Song for Jasmine

Mary, from Parrot Musings, is thinking of going SCUBA-diving. Her husband is trying to convince her to give it a go. Mary has invited me to see if I can help persuade her, so, Mary, this post is for you. In this post I’ll talk about learning to dive, later I’ll talk about some of the things I have done underwater after qualifying.

I leared to dive the PADI way. PADI is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, and if I recall correctly, it’s the largest professional diving organisation in the world. PADI is American in origin, so it’s almost certain, Mary, that you will be learning the PADI way. The PADI system is simple, and is based on having fun by getting into the water early. PADI are aware that many people learn to dive when they are on holiday, and they have other things to do than just sit in a classroom. They have put a lot of effort into making their system practical and fun. PADI certification is recognised internationally, so you can dive practically anywhere in the world once you are certified.

The PADI system recognises several levels of certification, catering for people who only want to go so far in their training. You can find a complete list of their courses on their web site. There is a lot of freedom in the order of the courses, you are not obliged to follow any set order. Open Water Diver (OWD) is the first level at which you are certified to dive without supervision from an instructor or other professional diver, but there are levels below that which give you a progressive introduction to diving. You can do the introductory courses and then take the rest in turn if you want to, but you can also skip the introductory courses and go straight to Open Water Diver, all the material is covered there. If you do do take the introductory courses, they count in your favour should you then go on to further training.

The lowest introduction PADI offer is the Discover SCUBA Diving course. This is a single short session in which you are given a minimum of instruction, just enough for your safety, and you are then guided around a pool or other shallow water location by an instructor. The instructor will accompany you closely, all you have to do is enjoy the experience and find out if you like it enough to take it further. Discover SCUBA Diving does not lead to a certificate that allows you to dive elsewhere, it’s just about getting under the water. It’s a good first step for someone who is really unsure if diving is for them.

The second level of introduction does qualify you to dive, but only with professional supervision. Becoming a certified SCUBA Diver allows you to dive to depths of 40 feet (12 metres). Personally, I would recommend anyone who is thinking of this level to go one step further and take the Open Water Diver certification.

The Open Water Diver course trains you to dive to depths of up to 54 feet (18 metres), and you will be qualified to dive without a guide. It’s not much harder than the SCUBA Diver course, and the extra freedom in terms of depth and ability to dive without supervision is well worth it. Would you want to miss a dive on holiday because all the professional guides were otherwise occupied, or because the dive-site was beyond your certified depth? I wouldn’t!

The Open Water Diver course takes only a few days. You start with a session of theory, then go into the water with the full kit to practise some simple exercises. This pattern repeats itself, with the theory being given in manageable doses and the exercises becoming more advanced as you progress. I hesitate to say ‘advanced’ there, because none of the exercises are particularly difficult. They are all designed to increase your safety, your familiarity with your equipment, and your competance as a diver. They’re also fun, you get a real sense of achievement from succeeding in each new task. The first exercise sessions are conducted in shallow water, typically a swimming pool or shallow lagoon where your feet can touch the bottom. You don’t go into deeper water until you’ve passed the basics.

At the end of the course you take a short exam, multiple-choice, to verify that you have learned the theory as well as having mastered the exercises. The exam isn’t too hard, and if you get any answers wrong you can discuss them with your instructor afterwards. They will want to be sure that you understand any mistakes you made. Then, all being well, you get your certificate, and it’s off to the bar to celebrate.

If you stop at Open Water Diver, you will already have a whole new world waiting for you, just under the waves. If you want to go further, the next certification is Advanced Open Water Diver (AOWD). This certifies you to dive to 100 feet (30 metres). This is the maximum depth you can dive to with no-decompression diving, which effectively means this is the limit for recreational diving. Advanced Open Water Diver also adds to your skills, making you a better diver, not just a deeper one. Being certified for that extra depth gives you a lot more freedom for exploring the sea. The coral reefs that I have seen change significantly with depth, so going deeper is not just more of the same, it really does make a difference.

There are also a number of specialty courses you can take (dry-suit diving, rescue-diver, enriched-air diver, underwater photographer and many others). Needless to say, you should respect the limits of your certification, and not go beyond them without proper training.

This may sound like a typical sales pitch, continually raising the stakes with more and more courses, but the reality is that the PADI system really does let you decide how far you want to go. If you’re not totally convinced that you want to dive, try the Discover SCUBA Diving and find out. If you don’t think you want to dive without supervision, take the SCUBA Diver course. If you want some freedom to go find Nemo on your own, take the Open Water Diver course. You decide how far you go.

The PADI system has detailed standards which you are expected to measure up to, and the instructors will make sure that you do so. You will have ample chance to repeat the exercises until you are familiar with them, it’s not an ‘all or nothing’ event. Your course materials explain this in full, so you can see for yourself what is expected from you and how you are expected to achieve it. With the selection of courses available there is plenty of scope for finding the level that suits you.

PADI recommend that you take a medical exam before starting your diving activities. This is a worthwhile precaution, there are a few medical conditions that would not bother you on land but that might cause you problems underwater, and it’s an easy matter to be checked for these. You can download the PADI medical statement for full details. You can take it to your doctor, it has detailed guidelines to let him or her know what to check for if they are not knowlegeable about diving.

So Mary, hopefully I’ve helped sway you towards taking the plunge. If I haven’t convinced you yet, I have one last card to play. Did you know that one of the more common fish on the reef is the so-called parrotfish? They’re actually very important for the health of the reef.

(Possibly) related posts:

1. Diving in the Maldives
2. The Coral Reefs of the Maldives
3. Underwater Photography
4. What do you see in my blog?
5. The Maldives

Tags: Advanced Open Water Diver, Open Water Diver, PADI, Diving

Posted by Tony on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 17:15 in Diving. You can follow any responses to this entry here via RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.