Scuba Diving FAQs: The Non-Divers’ Curiosities (Part-3)

By Amillson On September 15, 2009 Under diving FAQs

Welcome to the 3^rd series of article on “Scuba Diving Frequently Asked Questions”. So far we have covered 6 topics that were published in 2 separate posts: Part-1 and Part-2.

This time we are going to look at another 5 more FAQ questions. If you read the post just before this one, I have explained how and where I got all these questions from. So I am not making this up…

Lets dive right in and see the questions get solved before anyone gets too excited.

A cool fact: scuba diving is addictive. Remember, You’ve been warned!

Q#1: Does a person need to know how to swim before learning scuba diving?

Whether you are a physically normal or a diver with disability; you need to know how to swim while you are on scuba. You need to swim around, no matter the depth, in order for you to explore the underwater world. There is no other way. Well, unless you use an underwater Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV).

I know for a fact that this is a particular concern for some and it has been keeping many people from taking up scuba diving simply because they don’t know how to swim or not so good at it. So they opt to do something else even though they are very interested or very curious to get acquainted with scuba diving.

Here is the good news: to know how to swim on the surface of the water (pool or sea) without swimming aids AND to know how to swim underwater with swimming aids (using fins) is a two different thing. Can you see my point here? Can you see the good news here?

I’ve met many good divers who are not actually a good surface swimmer. I am not revealing their identities! Hahahhaha… But yes, I know some of them.

The point is, we use fins, as swimming aids, to move around like the fishes in the sea while having fun down there.

So as long as you know how to swim by using diving fins, you would be able to active your underwater club membership.

Q#2: Is scuba diving is considered as a sport activity?

Personally, I prefer to call scuba diving as an outdoor activity rather than a sport activity. Within the diving community; scuba is categorized under recreational diving – an activity suitable for all level of age and gender: the most popular among them all.

Other types of categories include commercial diving, technical diving, Nitrox diving and so on. The prerequisites for these other types of diving are a lit bit tougher. The requirements, in order to get certified, are more complicated compare to recreational scuba.

Of course there are people who keep referring scuba as a water sport activity. At the end of the day, no one can stop you from using what ever term you prefer to use. Well, that’s my opinion and I’ve read many articles supporting this motion. YOW!

Q#3: Are there any restrictions to becoming a scuba diver? E.g. age, height, weight, medical history.

OK, the answer to all of your questions is NO. Except one: medical history because we need to evaluate this part thoroughly prior to diving course signing up.

There is a Medical Questionnaires that you need to fill out prior to signing up for any diving courses. Your honest response to any of the medical questions is very important. The answers will then be used to evaluate if a particular potential candidate is qualified or not.

You can download the form here to check if you are fit to dive or otherwise. Remember that if you answer any of the questions with a “YES” then you will need to consult a doctor.

Candidates who has medical concerns will be referred to physicians preferably a doctor specializing in diving related treatments but otherwise any physicians will do.

The youngest student diver is 10 years old, which is the youngest age one can get trained. The oldest student diver, a lady, that I have personally saw was 75 years old. But I’ve read somewhere and this guy wrote that the oldest student diver, that he has seen, was 90-91 years old. So, age is not a factor.

Height and body weight is also NOT a factor that will restrict you from taking up scuba diving for as long as you are healthy and strong there should be no problem at all.

Conclusions: Any one can participate in scuba diving as long as they are healthy or physicians certified as fit to dive. So, we dive…

Q#4: What are the underwater signs called?

Because we, divers, are not allowed to talk underwater; we use hand signals to communicate while diving. Any certification agencies (PADI, NAUI, SSI, BSAC and more) will normally include this learning of hand signals in the entry-level a.k.a. Open Water Diver course.

For as long as I can remember, the signals are called the underwater hand signals – a universal sign language for divers and even for non-divers. I hope this will answer the question.

There are many standard hand signals that we use everyday but as you spend more and more time diving, you will come to know some more of those not-written-hand signals. I can’t show them here. Not unless you are diving with me.

Q#5: How heavy is the scuba tank? Will I drown if it is heavier than me?

A typical scuba tank, those widely used in tropical water, is around 16kg even when filled up to its allowed capacity. Scuba tanks are filled up with dry, filtered and compressed air – just normal air that content 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen. No 100% Oxygen as many people thought they are.

There are of course many different kinds of scuba tank in terms of sizes and material. In tropical water, most of the dive shops/centre, live-on-boards and dive resorts provide a 10-liter or 12-liter aluminum tanks that is lighter in weight. Cold-water divers normally use steel tanks, which is heavier but hold more air capacity when full.

A full set dive gear, including tank, will weigh somewhere between 20 – 25 kg (without weights on weight belt). Meaning you are still heavier than the whole assembly. Unless you are planning to dive with 3 or 4 tanks in a single dive then that will a completely different story. But even then, you will not sink easily to the bottom of the sea because of the “buoyant factor” given by all the dive gears that you put on combined.

Scuba gears are actually very buoyant in the water – you will float like a duck even when you are fully kit up. To compensate for the airlift divers use lead or weights on a belt or weight pockets.

Drowning cases, while on scuba, has nothing to do with the weight, the size or the number of diving components that we use. What you need is to get a quality training from a good reputable dive centre to avoid any type of diving accidents. Your instructor will show you how to operate and use each and every single one of the typical scuba equipments that we use on every dive.

So, here we are. Another 5 FAQs explained. There are a more questions that I’ve received from my last mini survey that I am going to answer soon. Hopefully the next article will come out in a few days time if I am not over loaded again with my daily business schedules. I’ll keep you guys posted.

And don’t forget to leave your comments below. It’s nice to get feedbacks from you guys. Remember that new ideas, big or small, can enhance someone’s life tremendously – make a difference today.

Cheers and all the best!

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Special thanks to my friends Fiona (one of my university buddy) and Brenda (old time buddy) for the idea contributions. And Brenda, we haven’t found any pirates treasures around Sabah just yet. But things like this is normally kept secret for a very obvious reasons.

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