Learn Cave Diving

Underwater cave diving may seem quite dangerous and risky, but not to those who were brave and adventurous types. Recently, more and more people are exploring the exciting and beautiful world of cave diving. This is a form of technical diving wherein certificates and licenses from cave diving associations is needed prior to diving into the cave.

Since cave diving is accompanied with innumerable risks, certified cave diving associations ensure the safety of cave divers by providing relevant training courses and cave diver certification. The training includes the basics of cave diving, safety issues, proper handling of tools and materials needed to operate while cave diving. Knowing how to operate these safety devices is very important in reducing the risks that may encounter when reaching the cave levels.

Discovering the beauty and tranquility of cave diving is becoming a hit today. Exploring the natural environment underwater gives a felling of belonging with the earth. That is why some cave diving enthusiasts describe how they feel about cave diving. For divers, every dive is an exciting and unique experience and underwater caves are among the most beautiful sites that every diver observed. Its clear water visibility enables the divers to observe geological formations that cannot be found elsewhere. By looking at the earth in a different perspective, cave divers afford to have an insight of knowing how the earth began and how life evolved.

Indeed, cave diving is very risky and not suited for everyone. Very few divers possess the knowledge, skill, experience, attitude, and judgment of becoming a cave diver. Earning a diver certification is something to be proud of because the training process is not quite easy to undergo.

Early Diving Technology

Going scuba diving sounds much more appealing than going self-contained underwater breathing apparatus diving, and saying scuba leaves more breath for swimming. Such equipment allows divers to explore many different water environments. The desire to experience such underwater depths since then has become more and more recognized. This is known through numerous undersea artifacts which have been found in ancient civilization. There have also been various representations of divers which are dated back to these early times.

The most basic method of underwater diving was simply to hold one’s breathe. The least complex forms of underwater gear were hollow reeds. These were cut and used as a basic form of snorkel.

Writings dating back to Ancient Greece, references are made to expert diving skills used in warfare. Diving techniques and primitive scuba equipments were also acknowledged. These things include sponge gatherers holding a heavy stone for a quick and deep descent.

Up to this time, the physical dangers inherent in the act of diving were not understood. The increased pressure demands were still felt. An attempt to counteract these difficulties, oil would be poured into the ears prior to the descent. Some oil was held within the mouth and spit out once you’ve reached the bottom of the water. A tether was used to pull these sponge gatherers back to the surface as quickly as needed.

In Greek writing, air hoses as well as crude diving bells were mentioned as far as breathing apparatus is concerned. In the fourteenth century, thinly sliced and polished tortoise shells were used as goggles. This was done by Persian divers.
The first diving bell was created by Guglielmo de Loreno in 1535. He used it to complete the first one-hour dive.

Different cultures during different time periods developed their own versions of diving bells. Bells were the first basic form of scuba equipment which allows divers to completely travel under water with more than one breath of air.

Perhaps, people may get interested if they know that humans are not the only species who have made use of such apparatus! A spider living underwater known as the diving bell spider construct its webs that are very similar to diving bells which provide oxygen for their needs.