in murky waters and at depths of less than 10 meters to bring out colors, essential for night dives,
- Buoyancy vest – can replace the traditional plate and buoyancy bag.
What is needed for Snorkeling?
The basic equipment for Snorkeling is ABC equipment, namely:
- Mask – protects the eyes from contact with water, improves the quality of vision underwater,
- snorkel – allows you to breathe freely without raising your head above the surface of the water,
- Flippers – improve mobility and speed up swimming.
PADI OWD (Open Water Diver) federation diving certificate – what is it and what does it entitle you to?
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI for short) is the world’s largest organization training divers of all levels in recreational and professional modes. It is PADI that sets the standards set for divers, which are accepted and used by other organizations of this type.
The OWD (Open Water Diver) course is a basic diving course to achieve the first diving degree. Its equivalent, for example, is SSI Open OWD (Open Water Diver) level 1.
The aim of the course is for the future diver to acquire theoretical knowledge and practical skills that will allow him or her to dive independently in any bodies of water, according to the qualifications obtained.
The PADI OWD certificate confirms a diver’s skills at the level of the first diving degree and opens the possibility for further training in this field and the acquisition of further diving degrees.
He can take an advanced (AOWD) course to earn a second diving degree. With such a certificate, a diver gains the authority to dive in all open waters up to 18 meters deep, with a partner but without an instructor.
Here are examples of PADI diving specializations after the PADI OWD basic course:
- PADI Dry Suit Diver – dry suit diving course,
- PADI Underwater Navigator – underwater navigation course,
- PADI Boat Diver – boat diving course,
- PADI Equipment Specialist course,
- PADI Night Diver – night diving course,
- PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy – Excellent Buoyancy diving course,
- PADI Drift Diver – a course in current diving.
- PADI Search And Recovery Diver – diving course: search and recovery,
- PADI Foto Specialist underwater photography course,
- PADI Propulsion Vehicle Diver – underwater scooter diving course,
- PADI Multilevel Diver – a course in multilevel diving.
The ability to dive allows you to explore the underwater world – such as shipwrecks
Diving has many benefits. It can have a positive effect on mental health, as it promotes tranquility, improved concentration and a break from problems while communing with nature.
It also benefits physical health by relieving stress on the skeletal system, stabilizing the heart and lowering blood pressure, strengthening muscles and improving fitness.
The ability to dive also opens up entirely new possibilities when it comes to exploring the underwater world. Through diving and manages to explore sunken oil platforms or shipwrecks.
We have a glimpse into the inaccessible realm of underwater plant and animal life. This would not be possible without diving expeditions into the deep waters of the seas and oceans.
Do you want to become a diver?
If you too would like to try your hand as a diver, take one of Deepspot’s diving courses. Classes are held under the guidance of qualified instructors and in safe conditions. During them, you can learn the most important principles of diving and try your hand at a pool that simulates diving conditions.
Upon completion of the class, you will receive a certificate of completion of the Deepspot diving course. And if you work up an appetite for more, sign up for one of Deepspot’s Freediving or Scuba D iving courses, the completion of which will allow you to become certified to dive independently.
It will also open up opportunities for you to develop within a specific specialty. All diving courses are developed by the diving school and taught by expert instructors. We encourage you to check our offer!
