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Scuba diving is a very exciting and fun sport for different ages. However, you can't deny that it can also be a dangerous activity especially for beginners. Nevertheless if you know the essentials of scuba diving, you can ensure safety and enjoyment.

Here are some important scuba diving tips for beginners:

1. Never learn scuba diving on your own. Take diving lessons that lead to certification before you attempt scuba diving. There are many professional diving schools that can provide this.

2. Check with your doctor to see if you are fit for scuba diving. Be sure to undergo a swimming test before you take your lessons. As a beginner, you don't need to be a competitive swimmer but should at least know how to swim properly.

3. Dive only in waters which you are certified for. There are special certifications for diving under ice water, in underwater caves, and by shipwrecks. These dangerous forms of diving need special training.

4. Never go scuba diving alone. During  your first dives, be sure that you aren't only accompanies by beginners.

5. Follow instruction carefully and listen to the dive group leader.

6. Each time you go scuba diving, check your equipment that everything is functioning properly. Also make sure that everything fits you well.

7. Check the weather conditions in the area where you plan to drive. Check with the local weather bureau if it is safe to dive. If you hear of a storm coming cancel your diving trip. Not only will you get wet on the way, lightning might hit the water and you could get struck.

8. Wear sun block before diving. Even if you are underwater, you can still get sunburned. And you wouldn't notice it because of the cool water.

9. Drink a lot of water whenever you are on the surface. Being surrounded by water doesn't mean that you body will get the water it needs. Many people get dehydrated while scuba diving.

10. Be aware of the symptoms and the signs of conditions such as heat exhaustion and hypothermia. Learn about the first aid treatment for these.

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For centuries, people have tried to explore the aquatic environment. Before, their main reason was to gather food or to salvage some items from rivers, lakes and oceans. Also, young girls and boys were trained to free dive to gather shellfish and seaweed, and even sponges from the sea floor.

In modern times, although people still continue to dive for valuable objects and food, diving’s popularity grew especially in warm vacation destinations. Tourists and diving enthusiasts skin dive to explore the underwater world. Without any special training and equipment, they were able to observe the beauty of aquatic life.

Basically, skin diving is defined as a water activity wherein swimmers depend on their lung capacity, a diving mask, snorkel, and fins to move about underwater for several minutes. It is an extension of snorkeling, where a person views the underwater environment from the water surface.

Skin diving is termed as such because of the little equipment it requires. Its basic requirements are only a waterproof mask, fins for the feet, and a snorkel. A snorkel is just a tube about 38 cm long with a mouthpiece on one end, used for breathing underwater.

The diving mask should allow the skin divers to see clearly even when underwater. A mask which completely encapsulates the nose and eyes to form an air space between the water and diver’s eyes is preferred.

Fins, or also called flippers are like the webbed feet of a duck. These enhance the divers’ movements below the water, and helped to propel them in a smooth and efficient motion. All fins have a foot pocket to secure your feet in, and large sheets of flexible plastic.

Snorkels are also helpful in observing shallow marine life. As long one end extends out of the surface, the diver will be able to breathe normally. However, snorkels shouldn't be more than 15 inches long since air can't be drawn to greater depths.

If you want to go deeper into the water, you have to hold your breath. Since you can’t possiblily live without breathing for hours, you could only stay beneath the ocean for brief periods, usually about two minutes. Experienced skin divers, however, however are known to stay underwater for several minutes.

The main difference of skin diving from scuba diving is the device used by scuba divers. Scuba stands for “self-contained underwater-breathing apparatus”, which is basically just a metal tank filled with air. This tank should be connected to a valve regulator for pressure adjustment so the diver can breathe comfortably even at greater water pressures.

Also, since scuba diving involves exploring the water at greater depths, there are other major considerations. A scuba diver needs a suit to keep him warm enough while underwater.

Scuba divers also make use of buoyancy compensators to help them control their position while underwater. A diver just controls the amount of air in these buoyancy compensators to adjust their overall buoyancy.

Of course, there are several pressure related injuries which a scuba diver is exposed to. Ascending or descending too quickly causing significant rapid changes in the pressure difference between a diver’s body and his surroundings may be fatal. That’s why, scuba divers need to go through specialized training to be able to stay safe and remain alive even when more than a hundred feet below water.

That’s basically the difference between scuba diving and skin diving. When you scuba dive, you are largely dependent on your diving gears for survival. Skin diving on the other hand is a simpler form of exploring the underwater environment, that’s probably what makes it very popular. As mentioned, you only need to rely on your own swimming prowess. You won’t need to pay for any expensive special breathing equipment.

So if you plan to stay at greater depths for a longer period of time, you can take some scuba diving lessons. Scuba diving is mostly beneficial for those who wish to study and collect date on marine environments.

Skin diving is mostly used for food gathering underwater. In some parts of the Caribbean, it is illegal to catch lobsters using any scuba equipment, thus, those who are good in skin make hundreds of dives each day to collect lobsters.

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Scuba diving is a sport that many people indulge in, and it is a fun experience for almost anyone, except perhaps those who can't swim and are terrified of water. It isn't without it's risks, however, and like any outdoor hobby or sport, injuries can be sustained, sometimes even fatal ones, by undertrained or poorly equipped divers. For the noobies out there, here are a few preparatory steps that you must take and some information you need to make sure that you can enjoy your first dive in safety.

Certification and Training - take up a course that actually gives you certification to scuba dive. If you're just doing scuba for kicks however, like maybe just renting gear out at a beach resort while on vacation, then make sure you are accompanied by one a professional instructor when you do your dive. Also, keep in mind that scuba divers must have skills in swimming and snorkelling as prerequisites for scuba diving. If you're not proficient in both of these areas, it's best to try them out first before doing something as serious and complex as scuba.

Equipment Checks - make sure that your equipment is in proper working order. As stated earlier, get proper training before doing a dive. Part of any good scuba instructional course includes the care and maintenance of equipment, as well as spotting potential weaknesses in equipment that can lead to it's failure underwater. Many divers have suffered accidents during dives due to faulty air lines, but aside from that be sure to check the rest of your equipment just as thoroughly, down to your compass and first aid kit.

First Aid - you'll need special training in treating underwater injuries, as well as the ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of common maladies incurred by divers, which include hypothermia, decompression sickness, and in hot weather, heat stoke and dehydration. Make sure your first aid kit is well stocked before the dive.

Know Ascents and Descents - part of diving successfully is to keep a pressure gauge and depth gauge that monitors water pressure around you and the depth you're at. Water pressure increases drastically the deeper you go, and divers can sometimes suffer dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, and muscle cramps from descending too quickly. On the opposite note, even with a good, controlled descent, a rapid ascent can also lead to system shock and trauma if the diver just suddenly dumps his diving weights and rockets to the surface. The body won't be able to adjust to the sudden lack of pressure, especially once the diver leaves the water.

Buddy Diving - never dive alone if you're a noobie. Always have a more experienced and trained diver with you. Keep your buddy in sight at all times, and be sure to follow his or her lead once the dive begins. Do NOT go off on your own, no matter how safe the surrounding waters seem to you. Tempting as it may sound for the adventurous, even if you and a friend take the same scuba course at the same time, remember that he or she does NOT count as a diving buddy if you're both noobies. There's nothing more dangerous in any outdoor exploratory sport than a pair of people blundering around in a dangerous environment.

Communication - learn the hand signals used underwater by divers to communicate. Even with a high tech open face scuba mask that has an integral comm radio, these hand signals are a must for any diver. For one, your radio may break down and run out of batteries. For another, you might run into a cute girl on your dive who's not wearing a comm system...

Navigation - know how to navigate underwater. The training course that you take should include the recognition and use of simple tools like an underwater compass, as well as more advanced things like using underwater floater buoys and line markers that will allow you to backtrack to your starting point once you're done with your dive. Losing sight of your buddy and getting lost underwater is scary, take my word for it, and having the capability to backtrack and meet up at a predetermined rendezvous point takes a load off your mind if this happens.

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