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Welcome to our Scuba Diving Questions page. If you have a question about diving be sure to visit our contact page. We'll do our best to get your questions answered. What does Certification mean? The best way to answer this question is to provide you with a link to About.com. They’ve done a great job of discussing diving certification, the agencies that offer certification, and their differences and what you should look for.http://scuba.about.com/od/professionalsocieties/a/certagencies.htm How long does it take to get certified? Getting certified can take a few days, a few weeks, or a few months. It all depends on the course you choose, your personal timetable, and where you are located. See “What does Certification mean?” for more complete information. 
Where should I do my open water certification (cert) dive?To complete your certification course you are required to do an open water dive. What that means is that it isn’t in a swimming pool or shallow pond. It can be a lake, a reservoir, or the ocean. I know people who’ve done their cert dive during the winter in a lake. My sister did her cert dive in Lake Powell, AZ. I did mine in Monterey Bay, CA, water temp was 45. What I recommend if at all possible is that you do all your pool and classroom work wherever you are taking your course and do your cert dive in warm water. There are two reasons I suggest warm water cert dives: 1) you are much more comfortable temperature-wise, and 2) there is so much wonderful stuff to look at that you aren’t as concerned as you might be when you are in a lake with nothing to look at but your instructor (how scary is that!). How old do I have to be to learn to dive? Some countries/agencies will let people as young as 10 or 12 become Junior Open Water certified, which has some limitations. Check out the “What does Certification mean?” question and link for more information. 
How deep is the “good stuff”?The Good Stuff starts almost as soon as you enter the water. It all depends on where you are diving. Rule of thumb, from my perspective, is that 40-80 feet will get you just about anything you want to see, from sharks to nudibranchs. Do I have to wear a wet suit? Depends on 1) how tough you are, 2) water temp, 3) how deep you plan to dive, and 4) how many dives you plan for one day. The more dives you make in one day, the more impact you will have on your core temp. Now don’t panic, I’m not suggesting that you’ll drop to 80 degrees core temp. However, even a drop of one or two degrees will have an impact. At minimum I always wear a dive skin, for two reasons. One is to help maintain body temp and the other is to protect me should I bump into anything. Although I’m very careful with buoyancy, if a surge catches me unaware, I might inadvertently scrape against the coral. And that is not recommended because it harms the coral…and can cause serious damage to me. If I plan to dive more than once in a day, if I will be diving below 40 feet, or if the water temp is less than 75, I wear a wet suit. That way I’m comfortable and can have a good time on the dive. What is a liveaboard? A liveaboard means that you go out for several days on a dive boat that is equipped for sleeping, eating, diving, and entertainment. The entertainment might be nothing more than a CD player, although most of the boats have movies and also a way to share photos taken during the day’s dives. There will be a crew to take care of everything from driving the boat to cooking your food. All liveaboard dive boats are not created equal so it is important to do your research before booking. 
Which is better – land-based diving or going on a liveaboard?Like so many things in life, it all depends on what you want. A liveaboard is a great way to go if what you want more than anything else is to dive. That’s pretty much what you do – sleep, eat, dive, talk diving, eat, dive, talk diving, dive, eat…well, you get the idea. Land-based diving lets you have a more relaxing experience because you don’t do nearly so much diving, you can take a day off and explore the vicinity, try different restaurants, etc. They’re both great ways to go diving. And no one says you can’t have them both! 
Are sharks something to fear?I love diving with sharks and am very respectful of them. I’ve been up close to them and not been threatened, although I admit the adrenalin did run a bit higher. However, we all hear the stories about divers being attacked and I would be lying if I said that didn’t happen. What I can tell you is that sharks, with very few exceptions, really don’t think we taste very good and spit out even the best diver. Seriously though, shark “attacks” are generally a case of mistaken identify. Divers should always be aware of the areas where they are diving and whether or not they are putting themselves at risk. There are some good resources through the web on sharks and I encourage you to become familiar with the truth as opposed to the fables. Sharks are a much maligned species and deserve better understanding, particularly from divers who plan to be out in their territory. The Wikipedia has a very good site on sharks, including information about shark attacks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark 
Are there any special requirements for wreck diving?Wreck diving is for experienced divers with special training (check the certification agencies for what they offer). Anyone who enters a wreck and hasn’t been trained for it is risking his/her life and anyone else s/he is diving with. This isn’t meant to scare you away from wreck diving as it can be exciting. However, it takes special skill and understanding of what to expect. For example, just as in cave diving, visibility can disappear in an instant and you’d better know how to deal with it. So get trained, have the proper equipment, create a good plan with your dive buddy, and enjoy. Are there any special requirements for cave diving? Just like with wreck diving, cave diving is only for the experienced diver with special training (check the certification agencies for what they offer). Never let anyone talk you into cave diving if you haven’t been trained for it. It can be highly dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. However, if cave diving is something you want to do, go for it. Just get trained first, have a plan worked out with your dive buddy, never dive a cave by yourself, and have a great time. 
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