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Sports: Scuba Diving

[ Background | Equipment | Where ]

Background

Scuba diving was created by Jacques Cousteau who invented the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, which includes the air tanks, regulators, hoses and mask needed for effortless breathing under the water. Scuba diving is a great sport for seeing the undersea nature. When you have your PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), TDI (Technical Diving International), or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) scuba diving certification, you can dive almost anywhere in the world.

Equipment

Scuba diving involves not just the cost of the equipment, but also travel to good & often execotic scuba locations. The equipment for scuba diving is life-critical and always top quality, though you can rent it (especially if you don't dive a lot) at almost any resort or dive shop when you have a recognized certification.

Typical diving gear includes: a mask, a snorkel, a full length wet suit, a hood, a pair of diving gloves, a weight belt, a BCD (Buoyancy Control Device), a primary regulator with an alternate air source (second stage), an air tank, instrument console, diving boots, flippers, a diving knife, dive tables, a slate and an equipment bag for carrying the gear. The equipment is not cheap to buy, with a BCD costing $300-$800y.

Equipment and lessons are available at one of the scuba diving shops here. Try on every piece of equipment before buying. Those with a pool on location, will even let you try it underwater to make sure it functions and fits properly. If you choose to buy used equipment, check it thoroughly, have it inspected by a professional scuba diving equipment technician and ask to test it out (remember, its your life support underwater).

Where

Halifax is an intersting place to dive, with a number of lakes not far from the city. The sandy shores, the tidal rivers and bays, variable currents and tides make for very intersting diving conditions along the coast. Area bays and inlets are filled with wrecks to explore, a bonus for divers. Wet suits are a necessity in the cold waters, and a valid certification card is required to buy air and rent equipment at one of the many scuba shops in Halifax and Dartmouth. Contact the Nova Scotia Underwater Council at 425-5450, ext. 325, for information about dive sites, clubs, dive shops and air stations.

The waters along the 350-mile-long Nova Scotia coastline are a graveyard of 5,000 vessels. Most wreck diving is concentrated on the Atlantic side of the province and Halifax's harbor is home to nearly 150 wrecks, ranging from 200-year-old schooners and 19th century steamships to modern cargo ships. Nova Scotia boasts more than 600 native species that enjoy the underwater shelter of these wrecks.

Here are some local highlightes:

• Costarican Trader, a 380-foot Liberian vessel thrown stern-first onto the rocks in 1967, lies at 40 feet and supports an amazing abundance of large and small marine organisms
• Letitia, a 468-foot hospital ship, was carrying wounded Canadian solders from Europe to Halifax in 1917 when she ran aground,and lies at depths ranging from 36 to 140 feet
• HMS Tribune, a British frigate sunk in 1797
• Salerno, and iron-hulled ship downed in 1905
• Isleworth, a steamship that sank in 1912; and the
• A.W. Perry, run aground in 1915, popular for night dive s

You can also leanr more from the Halifax Lethernecks Scuba Club,though Divers WOrld at (902) 876-0555.