2. Reasons not to Scuba Dive

Panic in the Shower

A few years ago, a friend who was always saying that she wanted to join one of my beginner’s courses called me and told me,

“I woke up this morning and said to myself today’s the day I am going to learn to dive.”

“Great!” I said.

“The trouble is,’ she continued, “ I went to have a shower, turned my face up into the spray and immediately started to panic. If I can’t even have a shower without freaking out, how can I ever scuba dive?”

I explained that the reason she had panicked was that she had held her breath when she turned her face into the shower and that the human central nervous system is programmed to induce anxiety when a person is not breathing. “On the contrary,” I told her, “in scuba diving, you never hold your breath.”

I added that this was not to say that she would never become anxious on a scuba dive, but the fact that she had started to panic in the shower was completely irrelevant to the issue of whether she could become a scuba diver.

Eventually she took the course, loved it, as deep down she always knew she would, and is now an enthusiastic diver.

Not for Everyone

You do not have to be a daredevil or a super-fit, well-trained athlete to scuba dive. Scuba divers come from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. Some are teenagers, others are great grandparents. Many people count scuba diving among a number of adventure sports they participate in. For many others, diving is the only sport they do.

This is not to say that everyone can scuba dive. Some people cannot dive for medical reasons. They may have physical challenges that mean that they cannot do strenuous exercise. They may have known or undiagnosed cardiovascular disease that may make diving more risky. Or they may not be able safely to breathe air under changing pressure.

They may have psychological issues that mean they should always avoid potentially stressful situations. Scuba diving can involve stress, particularly in the early days, when you are still learning, although one of the main things a scuba class teaches you is how to deal calmly with anything that might happen while you are diving.

Separating the Truth from the Myth

A lot of the reasons that non-divers give for not trying to scuba dive are based on common popular misunderstandings. Many people who would love to learn to scuba dive, like my friend who panicked in the shower, believe it is not for them because they assume either that you need special qualities to scuba dive or that it is dangerous.

Some of these assumptions are false; some are genuine. Some risks do exist: others are cultural myths, figments of the imagination or exaggerated by media hysteria. The aim of this chapter is to separate fact from figment and myth from reality.

First, I would say, that, to quote a Buddhist proverb, “when the student is ready, the master appears.” Before you learn to scuba dive, you need to WANT to scuba dive. Whether you are driven by curiosity, spurred by the adventure or simply want to dive in order to share the experience with friends, family or a diving spouse, the will to dive has to come from YOU. Do not learn to dive just because someone else wants you to do it. That sort of scenario often ends in tears.

After you have decided you want to scuba dive, however, doubts may arise. The following are some common concerns.

I want to scuba dive but I can’t swim very well.

It seems logical that a diver should be a good swimmer but, strangely, many people do not make the connection. Poor swimmers make poor divers, mainly because they are not comfortable in the water. If you are worried that you may not be able to swim well enough, then invest in some lessons before you start your course. The better you can swim and the happier you are in the water, the easier it will be for you to concentrate on learning to dive and the better a diver you will become. Even if you can swim well, a great way to prepare for a scuba diving course is to spend time before the course doing more swimming to improve your stamina and confidence. I cover this in more detail in the next chapter, “Health and Watermanship.”

I want to scuba dive but I can’t afford it.

Learning to scuba dive probably costs less than you think it does. Generally speaking, it will cost you less (and take you longer) to learn with a dive club following the schedule they set than to learn with a dive centre that will work to your schedule. However, as I explain in the chapter “Choose Wisely,” cost should not be a deciding factor and learning to scuba dive is not something you should look for a bargain basement deal on. If the instructor and dive centre or club you want to learn with charges more for their courses than other places, there is probably a good reason for that. Save up your money to pay for the course you want, rather than go for something cheaper, hoping it will be OK. Before you make the investment, you can see if you like it (and the instructor) by signing up for a scuba experience. This will not cost much and can, in itself, be a life-changing event.

As was the case with a lady named Amanda. This is what she wrote to her first instructor fifteen years after she went scuba diving for the first time.

“I've been meaning to message you for a while. Do you remember myself and 3 friends came to your dive centre in 2001. I was the only one not diving and you took me underwater and spent a very patient sixty minutes with me. Since then I've travelled to some amazing places and seen amazing things diving - most recently thresher sharks in the Philippines. I've done almost 300 dives. I would not have managed any of this without your support and patience that day and I shall be always grateful.”

Some dive centres may deduct the cost of the experience from your scuba diving course fee if you sign up afterwards.

You do not have to buy any equipment to use in the course if you do not want to. Use of everything you will need is normally included in the course price. However, as I explain in the chapter “Equipment: Early Purchases,” it is actually a very good idea to use some of your own gear when you learn to dive, especially things that will be useful to you when you do other water sports or just spend time on or near the ocean.

I want to scuba dive but I am frightened of sharks.

Thanks mainly to media hysteria and “if it bleeds, it leads” journalism, sharks have an awful and completely undeserved reputation. An instructor who used to teach in Egypt tells the following story.

I had a student once who joined the course, did very well in the pool sessions and passed his theory exam with flying colours. The following day we went to a shallow sandy bay to do his first ocean dive. We were already geared up and ready to get in the water when he asked if there were any sharks in the Red Sea. Thinking that he was excited at the possibility that he might see a shark, I said “yes, but it’s unlikely that we’ll see one at this site; we never have before.”

I added that he would need to do a little more diving and build up some experience before he could go to places elsewhere in the Red Sea where there would be more chance of seeing sharks. He immediately began taking his dive gear off.

“What’s happening?” I said.

“I am not going in,” he replied.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because there are sharks here.”

“But I told you there aren’t any sharks here.”

“You said there were sharks in the Red Sea. This is the Red Sea and I am not swimming in the same body of water as a shark!”

And that was that. He cancelled the course and we never saw him again.

The diver’s fears were completely without substance. The sharks you see when you scuba dive keep their distance from you and, often, once they have spotted you, they quickly swim off in the other direction. After all, from their perspective you are a strange, noisy, one-eyed bubbling monster and all their instincts tell them to steer clear. A shark attack on a scuba diver is extraordinarily rare. The Washington Post once produced figures that showed that it is much more likely that you will be killed by a cow than a shark!

I understand about sharks but there are other things down there that can hurt me.

There are, and they are often small and difficult to see things that live on the seabed, such as blue-ringed octopus and scorpion fish. But they will not touch you if you do not touch them and one of the golden rules for divers is “don’t mess around with the marine life!” One of the primary reasons why so much time in your scuba diving class is taken up with teaching you how to be neutrally buoyant in the water, that is, neither floating nor sinking, is so that you do not come into contact with the seabed, rocks or reefs when you dive. That way, you will not harm the marine life that lives there and it will not harm you.

I want to scuba dive but I am scared of the water.

Fear of water is usually a manifestation of other fears, such as the fear of being unable to control your environment. Swimming classes are the answer. Being able to swim well banishes fears of the water forever. When you can swim well, you are in control in the water. This gives you confidence and you realise that there is no need to be afraid.

I want to scuba dive but it is cold, dark and murky down there.

Of course, most people choose to dive in the tropics where the waters are warm and you can enjoy crystal clear, sunlit seas. But it is a common misconception that the oceans elsewhere are inhospitable to divers. This is...