Our fifth episode of Amateur Hour, where we’re not experts, but we have a little more experience than the lay person on various topics. This episode, we’re giving an introduction to scuba diving! Check out our first episode here where we introduced ourselves and various topics on back country camping.
In this episode, it is Damian who is the one that has zero diving experience and has all the questions. Rob has his Open Water and his own gear for 20 years, while Ian has been diving for 10 years and has his Advanced Open Water and his Wreck Diving. Both have their licenses through PADI.
Damian has his well founded reservations of scuba diving, especially into the unknown. The lakes in around Ontario and typically very dark, with some exceptions, are also very clear waters. What got Ian and Rob into diving is specifically that, the unknown. The flora and fauna is something everyone typically sees on land. But only few get to be up close and personal of the flora and fauna under water. All of this is so different than the life forms you’d see on land and the experience is just one of a kind.
The experience is also unbelievable, to be neutrally buoyant and floating and suspended in space while observing the odd life forms from a close-ish distance, relative to the size of the organism. You get to see sharks and abundance of sea life, corals, giant kelp forests, ship wrecks and go exploring through them. Things you may not otherwise find on land!
Despite the amazing experience you could garner from diving, it is a higher barrier to entry and can be cost prohibitive. You’ll also typically need boats to reach better dive sites, dive masters/guides who’re familiar with the tidal area, and a crew to operate the boat while you’re out diving, especially in a drift dive. The cost is also higher in North America for getting trained up, though usually at resorts in the Caribbean’s and South east Asia (both regions where Rob and Ian got their licenses) are typically cheaper. However, you still need to get there, which in itself is not very cheap.
However, once there, we would suggest to do a “try – a – dive” with Padi; you’ll be with a personal dive master/guide who will walk you through everything and will not stay far away from you during your dive. This is a good way to try it out before committing a couple hundred bucks to getting your Open Water!
All this information and more, with the introduction to scuba diving episode!
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