Many nondivers believe that diving is only for tough men, barnacle-backed mariners. But it is not true. Actually diving is more of a pastime than even a sport. Usually it is not more strenous than taking a walk or driving a car to the convenience store.

We do not intend to persuade you that diving is lacking risk. It is a visit to another world that could be really dangerous at times, even to the extent of being fatal if you do not respect its natural laws. But generally statistics tell that driving is more dangerous than diving.

This undersea world functions according to some definite, predictable physical laws. They are not too complicated to comprehend, and realizing them, knowing them thoroughly helps you to function in the watery world, and helps you get rid of ungrounded fears.

Diving is divided into two somewhat similar activities: scuba diving and snorkelling. Snorkel is a plastic tube that extends along the side of your head and above the water, to provide you with fresh air while you float with your face under the water. You also wear a diving mask, a watertight airspace in front of your eyes, with a window for observing the beautiful underwater world. You also propel yourself forward by kicking a pair of fins that are attached to your feet. You do not need much gear, to name diving knife as one of the accessories.

Free diving means filling your lungs with air and dive below the surface holding your breath and looking for underworld mysteries until you need more fresh air, and you return to the surface.

Many people start snorkelling by going to Caribbean or Hawaii on vacation, they rent the gear and wade out in clear water. Snorkeling does not require a lot of training, and it is a good way to find out whether this kind of pastime is right for you, before you spend a fortune on scuba lessons and equipment.

There is a natural development from snorkeling to scuba diving, and many divers started with snorkel and diving mask. Scuba is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. You basically wear the same gear as snorkelers do, but take along a bottle of compressed air and a few mechanical devices that facilitate breathing from the bottle, a vest can be inflated with air or purged to adjust your buoyancy, and gauges to monitor air supply. As you stay underwater for a long time, you need some more extra gear, like a diving knife, for example.