Scuba is an acronym for "Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus." The term has come into common use to mean the sport of diving itself as well as to describe the gear that is used. The desire to dive under the water has been a part of the human experience for a long time. It was triggered by the need to catch fish and harvest shellfish, but also its growth was spurred by the desire for scientific knowledge and exploration. It was actually warfare that led to the development of modern scuba gear.

The first scuba divers were military personnel trained to swim under water with their own air supply. Although scuba diving is still a military pursuit, other divers don scuba gear for salvage, repair, scientific, and all manner of other technical reasons. These divers are all professional people with a high level of training. Then there is recreational scuba diving. This sport has become popular all over the country, as recreational divers explore lakes and rivers in addition to the ocean bottoms.

The Date Activity

Scuba diving is one of those activities that are definitely not a spur of the moment date idea. Unless both parties are experienced divers, a great deal of preparation is going to be required to do it safely. This is the major consideration in scuba diving. It is one of those recreational hobbies that can be exhilarating, but also dangerous. Proper training, however, can reduce that danger to a very low level and that is the place to start.

It is often a good idea to receive the training ahead of a planned vacation. Scuba training is available almost everywhere and practice can take place in a local lake or pond carefully monitored by a professional instructor. If this is done in advance, precious vacation time is not wasted on the training. If you are making a trip to a prime scuba diving area, you are going to want to take advantage of every second of diving time.

On Your Own / With Friends

Scuba diving is a "buddy" system activity. This is one of the most important safety concepts of diving. Never dive alone. There are diving clubs in many areas and they can be a source of diving companions. Many of the clubs will sponsor group diving outings and there will be no problem finding partners this way. If you experience any trouble while scuba diving, there is nothing more important than having a buddy there to help. This is one activity unsuited for solos.