When you hear the words "scuba diving," what are the first images that pop into your head? You're probably imagining vibrant coral reefs and multihued tropical fish somewhere along the Mexican Riviera or off the coast of an exotic Caribbean or South Pacific island. The idea of taking up the sport yourself might seem farfetched; after all, when's the next time you're headed for lower-latitude waters? And who do we think you are, anyway... Jacques Cousteau?

The thing is, scuba diving is actually an inclusive sport. Today, an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans participate in recreational scuba diving, with up to 500,000 more becoming certified each year.

To start, people of any age can participate, and you don't need to be in peak physical condition to do it. In fact, this editor's PADI Open Water scuba instructor once pointed out, "The less work you do, the more you know you're doing it right." Scuba should be relaxing — an almost Zenlike experience.

Next, it's not limited to tropical ocean waters. Scuba divers can be found in just about every type of waterway on earth. Some, it's true, focus on the bathtub-warm, gin-clear waters of the tropics. But there's so much more out there.

You can scuba dive in any of the five Great Lakes, which together boast nearly 8,000 miles of shoreline, more than 95,000 square miles of water surface and a whopping 5,000 shipwrecks. You can take the plunge in quarries, inland lakes, reservoirs and even some rivers as well.

All of this makes your pontoon boat an ideal platform for underwater adventures. With the many available storage spaces, you have plenty of room to stow gear as you travel to and from your chosen dive sites. With the broad, flat, stable deck, you'll find gearing up to be as effortless as it would be in your living room. And with the easy water entry and exit, you won't struggle quite as much as your counterparts who use deep-V-hulled, higher-freeboard powerboats.

EARN YOUR CERTIFICATION!

If you've never tried scuba diving, you may not realize how easy it is to earn your Open Water certification. You can sign up for classes at your nearest dive shop as well as at many YMCA facilities, and these courses will take you through approximately 30 hours of classroom study, pool dives and open-water dives in a period of a few weeks.

Or, if you're planning a tropical holiday, you also can take the course in just a few days at many oceanfront resorts that feature on-site dive operators. This will allow you to experience your first open-water dives in a subtropical or tropical ocean environment, which certainly will be spectacularly beautiful; and with warm water temperatures and great visibility, this can be a user-friendly way to get started.

If you're unsure about pursuing full Open Water certification and would like to try it out before making a decision, or if you simply don't have time on your vacation to take the complete course, there are options for introductory resort courses as well as a limited certification that allows you to descend to a lesser depth accompanied by an instructor. The latter is credited toward Open Water certification should you decide to complete it at a future time.

While there are several certification agencies worldwide, the best known are the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the world's largest diving organization; the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and Scuba Schools International (SSI)

NAUI
(800) 553-6284
www.naui.org

 

PADI
(800) 729-7234
www.padi.com

 

SSI
(970) 482-0883
www.divessi.com

Once you've earned your Open Water certification, many doors open to you - from Advanced Open Water to specialty courses that focus on deep diving, drysuit diving, night diving, wreck diving, underwater photography and video, cavern diving and much more. From there, you may choose to go on to become a dive master, rescue diver and instructor.

FINAL TIPS:

And we can't stress enough the importance of these!

• When you're newly certified, plan on diving with a local dive operator, whose trips will be led by professional divemasters; or, at the very least, go diving with a reputable local dive club. The experience you gain will be invaluable when you finally purchase your own gear and are ready to plan your own pontoon boat dive trips.
• Always file a float plan. Someone ashore, whether it's a family member or friend, needs to know when you're leaving, where you're going and when you expect to return.
• Carry your C-cards on board, along with a dive flag. And make sure to fly that dive flag when you're ready to descend! Other boaters need to know there are divers in the water so they can steer clear.
• ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS dive with a buddy. And before you descend, discuss your dive plan to make sure that both of you know what's going to happen.

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