What is Scuba and what does SCUBA stand for?

By Alain Feulvarch

Scuba diving is one of the world’s most practiced extreme sports. SCUBA stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus – your life line to the world of air breathers. Scuba diving allows people to spend extended amounts of time underwater – this time can last anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes, depending on water depth and physical exertion. Scuba diving is the best way to explore the underwater world and come face to face with marine animals, as well as breath-taking underwater features such as coral reefs and ship wrecks.

Scuba diving has enjoyed increased popularity in recent decades thanks to advances in the technology of diving equipment, decreases in the general cost of scuba diving, as well as sustained scuba-based tourism to many tropical countries.

A Quick Scuba Diving Tip

One of the best tips for scuba divers of all levels is to be aware of your breathing. Some people feel uncomfortable or nervous underwater and begin to breathe quicker than normal – this only serves to use up your air supply quicker and decrease the amount of time you can safely spend underwater. Remembering to taking even, deep, and sustained breaths will maximize your scuba diving experience.

A Fun Fact on Scuba

The first person credited with the invention of a SCUBA apparatus is the infamous explorer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. He called it the Aqualung, and invented it in 1943. Since then, scuba equipment has come a long way.

The Scuba Divers

1. Join Talon from 1 Dad, 1 Kid, 1 Crazy Adventure blog as he conquers his innate fear of scuba diving in Cozumel in the black of night. Feeling a fear that we can all relate to, that is, getting in the ocean after the sun sets, Talon is hesitant to explore the reef at night. His mind knows that the photography opportunities are better, and that he will see nocturnal marine life that is hidden during the day, but his heart tells him he will have run-ins with sharks, barracuda, and other large carnivorous fish. In the end, Talon conquers his fear, descends into the inky black depths, and experiences the underwater world like he never had before. Instead, he experiences the magic of bioluminescence, and gets to see some unusual fish species.

2. Maryanne from Ephemera and Detritus is one of those people who has the common fear of open, deep water, as well as a general anxiety surrounding scuba diving. And yet, while visiting Indonesia with her husband in 2010, she gained her PADI Open Water Certification (but not without a lot of coaxing and hesitation). Following her a year or so later, she dives in a lake in Qiandao, China, which she calls her “downfall”. Conditions were less than optimal, with cold water temperatures and low visibility. This was the more technical aspect of diving that she just could not enjoy. Fast forward to Thailand, where she spends four nights as part of a live-aboard in the Andaman Sea. Conditions for boat diving included strong, “laundromat” currents, and once again nerves were set high. It was here that she has an epiphany: it wasn’t the water that she feared, it was the combination of her and her equipment, which she felt was unnatural. Only when the conditions are right – warm water, good visibility, and nice marine life – does she feel one with the aquatic world.

3. Alex from Alex in Wanderland visits Shark Island for a beautiful and exciting dive. Really looking forward to this dive, she is well rewarded with exquisite marine life, including a nudibranch laying eggs and hoards of beautiful butterfly fish. The dive went swimmingly, with good visibility and normal currents. She gains lots of beautiful memories as well as photographs.

4. Jeremy from Living the Dream Round the World blog enjoys a diving adventure in Ko Toa, one of Thailand’s many islands. An experienced diver, Jeremy has no qualms about visiting one of the most popular dive sites in the area. He is sure to bring his photography set up: an Olympus 1030SW point and shoot. He cautions against visiting the dive site during monsoon season, as with other areas the rain storms diminish visibility. Jeremy loves the Ko Toa dive site, especially for its vast array of spectacular marine life.

5. Theodora from Travels With a Nine Year Old visits Indonesia to dive an underwater volcano – quite an exciting prospect, to say the least! Halmahera is an active crater, rimmed around the edges with colorful corals which have suffered in past years from dynamite fishing. However, this has been banned now for several years and the result is a spectacular rebound in the amount of marine life surrounding the volcano. The volcano itself can be felt with the heated water, and seen as shimmery, mineral laden streamers. Hitting a maximum depth of 32 meters (refusing to go any deeper), Theodora is treated to nudibranchs, sea slugs, sea horses, and a wide variety of fishes.

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Michael Falk

I enjoy all kinds of photography, outdoor, fashion, portrait, landscape, street, and just hearing the shutter go click. I also enjoy travel, hiking, exploring, fun adventures, music, playing guitar and just finding the time to sometimes stop and relax and watch life move bye, maybe with a coffee. You can check out my facebook photography page here: Michael Falk Photography

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