Your first trip out to the Great Barrier Reef can be an exciting experience, filled with anticipation about what underwater marine life will be seen and encountered. As you step onto Passions of Paradise for your trip out to the reef, one of the first things you will see is our dive deck, fully equipped with the latest state-of-the-art scuba equipment. For many passengers who have never dived before, this sight alone piques some curiosity. Questions start to swirl in the mind: I wonder what it would be like? Is that something I could do? Is it any fun? There are, however, some other questions that potential divers ask our instructors, questions that are understandable given the exciting mystique surrounding the sport to outsiders. So, we’ve compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions, answered directly by our dive staff, to help potential divers feel at ease so they can experience the magic of scuba diving.
IS DIVING SAFE?
Passions of Paradise places at the forefront diver safety. Our staff is expertly trained and also updates in their skills to assure every diver is as safe as possible. Modern dive training uses methods and techniques that have been developed over decades to make sure the educational systems produce safe recreational divers. Because of this, scuba diving in general is one of the safer recreational activities in which you can participate. The equipment, training, and instructors all work together to make sure diving is as safe as possible, and diving’s safety record shows they’ve done their homework well.
HOW LONG WILL A TANK OF AIR LAST?
Most beginning students are floored to know that a scuba tank is filled only with compressed, dry, filtered air – not oxygen. Too high a level of oxygen in the scuba tank could lead to diver problems, so for recreational diving, they are filled only with simple compressed air. How long a tank of compressed air will last depends on the individual. Everyone has a different breathing rate, and the experience level of a diver influences his air consumption. It also depends on the depth. The deeper the dive the more quickly the air is consumed. In general, for introductory diving, there is enough air per person for about 90 minutes; as our introductory dives typically last 30 minutes, there is more than enough air for the entire dive.
HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE TO DIVE?
A potential introductory diver must be at least 12 years old to participate in Queensland. There is no upper age limit; however, certain medical conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, heart disease, brain damage, spinal & nervous maladies and other disorders may preclude a person from diving. A diving medical from a diving doctor, in English, is always advised if you have any health concerns.
HOW WELL DO I HAVE TO SWIM?
This is the best part: We take people every day who can’t swim; some visitors trying scuba for the first time may not have ever seen the ocean before. Our instructors are here to help, and during the dive can hold on and provide all the mobility one needs.
WHAT ABOUT SHARKS
Ah yes, the most frequently ‘Frequently Asked Question’ we receive. The truth is, the sharks we see out on the reef are quite small, mostly around one metre in size, and are completely harmless. Most people do not know that sharks are rapidly disappearing from our world’s oceans, as an estimated 70-100 million sharks per year are fished out of the world’s oceans. Unfortunately, on our introductory dives, you are very unlikely to see a shark, but if you do, it will take one look at the dive group, and turn the other direction.
So there you have it. Some great info about trying scuba diving out on Passions of Paradise; now that you’re armed with knowledge about trying a dive, why not book a trip and come give it a try!?
