Sara Rich long had an affinity for the underwater world.

But she never really had been, well, under water.

And living in landlocked Kansas, Rich figured her pursuit of watery bliss would have to wait until she moved to one coast or another.

That thinking changed, however, earlier this year.

Rich had a vacation planned in Florida, and she started thinking about diving there. Her daily walk to work carried her past the Scuba Shack in East Lawrence, and one day she decided to stop in.

“It was very convenient,” Rich recalled. “They were so willing to accommodate me. I was on a short schedule. I said, ‘I’m leaving for Florida next week.’ I explained what my situation was, and they basically took care of it.”

Taking the plunge | LJWorld.com

Three years ago, when my husband and I signed up for scuba diving lessons, we envisioned it as a life-changing — or at least a vacation-changing — decision.

Since we had always been partial to beach getaways, we figured we would find ample opportunity to practice our newfound skills. Just days after completing certification, we hopped a plane bound for the British Virgin Islands, where we found time to hit the ocean bottom nine times in between other activities, such as getting married and enjoying our honeymoon.

Sleep with the fishes

Soldiers and Marines severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan will have the opportunity to learn adapted water skiing, scuba and other water sports as guests at the 2006 Adaptive Water Sports Festival, presented by Disabled Sports USA, the Wounded Warrior Project, Graybeards, and the Fire Department of New York City.

Specially trained volunteers from the FDNY, including Firefighter Tom Westman, winner of the CBS 2005 Survivor series, will be on hand to teach the “Wounded Warriors.” Despite the fact that most have single and even multiple amputations and other severe injuries, all will participate and learn.

Wounded service members learn to water ski, scuba, sail in New York

Of all the outlandish experiences on offer to travellers, little compares with the unnatural thrill you get from breathing underwater. At first, it seems so wrong. You put your head under — perhaps in a swimming pool or a shallow lagoon — and you can see other student divers around you trying to come to terms with the sheer strangeness of it all. You exhale, and a plume of bubbles appears briefly in front of you, trembling like a living thing as it leaves your body and enters the liquid world. You realise that breathing has become the most enthralling thing you’ve ever done. You are becoming a scuba diver, and it feels so right . . .

Bottoms up

When West Virginians want to participate in an outdoor adventure, the obvious activities come to mind: whitewater rafting, rock climbing or skiing.

But the co-owners of X-treme Sports in Beckley think another outdoor activity will soon make a big splash in the Mountain State.

“Scuba diving is really growing in popularity,” said owner Alan Floresca. When he and Jim Holt took over the shop ten years ago, everything in it revolved around scuba diving.

John Moore runs Divebums, a San Diego-specific dive information website. Over the years, he’s made marine-themed t-shirts and calendars. However, his most recent creations focus on the little known — but increasingly popular — specialty courses known as Stupid Diver and Advanced Stupid Diver. These courses, of course, are only offered through the dive instruction organization known as the Professional Association of Stupid Divers (PASD). Once you complete the certification requirements (which are, very, very easy to do), you can get your own t-shirt and proclaim to the world that you’re a proud member of the Association of Stupid Divers!

Professional Association of Stupid Divers’ T-shirts Available NOW! – Divester

Journalist Kate Rew gives an interesting account of trying free diving for the first time, deep within the glamourous confines of the 30 metres deep submarine escape tank in Gosport, England. The tank training is part of a comprehensive free diving course run by a company called Deeper Blue, who also organise trips for free divers to Egypt.

Free Diving: A Beginner’s Guide – divehappy.com: Scuba Diving In Thailand and South East Asia

A shark was waiting for unwitting divers as they entered the scuba pool during the Keizer Iris Festival.

Fortunately, it was plastic.

If they could overcome their fears of rubberized carnivores, the divers got to face the real hurdle: breathing under water.

Keizertimes.com

This intro to scuba is about finding out what suits you.

First, it’s the flippers.

Then, the vest, an inflatable contraption that straps on like a life jacket and doesn’t let go.

You’ve also got an air tank, a mask and, if you’re still floating, weights to drag you down.

But the fit that instructors Grant and Judy Dawson are really looking for comes down to a basic equation:

You + scuba = love.

The Sweat Box: Introduction to scuba diving

Not exactly one of the world’s top spots for scuba diving, but when life gives you lemons . . .

St. Andrew student Anne Villarin had never scuba dived until this week. She is on the Helena Lions Swim Team and said it was really fun to be able to breathe underwater.

This is also the first time sophomore Mary Holbrook has experienced scuba diving.

“I’ve never had a fear of water, but I’ve never been a fan of holding my breath for a long time,” she said.

Interesting write-up on the course being offered at the Waynesboro YMCA.

If humans were meant to explore the depths of the ocean, they would have gills. Since most don’t, underwater enthusiasts turn to self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or scuba, to get their aquatic fixes.

Has it been awhile since you last practiced some of your underwater hand signals? The Recreational Scuba Training Council – which includes IDEA, PADI, PDIC, SDI, SSI, and the YMCA – has produced a nifty little PDF that you can download and review.

An old instructor tip for stuff like this that you might like to save and have available in your gear bag to review from time to time is to print the pages out and then go to your local Kinkos and have them heat laminate the pages. They won’t stand up to taking them on dives with you but you don’t have to worry about them getting ruined by a few drops of water either.