If the thought of getting up close and personal with marine life or exploring ship wrecks that are centuries old whets your appetite, then a scuba diving course could be for you. But the best way to find out is a type of try before you buy.
Getting Involved in a Discover Scuba Lesson
There are two main routes into trying scuba diving for the first time. The first is to contact your local PADI centre, like Stoney Cove Dive School in Leicestershire, England, and book a full or half-day discover scuba session.
The full day costs £90 and is for those wanting the full experience as it incorporates both the introduction in the swimming pool and a controlled dive in the lake at Stoney Cove.
The half-day lasts between two and three hours, costs £25 and is based around the introduction in the pool, details of which will follow.
The second is as a gift via a Red Letter Day or Virgin Experience package, which would be the equivalent of the half-day scuba diving lesson in the pool.
Whichever route you choose, be sure that those teaching you are qualified PADI instructors and that in the UK, you are over 10 years old.
Health and Fitness Requirements
Once you have booked your scuba diving lesson, you will be sent a medical questionnaire to complete and take with you on the day. Answer honestly, as a yes on the form may not mean you can’t take part; it just means confirmation from your doctor is needed too.
You must also be able to swim 200 meters and tread water or float for 10 minutes.
Discover Scuba Session: Before You Get in the Pool
Before you even dip a toe in the swimming pool, there’s a health and safety chat along with the basic information of how pressure will affect your body on descent, what to do once you’re in the water and what the equipment does.
Also you must remember the hand signals you are shown so you can reply to questions and highlight difficulties that may arise.
Then it’s time to get changed. Generally the cost will include kit hire so wetsuits will be provided, although you’re welcome to take your own if you have one or just wear a spare T-shirt to put layer between you and buoyancy aid.
Discover Scuba Session: In the Pool
Now it’s time to get kitted up (it's lighter putting it on in the pool) and put into practise everything you’ve just been shown.
First things first: you begin breathing through the respirator through your mouth with your face under water. Try to keep your breathing steady, bite down on the guard to keep the respirator in place as it’s heavier than you may think.
The other thing to expect is the noise from the bubbles when you breathe out, it seems quite loud as the bubbles rush straight past your ear on their way to the surface.
You'll then practise the exercises while on your knees at a depth of one meter. You'll learn how to clear your mask if it fills with water (which it will if you breathe through your nose) and how to find and replace the respirator if it should come out for any reason.
The final tasks are how to descend – clear your ears every meter on the way down by pinching your nose and blowing hard – and how to swim in fins. You do so by keeping your knees slightly bent and flicking your feet so the fins do the work of propelling you though water.
If Scuba is for You, What’s Next
If swimming around in circles at a depth of four meters in a swimming pool has sparked your imagination of what it could be like surrounded by fish, then the next step is to get an open water qualification.
This comes in three steps: academic, pool sessions and four open water dives and when qualified will let you dive to 18 meters. This typically takes anywhere from four days to six weeks depending on your confidence level and how often you can meet your tutor.
There are nearly 6,000 PADI centres in over 180 countries, so there are plenty of options to learn at home or abroad, and prices will vary.
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