responsibility to the public and to our- 

 selves to see that the sport stays safe." 



Instructors stress that certification 

 courses are needed to familiarize people 

 with the equipment and the do's and 

 don'ts of diving. 



"Much of what goes on in diving 

 courses is teaching students how to 

 deal with unexpected situations like 

 having your mask flood while un- 

 derwater," says Goetz. 



Another objective of the diving 

 course is to dispel fears people have 

 about marine life such as sharks and 

 eels. Seasoned divers scoff at movies 

 like "Jaws" and "The Deep," saying 

 the writers and producers are mis- 

 leading the public about these nor- 

 mally harmless creatures. 



"In the water, to a shark, you are 

 just another big fish, and, as long as 

 you don't start thrashing around and 

 drawing attention to yourself, they will 

 swim right on by," Goetz says. 



Shirley Kelley offers this rule when 

 diving. "If you don't know what it is, 

 don't touch it, and keep your hands 

 out of cracks and crevices," she says. 



"It's an incredible world down there 



and a friendly one too," she says. 

 "What makes me so sad is that 

 everybody is afraid of it. It's like being 

 afraid of a flower garden." 



Topside again 



Eastep glances at his watch and sees 

 that he and Leonard have only a few 

 minutes of bottom time left — time 

 needed to locate the anchor line before 

 ascending. 40 feet ... 30 feet ... 20 

 feet ... 10 feet . . . 



Beside the boat, Eastep's head and 

 shoulders emerge from the swells. 

 "Good dive" he shouts to the captain. 

 He swims to the ladder attached at the 

 boat's stern and ducks his head under 

 the water to remove his flippers. As he 

 hands his flippers to the captain, 

 Leonard's head pops out of the water 

 behind him. Eastep looks back at him 

 and grins before climbing the ladder. 

 Leonard soon follows. Both begin to 

 remove their wet equipment that now 

 gleams in the morning sunlight. They 

 talk rapidly about the things they've 

 seen. 



Photo by Neil Caudle 



Ron Thrower 



Some diving essentials 



Diving is an expensive sport, es- 

 pecially if divers frequent the coast 

 with any regularity. Certification 

 courses cost anywhere from $50 to 

 $100. A full set of new equipment will 

 range in price from $400 to $800, but 

 you can rent it by the weekend for $20 

 to $30. A short trip on a chartered dive 

 boat (one dive) will probably run be- 

 tween $20-25 and a longer trip (two 

 dives) will cost $40-50. 



Diving rules 



— Take a certification course with a 

 good dive instructor. The YMCA, the 

 National Association of Skin Diving 

 Schools (NASDS), the National 

 Association of Underwater Instructors 

 (NAUI), the Professional Association 

 of Diving Instructors (PADI) and 

 SCUBA Schools International offer 

 good diving courses. 



— Be familiar with the prospective 

 dive site and plan your dive. Be sure 

 the conditions at the site are within 

 your diving capabilities. 



— Make sure your boat captain puts 

 out a divers' flag. 



— Never dive alone. Dive with some- 

 one whose abilities you can trust in an 

 emergency and maintain contact with 

 your buddy throughout the dive. 



— Ascend according to the Navy 

 dive tables or the NOAA dive tables. 



— Watch for any symptoms of de- 

 compression sickness — rash, dizziness, 

 pains or nausea. Even a minor case of 

 the bends, left untreated, can intensify 

 and become crippling. 



— Never dive if you have a cold. 

 Diving with a head cold can result in a 

 ruptured eardrum, while diving with a 

 chest cold can lead to embolism, or 

 blockage of blood vessels by air bub- 

 bles. 



— Never consume alcohol or other 

 drugs before diving. Drugs affect the 

 body differently underwater where 

 pressure is increased. A diver's judg- 

 ment may be dulled and he may be 

 more prone to decompression sickness 

 and other physical problems. 



— Divers should refrain from smok- 



ing at least one hour before diving. 

 Smoking impairs breathing and 

 decreases the body's ability to supply 

 oxygen to vital tissues. For smokers, a 

 conservative approach to the Navy's 

 dive tables is recommended. 



— Sport divers should not dive at 

 depths greater than 110 feet. Below 

 that depth, divers are susceptible to 

 nitrogen narcosis, more commonly 

 called "rapture of the deep," which af- 

 fects the diver much the same way as 

 alcohol. 



Equipment 



Since man doesn't have gills and fins 

 like fish to help him underwater, he 

 needs special equipment to adapt to 

 the ocean environment. Here's a list of 

 equipment instructors suggest divers 

 have: mask, fins, buoyancy compen- 

 sator (controls buoyancy underwater 

 and acts as a lifejacket on the surface), 

 weight belt, air tanks, wet suit, 

 regulator, pressure gauge, waterproof 

 watch and an underwater knife. 



