Diving FAQ's

1. What is the age requirement for a scuba certification?

   To obtain an Open Water Diver Certification (the first level), you must be 15 years old. Young adults (ages 10-14 for PADI) can receive a Junior Open Water Diver Certification.

2. Do I need to be physically fit to scuba dive?

   Before getting certified, you should be in reasonable physical health. If you are not sure that you’re fit enough, see your doctor.

3. Do I have to be able to swim?

   You don’t need to be an Olympic swimmer, but you do need to have a few basic skills. The scuba certification process includes a swim test (200 yards) and a survival float test (float or tread water for 10 minutes) that you will need to pass. If you can’t swim, sign up for our swim lessons first.

4. What is the benefit of getting certified at a local dive shop?

   Some vacation resorts offer ‘resort’ courses lasting a day or two which offer beginners some very basic training in order to try out scuba diving. These are not certification programs. Full certification programs involve classroom work, exams, practical skills sessions at a pool and four open water dives in the quarry (lake, ocean, or sea). A PADI certification from your local dive shop is good for life.

5. What other skills can I learn?

   There are many other scuba skills you can learn, such as underwater photography, deep diving, wreck diving, cavern diving, and ice diving. With two thirds of the earth being underwater it is an exciting world of marine life, caves, and shipwrecks just waiting for you to discover the beauty.

6. Do I need any special gear while becoming certified?

   For your comfort, enjoyment, as well as safety it’s important that you have proper fitting equipment. For this reason mask, fins, snorkel, and boots are required equipment. As a student you will receive a discount on any of these items purchased through the dive center.

7. What are the risk involved with scuba diving?

       o    Barotrauma (caused by changes in pressure)
       o    Alternobaric Vertigo
            Dizziness or disorientation caused by unbalanced pressures in the inner
            ear. Most commonly experienced by stubborn scuba divers trying to dive
            with the common cold.
           o    Altitude sickness
           o    Barodontalgia 
                Pain caused by tiny bubbles of gasses trapped in the teeth, usually in
                fillings or caps.
       o    Decompression Sickness, A.K.A. “The Bends”
           o    Embolism
                Nitrogen coming out of a solution in the body. It can be caused by
                accelerated decompression.
           o    Arterial Gas Embolism 
                Gas coming out of a solution in the arteries. It can be potentially fatal.
           o    Cerebral Embolism
                Gas coming out of a solution in the brain. It can be potentially fatal.
           o    Lung Expansion Injury
                It can be caused by holding breath while ascending.
           o    Pneumomediastinum
                Ruptured bronchus or alveoli in the lungs from excessive pressure. May
                be caused by holding breath while ascending.
           o    Pressure Arrhythmias
                Abnormal heart rhythms caused by external pressure
           o    Tinnitus, Eustachian & Inner Ear Damage, Tympanic Membrane
                Rupture And/Or Hearing Loss. 
                o    Non-Barotrauma
           o    CO2 Toxicity
           o    Nitrogen Narcosis
           o    O2 Toxicity 
                o    Other Physical And Health Hazards
           o    Dangerous Marine Life
           o    Dehydration
           o    Hypothermia
           o    Drowning
           o    Running Out Of Air
           o    Underwater Injury
                Common injuries include abrasions and cuts (from sharp coral), sprains,
                bumps and bruises.
   
   Learning how to avoid all of these unlikely events is part of what you will learn in the scuba coarse along  with other skills such as buoyancy control.

8. Is scuba diving hard?

   Learning to dive is a lot easier than you’d think – lots of people try it with just a little preliminary knowledge and help from the instructor (called an Introductory or Discovery dive for which you may even receive credit for this pool dive). All that is required is reasonable overall health and the desire to explore the underwater world. Every year, thousands of people, from young teens to senior citizens, become certified.

9. Can I get certified while on vacation?

   YES! If you complete your classroom and pool sessions here locally, you have only to complete four training dives while on vacation over two days. Most of our clients choose to get fully certified here locally for a couple of reasons.
   
   §  They are already comfortable with their instructor
   §  Doing training dives on your vacation takes time away from you being able to do the dives you want to do.
   §  Additional fees charged by the Dive Center at your vacation destination can be costly. Check with your destination for applicable fees.

10. How deep may I go?

    The Open Water course will certify you to dive to sixty feet. With an Advanced Open Water diver certification, you can dive to one-hundred feet and with Deep Diver training you can dive to one-hundred thirty feet which is also the recreational depth limit.

11. What’s in a scuba tank? Oxygen?

    Recreational divers breath air (21% Oxygen Content), and not Oxygen. It’s filtered to remove impurities, but otherwise, it’s air like you’re breathing now.

12. How long does it take to become a certified scuba diver?

    Scuba courses are “performance based,” which means that you earn your certification when you demonstrate that you’ve mastered the required skills and knowledge. Some people learn faster than others, so how long it takes you may vary. The Open Water Diver course (beginning course) is typically split into five or six sessions with tremendous flexibility. The course may be scheduled over as little as three or four days, or as much as five or six weeks or something in between, depending upon the student needs and logistics. As a rule of thumb, most students complete their initial certification in three or four weeks, but Aqua Immersion offers very flexible scheduling to accommodate your schedule. Be sure to consider e-Learning and the possibilities it may open up with regard to flexible scheduling.

13. Is scuba diving dangerous?

    Not really. Statistics show that recreational scuba diving is about as safe as swimming. Certainly there are potential hazards – which is why you need training and a certification – but like driving a car, as long as you follow the rules and use common sense, it’s pretty safe.

14. This all sounds interesting, but I’m not sure if it’s for me. Is there a way to try Scuba without signing up for the whole course?

    Yes, there is. We offer the ‘Discover Scuba’ program, which is an easy introduction to diving conducted in the pool…this is a way for you to experience the fun and excitement of diving before deciding to enroll in the Open Water course.

15. How long can I stay underwater?

    This is a common question with a very complex answer. You will learn about dive time in great detail during the course but to provide a general answer, I will say that the deeper you are, the less time your air supply will last. At thirty feet, the average diver will be able to remain underwater for about an hour when using the typical eighty cu/ft cylinder.