Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing apparatus.
By carrying a source of compressed air, the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breath-holding techniques used in snorkeling and free-diving, and is not hindered by air-lines to a remote air source. The scuba diver typically swims underwater by using fins attached to the feet.
Scuba-diving has become a popular leisure activity, and many diving locations have some form of dive shop presence that can offer air fills, equipment and training. In tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, there is a large market in 'holiday divers'; people who train and dive while on holiday, but rarely dive close to home.
Technical diving and use of rebreathers are increasing, particularly in areas of the world where deeper wreck diving is the main underwater attraction. Generally, recreational diving depths are limited to a maximum of between 30 and 40 metres (100 and 130 feet), beyond which a variety of safety issues make it unsafe to dive using recreation diving equipment and practices, and specialized training and equipment for technical diving are needed.
It's Fantastic!
Apart from acting, scuba diving is my biggest hobby and passion. It's great fun and it's always different on every dive.
I trained with NAUI, but have since done courses with PADI, so now am qualified through either channel. I have dived quite a bit in both the UK and abroad, the most memorable of which was diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia; an experience I will never forget!
Recently, I haven't been able to dive as much as I would like because of the costs involved, the hire of equipment is expencive, and while diving in the UK is good for practice, if you want to see anything worthwhile (or not freeze to death) it means traveling abroad.
I recommend scuba diving as a sport or hobby to anyone who hasn't tried it before. It's honestly not as hard as it looks and you can gain the first level of qualification after just a few open water dives.
If you are interested in scuba diving, you may want to take a look at the PADI website, or the NAUI website.