In the Steve Trek Adventures, there are incredible diving scenes that I hope transport you into the undersea world. Though, no words can truly do justice to the beauty encountered underwater. I’ve made hundreds of dives so far and each offered amazing sites. Today I wanted to share a little about Scuba Diving. I hear from a lot of folks when I talk diving, that they have snorkeled. To me, snorkeling is more difficult than scuba! I say this for two reasons, in my opinion breathing while scuba diving is easier than through the snorkel. How many times have you had a wave pass over your snorkel filling it with water, gurgle, and cough or you simply dip your head and water goes down the snorkel. Me and my dive buddies consider the snorkel a saltwater straw, though it does have its benefits I suppose. In scuba those difficulties don’t exist. Even though that first breath you take with a scuba regulator is nerve racking its also exhilarating. The air is delivered almost effortlessly without the resistance of the snorkel and potential water issues that come with it. I also find swimming under water to be freer and easier than fighting the surface tension and waves. When diving you strive to be neutrally buoyant and when you are, your one with the sea. You simply glide through the water column, easily maintaining your depth. As you master buoyancy, you can hang motionless inches from the reef, rock, fish, wreck or any other object if you desire.
Another common concern or fear some people have is about the pressure on their ears. Probably all of us at one time or another have dove into a pool only for our ears to hurt when we reach the bottom, or pop violently. While pressure does present unique issues for divers, pressure on the ears is a relatively small concern. First in the pool example above, you are changing depth and pressure very rapidly and the air in your sinuses is at surface pressure. When you dive into the pool the outside pressure on your ears is greater than the air pressure inside your sinus and ears creating that painful feeling. In scuba diving, first you change depth very slowing, both descending and ascending and second the air you are breathing is constantly adjusting to the surrounding water pressure thus keeping a nice equal balance inside your sinuses and ears to the outside water pressure. This equilibrium of air to water pressure prevents the ear pain people worry about with diving. Your ears will feel the same as on the surface basically. There are always exceptions, if you have congestion or head cold scuba diving is probably not a good idea as that congestion could prevent your ears and sinuses from equalizing properly. However, in most cases, for people in good health, scuba diving will not be an issue. So don’t let that fear prevent you from giving diving a chance.
Why I like scuba diving? Well, first I think it is very relaxing. Though I see a lot of divers racing around the reef, flailing about, spending tons of energy and burning their air up, that’s not what diving is about. When you dive you should just relax, enjoy the scenery. All this helps control your breathing, tempo and gives you more time on the bottom to see all the things you came diving for anyway. Second, its quiet. All you can hear is the swish of air when you take a breath and the bubbles when you exhale. If you really listen you can hear your heart beating. That silence is golden to me. Third, l love the views. From the amazing macro animals you can see on a reef, to watching bass glide down a rocky ledge in the lake. Finally, the excitement of seeing the unknown, when diving you never know when you might be nose to nose with giant Goliath Grouper, swim next to shark, or see a manta ray glide over an underwater peak.
My last dive was just such a dive. I was diving with my son in Panama City, Florida on a sunken bridge span in about 45 to 60 foot of water. We were the only two divers on the site. The bridge span was teaming with bait fish. So thick that our visibility was limited in the school to only a foot or two. The fish bounced off our mask as we swam. It was truly amazing. Schools are mesmerizing as the fish dash to and fro seemingly as a single unit. Eventually, we came nose to nose with a young Goliath Grouper. Here is a fish, 7 foot long, 350 lbs, with a mouth big enough to swallow a full size beach ball. Running into him was quite a shock. Seeing something that big and being within a foot of him was awesome. What an incredible fish the Goliath Grouper is.
The Pictures here, while not pictures of the Goliath we encountered, give you an idea of what that fish looks like. What was amazing to me about this, was how the thousands of bait fish swam all around this giant fish, within inches of his huge mouth, but didn’t seem to have a concern about being eaten.
Scuba Diving is an incredible experience and if you have ever thought about scuba diving, do it. Find a dive shop near you, take the lessons, go dive. You will not regret it. I think you will love it!
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