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June 2007
By Michael Ange
Myth: Diving--that was my grandfather's
sport
Truth: If you think scuba isn't extreme
enough for you, you're not seeing past the first step. Sure, a lot of people
never go beyond puttering around in nice, calm water, looking at nice, calm
fish. But if you get the right training and equipment, you can get radical
with this sport. Try swimming through the surf zone off Southern California
and it's you who'll need the Geritol, not Grandpa. Need more? Ever hand-feed
a shark? Explore the far reaches of a flooded cave? Chase a 400-pound fish
through the legs of an offshore oil rig? Go inside the rusting hallways of a
sunken ocean liner? Swim beneath the polar ice caps? These are just some of
the experiences that divers--and only divers--get to have. But you've got to
build up to it, junior. So check your ego at the door, show Gramps a little
respect and take the first step--earning Open-Water certification--before
you start talking smack. Or better yet, pull Grandpa aside and ask him to
tell you about that dive he never told Grandma about.
Myth: Diving is only for people who
live in the tropics
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| Photo by Brandon Cole |
Truth: There are few things that rival
the experience of being suspended weightlessly in warm, clear tropical
water while floating effortlessly along a colorful coral reef. Unless,
of course, it is the experience of drifting through a California kelp
bed with a pod of sea lions. Or exploring the amazingly preserved ruins
of a wooden shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Or finding a million-year-old
shark tooth completely intact in South Carolina's Cooper River, or ...
the list goes on and on.
No matter where you are, chances are there's a popular dive site
somewhere nearby. Don't believe me? Just ask anyone with the red and
white diver down flag on his car. Lakes, quarries, rivers, flooded
mineshafts--almost anywhere there's water, you'll find divers. Heck,
outside of Abilene, Texas, you can even dive in a flooded underground
missile silo. Each of these sites provides its own unique dive
experience and a chance to get started in the sport. Not every dive site
is for every diver, but scuba diving is not just a sport, it's also a
lifestyle and a very social activity. So even if your local swimming
hole isn't a world-famous dive site, an outdoor grill, a cooler, a
couple of tanks of air and a dozen of your new best friends can still
make for a whole lot of fun--palm trees, optional. |
Myth: There are sharks in the ocean and
they eat divers. Don't try to deny it--I saw jaws and open water
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| Photo by Stephen Frink |
Truth: Don't tell Hollywood, but the
factual record on shark vs. diver is pretty dull: Sharks just don't make
a habit of munching on divers. In fact, except in certain conditions and
environments, they don't even stick around when divers get in the water.
Let's look at it from the shark's point of view. You're out cruising the
depths, when out of nowhere this noisy, bubble-blowing pack of creatures
that looks and moves like nothing else in the ocean drops into the water
and starts flashing lights (i.e., camera strobes) at you. It's got to be
the shark equivalent of Close Encounters. The first thing most sharks
do? Turn tail and run.
It used to be that divers could go their whole lives without ever seeing
the beauty and majesty of a shark up close. Today, carefully managed
encounter dives--from cage diving with great whites off Australia to
hand-feeding reef sharks in the Bahamas--abound, and there is no better
way to gain a true understanding of these amazing creatures than to see
them up close.
Still not convinced? Then let me give you something serious to worry
about instead: your dog. Yep. Behind those puppy dog eyes and that
happy-to-see-you personality lurks the heart of a cold-blooded predator
that's statistically far more dangerous than any shark. According to
emergency room records, "man's best friend" killed 27 and seriously
injured or maimed 4.7 million people in 2005, and that was just in the
U.S. According to the International Shark Attack File, only four people
worldwide died from shark attacks in the same 12-month period, out of 58
total recorded incidents. Based on those odds, you're safer in the ocean
than taking Rover for a walk. |
Myth: I have to buy a ton of gear just
to learn
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| Illustration by Dan Vasconcellos |
Truth: Scuba is a gear-intensive sport,
but you only need three basic items to start lessons--a mask, a snorkel
and a pair of fins. These are personal gear items and they need to fit
well for you to have a good time, so it's worth buying them even if the
shop provides loaners.
All the other gear is available to rent, usually at a discount rate to
students, and sometimes the use of the more complex equipment is
included in the dive package price.
Once you are a full-fledged diver, you will ultimately want to purchase
your own gear. It will be tempting to max out the plastic and buy
everything in one fell swoop, and if you've got the room on your cards,
go for it. But most beginning divers continue to make use of rental gear
and acquire their own items one piece at a time. |
Myth: You have to be a speedo-sporting
competItive swimmer to be a diver
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| Illustration by Dan Vasconcellos |
Truth: Sure, ultra-fit, competitive
swimmers make great divers because they're comfortable in the water and
they're in great shape, but if the logic of this myth were true, I
suppose only Tour de France racers would ride bikes.
Diving is an active sport and the better shape you're in, the easier it
will be, but any healthy individual with at least an average fitness
level can do it. This myth is most likely fueled by the fact that there
is a basic swim test at the start of scuba lessons. You'll need the
endurance to swim about 200 yards nonstop, but there's no time limit and
it's not a race. The instructor also needs to know that you have basic
water skills and are comfortable submerging your face in water. That's
it. And when you consider that there are divers from age eight to age 80
who have passed this grueling test of physical ability, it's pretty
clear that anyone with an activity level above that of a chronic couch
potato can do it. So, get off the couch and go diving already. And
please--regardless of your fitness level--leave the Speedo at home. OK? |
Myth: Diving is a macho sport that is
not female-friendly
Truth: This might have been true, back in the
1950s Sea Hunt era when men of steel like Mike Nelson (played by the late,
great Lloyd Bridges) were out there spearing fish with their bare hands and
rescuing damsels in distress. Only it wasn't really true then, either. The
lovely Zale Parry, the actress who played the damsel, was one of the most
accomplished divers on the set. And when Sports Illustrated decided to
feature the young sport of scuba diving in its May 23, 1955, issue, it was
Parry who made the cover.
It is true, however, that men have always participated in the sport more
than women, but the gap has been closing steadily since the 1980s. Today,
the male/female ratio is roughly 60/40 and everyone from equipment
manufacturers to tour operators offer products specifically for female
divers. And there's no glass ceiling to this sport--there are female
instructors, divemasters, boat captains and resort owners.
Myth: Diving will make my ears hurt
Truth: This one's true--but only if you don't
equalize the pressure in your ears as you descend. That's one of the first
things they teach you to do in scuba lessons. It's called the Valsalva
manuever and it's falling-down simple: Pinch your nose and blow gently
against your nostrils until you feel relief. Try it. See? It's easy. Don't
you wish you'd known this trick back in fifth grade when you were diving for
quarters at the bottom of the YMCA pool?
Myth: Certification is way too
expensive
Truth: You don't get out much, do you? Check
the price for a decent dinner, movie tickets for two, throw in some popcorn,
after-movie coffees and you'll drop $100--easily--assuming, of course, there
was no drive-through involved in ordering dinner. So, how does that compare
to scuba? Depending on where you are in the country, the average
certification class runs between $250 and $500, or just a few of those
dinner-and-a-movie dates. In return, you get an all-access pass to a world
of aquatic adventure, not to mention a great new lifestyle you can brag
about at the office. Go on: Compare the cost of scuba lessons to almost
anything and you'll see it's a bargain, especially compared to greens fees,
lift tickets and the cost of that home gym collecting dust in your guest
room.
Myth: I can't dive. I have (insert name
of medical condition here)
Truth: Why not get a second opinion? Doctors
are a very cautious bunch and often don't understand the sport of diving, so
if you ask about scuba with regard to a specific medical condition, their
likely answer will be the safe one: No.
But before you let a lifetime of adventure slip away, you and your doctor
should consult the diving medicine experts at the Divers Alert Network
(DAN). This nonprofit safety organization is affiliated with the Duke
University Medical Center, and they can help you better understand the
physical demands of diving and how it relates to your health. Call their
non-emergency questions line at (919) 684-2948 and you may be surprised to
find the answer is: Yes, you can dive safely.
In just the past 10 years, for example, asthma and diabetes have gone from
being absolute disqualifiers to conditional ones. In both cases, if the
condition is carefully monitored and controlled, and the patient can
tolerate physical exercise, the pool is usually open.
Myth: Snorkeling is just as good as
scuba diving
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| Photo by Stephen Frink |
Truth: Don't get me wrong. I like to
snorkel--floating around on the surface peering down on the reef from
above is a great way to spend time between dives. But just as good? No
way! Not if you like action.
Snorkeling is sort of like watching a football game from the window of
the Goodyear blimp high above. Diving is like suiting up, running down
the tunnel and getting in the game. Strap a tank on your back and you
are a player--swimming with the sharks as equals, getting up close and
personal with giant Goliath grouper, or, for a good laugh, looking up
and seeing the soft, bulging underbellies of all those snorkelers
drifting like flotsam on the surface and blocking out the sunlight. |
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