Scuba Diving FAQ's
How long can you stay underwater?
How deep can you go underwater?
What are the bends?
What is the strangest thing you have seen underwater?
How long can you stay underwater? - The amount of time that you can stay underwater depends on a few things. The amount of air you take down with you, the depth you go down to, and what you are doing underwater. The deeper you go underwater the more air you will use. You will use more air if you are chasing or being chased by an ill tempered bass, than you would if you were just taking your time sightseeing. An experienced diver with a 80 cubic foot tank can stay underwater for approximately 60 minutes when limiting his or her depth to 50 feet. Time limits get shorter as you go deeper.
How deep can you go underwater? - For recreational scuba divers breathing normal air from a scuba tank, the recommended limits are: 60 feet for beginning divers, 100 feet for advanced divers, and an absolute limit of 130 feet. It is not recommended to exceed these limits.
What are the bends? - The bends are what some call Decompression Sickness. Decompression Sickness is caused by nitrogen bubbles forming in a divers bloodstream. The nitrogen is absorbed in your blood when you breath compressed air underwater. During a normal dive the nitrogen comes out of your bloodstream and is exhaled as you get closer to the surface. If time limits, depth limits, and/or a safe accent rate are exceeded, the excess nitrogen build up can allow nitrogen bubbles to form. Even when diving well within recommended time & depth limits, there is still a chance of getting Decompression Sickness. The only way to be 100% sure you do not get Decompression Sickness, is not to dive.
What is the strangest thing I have seen underwater? - I have seen a lot of unique fish in the oceans. The thing I will probably always remember, is the loon I saw swimming by me underwater. Those birds can really move.