Two-thirds of our precious Earth’s surface is covered by water. Only one-third of the Earth’s surface is above water. Yes, you got it right, as local guides we map only one-third of the Earth.
The whole rest is underwater and not easy to access. What if we could map some of that hidden underwater Earth.
I bet all of you have heard about the legend of Atlantis. The Amazing city which legends say sunk into the Ocean. What if we could find it and add to the maps.
What if we could mark the shipwrecks around our countries shorelines. The ancient ships which travel the world for the Spice trade, for War, for piracy and found their final resting place beneath the Ocean and become homes for marine life.
What if we could tell the stories of Airplanes sits quietly underwater. Who knows, maybe they got enough of flying skies and wanted to live their retirement underwater.
What if we could map the beautiful coral reefs flourishing with wonderful marine life.
In fact, it’s a whole new world down underwater for us to map… if we are up for it.
What is the Key to map underwater?
It’s becoming a Diver. For all adventures local guides I’m writing this post to encourage you to become a diver and join our quest forming a Seal Team to;
- Include this vast amazing underwater Earth into the Google maps,
- Make awareness of protecting marine life.
- Contribute to conserve dying corals and help to regenerate them.
- Clean the ocean and help marine ecosystems to flourish into their old glory.
- It’s not that difficult to become a licensed diver if you have a bit of adventure in your blood.
To become a Diver first you have to be ;
- 15+ years of age.
- Be in good health and physical condition
- Able to swim(For a discovery dive this is not a must).
Your First Dive – The Discovery Dive
If you can check all the boxes above, you are all set for a discovery dive. Go to your local dive station and sign in for a discovery dive. Discovery dive is for the armature divers to get the flavor of diving and learn elementary skills for diving. But believe me, it may sound like not much, but it’s an amazing experience. Divemaster would teach and provide training for all essential skills and take you about 5-meter depth undersea. 5 meter(15 Feet) is more than enough for you to start to experience the beauty of the underwater Earth. You could see the flocks of fish swim around you. Sea turtles dance around you. Colorful corals blossom beneath you. If you are lucky you may be able to see a little ship wrack(depends on your location).
Discovery dive is a lot like you learn to walk with the help of your parents. The divemaster will basically hold your hand and take you through the tour. They will always check on you. So there is almost nothing to worry about.
One thing you have to remember is to equalizing the air pressure in your body so that you won’t get a headache. It’s a very easy and fun thing to do. The divemaster will tell you how to perform it during the training.
If you fall in love(I bet you will) with the Marine world from your discovery dive, then the next step is to become a licensed diver through a proper training program. Obtain a certification like PADI or SSI.
Becoming a licensed Open Water Diver
This is usually a three to a four-day full-time training program. Offered by certification bodies like PADI or SSI. First, you will have to go through some classroom sessions on theoretical aspects of diving(Air pressure, Nitrogen Decompression Sickness, Diving gears a usage, emergency procedures, hand signals Dos and Don’ts etc…)nd
Then you will go through some hands-on training on the equipment(BCD, Air Tank, Regulators, Masks etc…). Then you would be trained and tested to use that equipment on confined water(in a pool or shallow water)
If you pass your confined water training sessions, then you will be able to go for the real thing.
Two 10-12 meter dives – You will receive training and have to face some tests on skills you practice during this dives.
Two 15-18 meter dives – Similar to above you will have to face some tests on skills you learned
At the successful completion of those dive sessions, you would have to sit for an exam as the final test.
That’s it ….!!! At the successful completion of the above activities, you are a certified open water diver. The certification body would issue you a certification and a Diving License Card(Just like your driving license). With that in hand, you could dive around the world up to 18m depths.
Happy Diving…
#Let’sDive #Let’s Guide #LGSealTeam
@MariaNgo , @iorikun301 , @SilvyC , @AbdullahA_2 @abdullahAM @InaS hope you may find this useful.
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Congratulations on your PADI Open water diving licence. 
Im thinking of exploring a ship wrack … next… 
