1. Gerard Roch
Scuba diving activity
Introduction:
Last Tuesday we made our first incursion in the scuba diving world. This event was held,
of course, in the school swimming pool. That eliminates all possible hazard related with
diving in the sea. First of all it is not very deep, which avoids the need to decompress and
the nitrogen narcosis problem. Moreover, we could get out the water whenever we had or
wanted to, so the air levels were not a problem.
Materials:
We used swimming suits, swimming glasses and swimming hats. Apart from that, the
trainers gave us the air bottles and the jackets. We used a regulator too, which, as it's own
name indicates, regulates the pressure of the air given to you by decreasing the pressure
of the air coming out the bottle. Otherwise, we could have got injured because it would be
too compressed.
We did not need the neoprene since the water temperatures were pleasant, but when we
go to dive in the sea we will have to use it.
Technical details:
We dived for 10 minutes each at a deepness of 1,8 meters. That means that our normal air
consume has to be multiplied by 1,8 (every 10 meter of water the pressure increases 1
atmosphere). If we consume air at a rate of 8 litres per minute, that means that our total air
consume was, approximately, 144 litres of air. The fact that we were not at the bottom of
the pool during the 10minutes could for sure change the result, but it is not certain the
precise medium deepness, so we take the maximum deepness and calculate with that
data.
Safety measures:
There are some safety instructions which have to be taken into account when diving. To
start with, you have to start going back if your air levels reach the 50 atmospheres.
Another safety measure is to know well the language used in the water, so all the divers
know if you have a problem. One of the most important safety measures is to go always
with at least one more person in order he can help you if you are in trouble. The last one,
and maybe the most important, is to respect the decompression stops. Missing this last
part could mean serious injuries or even death.
Conclusions:
We think that this scuba diving activity was a great way to get used to all the gadgets
needed and used during immersion, and we are all willing to try it in the sea despite the
fact it is slightly more dangerous. On the other hand, we learned a lot of curiosities and
realised that diving is not as easy as it may seem, and you have to train and be prepared if
you don't want to get harmed.