The 10 Biggest Myths About Scuba Diving
1.Expensive - To Learn to Dive costs $450.00, which includes a three day course with a highly trained professional who has spent many years and thousands of dollars to reach the level of instructor. The course also includes all the equipment you need during the course, a textbook, recreational dive tables and 12 months free dive club membership worth $55, which helps you as a beginner with organised dives with experienced divers. The gear you buy doesn't need to be expensive either. We can offer good quality Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Boots, Gloves, Wetsuit (2 piece 5mm), Weightbelt, Weights, Buoyancy Jacket, Regulators and Gauges for just $1500 (less a 10% discount for club members). Compare this to some other sports like golf or skiing and it is not expensive at all to become a Scuba Diver.
2. Sharks - Sharks are not a problem to Scuba Divers, especially in this area. In the water, with our tanks on and bubbles coming out, we just don't look like prey. Surfers bobbing on the surface may look like seals and spearfishers with their catch trailing behind them may attract sharks, but the likelihood of even seeing a shark whilst Scuba diving is very remote. I've dived in this area for 8 years and have never seen anything bigger than a bottom dwelling Wobbegong Shark and there are a lot of more experienced divers who will tell you the same.
3. Strenuous Physical Activity - There are only two physical tests that you would need to pass to become a diver. These are a 200m pool swim (with no time limit) and a 10 minute tread water or float. When we are diving we have the equipment necessary to make it as easy as possible to move about and we try to move in a slow and deliberate manner to reduce the energy we expend.
4. You Need a Boat - There are so many great shore dive sites along our coast that a boat is not needed. There are nice areas with easy shore access including Swansea Bridge and Channel, Swansea Heads, Catherine Hill Bay, Terrigal, Norah Head, Blacksmiths, Newcastle and up to Nelson Bay. There is so much variety in underwater landscapes that you'll never get bored.
5. Mens Sport - This is totally untrue. The male physique is no advantage in Scuba Diving, with females generally enjoyong better air consumption. Many couples do their Learn to Dive course together and enjoy diving for many years to follow. There are many very experienced female Dive Instructors and even Cave and Technical Divers.
6. It's an Extreme Sport - Diving has little to do with adrenalin, it's a relaxing sport. In the water we are weightless and able to move about easily. Diving is not like bushwalking where you try to cover a lot of ground. Rather, in diving we don't need to travel far to see a variety of different things, with schools of fish surrounding us and every rock covered with living organisms.
7. It's Fun but Cold or Uncomfortable - Diving is fun, but we are also quite comfortable in the water. It is not dark underwater like some people suspect. It doesn't start to get darker until depths of 60 m or more, which is outside of recreational diving depths. We also wear adequate exposure protection, with 5 mm wetsuits that allow us to stay warm all year round. People think that we are crazy to dive in winter, but don't hesitate to go to the snow. It's all about having the right equipment.
8. Divers Scare Fish - This is far from the truth. By moving around in a slow, calm manner we do not scare the fish away. The fish are often curious and swim up to us and many types of fish will hang around us thinking we are predatory fish and they might get scraps of food to eat.
9. To See Anything Good You Have to Go Deep - Most of the diving along our area of coastline is done within the 10 to 16 m depth range. Most Corals, Sea Grasses and Sea Weeds grow better in the shallower areas and that is where most of the good diving occurs. There is deeper diving off our cost, but its mostly boat diving and you would want a good reason to go there such as a Wreck.
10. You Have to Go to the Tropics or Barrier Reef to See Anything Good - This is not true at all. The Newcastle to Sydney region has a huge diversity of life with a mix of southern cold water creatures and northern tropical species that travel down in the warm currents. We have personally seen more than 170 species of fish in Swansea Channel alone. In this area we have Dolphins, Turtles, Sea Horses and many types of fish from large schooling pelagics to small colourful tropicals.
If you have any questions about these points or wish to discuss any of the ideas put forth, please phone Robert at Aqua Zero Dive Centre on 02 4972 0266