How to Learn to Dive? How To Get My Scuba Diving Certification?

How to Scuba Dive? How To Get My Scuba Diving Certification?
Beginner's guide to learning to dive and get a scuba certification

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving

“Darcy does what no one else in the scuba industry is doing: writing actually helpful ideas that come from experience. And also bringing statistics never before seen in scuba diving.” ~JC De Garay

How to Increase Safety, Save Money & Have More Fun!

The statistics are not good! Chances are that you will NOT dive about your open water scuba diver certification course because the instructor cut corners and scared you more than he trained you.

This book puts you in charge of your own adventure!

The original & valuable SafetyPerformanceFun (SPF) Framework for learning to dive gives you the information and the tools to ensure your own safety and have such an outstanding scuba diving experience that it will lead you to a lifetime of legendary underwater adventures!

Recommendations in this book are backed by industry-wide surveys. And Darcy shares the stats with you. He also explains ISO international dive training standards so you can prepare for your scuba certification and know if you are being short-changed.

This book will pay for itself!

A few dollars now = safety, savings & fun for the rest of your life!

Scuba Diving Flag - certified diver

Is this book for me?

If you are not a diver yet, grab this in-depth handbook before registering for your open water scuba diving certification course! It is everything you need to know your scuba diving certification in a step-by-step beginner’s guide.

If you are a newly certified scuba diver and do not yet feel safe & comfortable underwater, this is also for you. This guide will explain what you should do to become as relaxed underwater as you are on your couch at home.

If you are a scuba diving instructor, this reference book will provide a quality framework to use with your open-water divers to prepare them for a lifetime of legendary underwater experiences.

For newly certified scuba divers & those thinking about making the plunge!

Start off on the right fin!

This step-by-step guidebook to learning to dive covers scuba certification courses, dive equipment & dive travel with 550+ pages of actionable information.

  • Should I get a PADI certification or go with another dive training agency?
  • How much does it cost to learn to dive?
  • How long does it take to get comfortable underwater?
  • What can I do to feel & be safe while scuba diving?
  • How can I save money?
  • Will I get a scuba license or certification?
  • What are the scuba certification levels, and which ones matter to me?
  • Typical mistakes made by people who decide to learn to dive.
  • The pitfalls & traps in the dive industry. How to avoid them.
  • Your health & fitness to dive.
  • What dive gear do I need?
  • What should I buy & should not buy?
  • And so much more!

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving

How to Increase Safety, Save Money & Have More Fun!

Why Do I Need a Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide to Scuba Diving?

Regardless of your reason for wanting to learn to dive, chances are you won’t go scuba diving after completing your open-water certification. Weird, right? Well, that’s what the stats say! But I’m sure it is not what you want, is it?

There are “holes” in the way scuba diving instructors teach nowadays, and this handbook will lay it bare so you can prepare and get what you need for a lifetime of legendary underwater adventures.

Discovering the underwater world is a life-changing experience. And this book will help you navigate the pitfalls & traps in the dive industry to increase safety, save money & have more fun!

The Author

Most books about learning to dive are written by instructors with good content. But Darcy Kieran gives you a 360-degree view from his experience as a scuba diving instructor trainer on top of his expertise as owner/manager of dive shops, dive equipment wholesalers, dive boats, scuba diving university programs & dive resorts.

You will understand the limitations of various dive industry professionals & organizations and get practical tactics on how to get the quality you deserve & need.

What To Know About Scuba Diving & Learning To Dive

With this beginner’s guide to scuba diving, you will know exactly what to do before registering for an open water diver course.

This handbook won’t teach you how to scuba dive – you must get in the water for that! But it will show you how to increase safety, save money & have more fun by providing guidance on:

  • Selecting a dive instructor, dive center, dive resort & dive boat.
  • Preparing for your open water diver certification course.
  • What dive gear to buy & what to rent.
  • Where to take your dive certification and with whom.
  • How to save money by spending on what will actually help you.
  • What dive destination is suitable for you.
  • And a lot more! Check the table of content below.

Learn From Others’ Mistakes

In this scuba guide, the author shares typical mistakes that would cost you time and money and, in many cases, provide you with such a bad experience that you would want to stop scuba diving.

This diving handbook gives you a chance to learn from other scuba divers’ mistakes! It will help you understand how the dive industry operates so you can navigate it to your advantage.

Do not risk missing out on a lifetime of legendary scuba diving adventures because many dive professionals you’ll encounter are not always professionals. Instead, learn how to be the leader of your own scuba diving adventure!

A Sidenote To Scuba Diving Instructors

As you know, going from entry-level diver to scuba instructor can be achieved quickly with minimal training & knowledge, leaving you unprepared to offer the best scuba experience. You will find in this reference book a framework to use with your open water students to bring your dive courses one notch above the competition & train divers who actually dive!

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving

is available in print, eBook & audiobook

4 WAYS TO READ IT ON PAPER:

AMAZON
Print

LULU
Print-on-Demand

BARNES & NOBLE
(USA) Print

 Indigo-Chapters
(Canada) Print

2 WAYS TO LISTEN TO IT:

GOOGLE PLAY

Audiobook

You can use the Google Play app on the iPhone as well!

KOBO

Audiobook

You can listen with Kobo on Android, Apple, Windows & Mac.

9 WAYS TO eREAD IT:

Kindle
eBook

Apple Books
eBook

Kobo
eBook

Google Play
eBook

Nook
(USA) eBook

Indigo-Chapters
(Canada) eBook

Angus & Robertson
(Australia) eBook

Mondadori
(Italy) eBook

Vivlio
(France) eBook

And there’s a matching scuba diver logbook with checklists!

Extensive selection criteria come with questions and red flags to ensure you get safety, performance & fun with:

  • The Best Dive Instructor For You
  • A Safe & Reliable Dive Center
  • Quality in Air & Nitrox Fills
  • A Safe & Fun Dive Boat
  • A Green, Environmentally-Friendly Dive Operator or Instructor

The checklists in the SPF Scuba Diving Starter Logbook match the recommendations in The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving.

Table of Content

THE ULTIMATE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SCUBA DIVING

How to increase safety, save money & have more fun!

  1. SCUBA DIVING & YOU
    1. Four Initial Mistakes by People Who Decide to Learn to Dive
    2. The Purpose of This Guidebook & Its Value To You
    3. Scuba Diving: What is it, really?
    4. Scuba Diving: Why?
    5. Learning To Dive: Reality Check
    6. The Safety-Performance-Fun (SPF) Framework for Scuba Diving
    7. A.S.K. Quality
    8. Is scuba diving for me?
    9. Alternatives To Scuba Diving That Are Also Good Preparatory Steps
    10. Discover Scuba Diving / Scuba Tryouts
    11. How To Use This Guidebook
      .
  2. SETTING THE STAGE TO LEARN TO DIVE
    1. Certifications vs. Licenses
    2. Myth-Busting
    3. 5 Types of Scuba Diving
    4. The Scuba Diving Community & Finding Your Tribe
    5. Three Core Ingredients: Gear, Training & Water
    6. Depth, Time, No-Decompression Limits & Surface Intervals
    7. The Depth Limits
    8. The Levels of Certi!cation: Which ones matter?
    9. Buoyancy: Descending & Inflating , Ascending & Deflating
    10. Decompression Sickness (DCS or The Bends) & Barotrauma
    11. Pressure & Equalizing
    12. Other Dangers Inherent to Scuba Diving
    13. You Can Deal With Dangers
      .
  3. THE DIVE PROFESSIONALS & ORGANIZATIONS YOU INTERACT WITH
    1. Dive Training Agencies: What are they?
    2. Which dive training agency is best for me?
    3. A Review of Dive Training Agencies: Survey Results
    4. Dive Industry Standards
    5. The Dive Professionals
    6. The Dive Centers
    7. Dive Center Ratings: Should I Care?
    8. The Traps & Pitfalls In The Dive Industry & What They Mean For You
    9. Can I trust online reviews?
    10. How To Select The Right Dive Instructor For You
    11. How To Select The Right Dive Center For You
      .
  4. SCUBA CERTIFICATION & YOU
    1. Learning With a Coach vs. Buying a C-Card
    2. The Four Stages of Your Open Water Diver Course
    3. Referrals
    4. Mastery & Performance-Based Learning
    5. How long will it take to get my open water diver c-card?
    6. How much will my scuba diving certification cost?
    7. The Cost of Online Learning
    8. A Private Open Water Diver Course
    9. Entry-Level Prerequisites To Learn To Dive
    10. Swimming, Watermanship & Diving
    11. Liability & Liability Releases
    12. Women & Diving
    13. Children & Diving
    14. Disabled & Diving
      .
  5. LEARN TO DIVE FOR SAFETY, PERFORMANCE & FUN (SPF)
    1. Attitude, Attitude, Attitude
    2. The SPF Way To Understand The Theory of Diving
    3. The SPF Way To Master The Pool Skills
    4. The SPF Way To Do The Open Water Certification Dives
    5. You Did a Crash Course. Now what?
    6. The Buddy System, Friends & Spouses
    7. A Self-Reliant Approach
    8. Air or Nitrox?
    9. Dive Tables or Dive Computers
    10. Checklists, Slates & Routines
    11. Visualizing & Mental Rehearsal
    12. Logbooks
      .
  6. YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS TO DIVE
    1. DAN: Divers Alert Network
    2. The Medical Questionnaire
    3. Your Ears & Equalizing
    4. Seasickness
    5. Dehydration
    6. Nutrition To Dive
    7. Fitness To Dive
    8. Fitness Training
    9. Stress, Anxiety & Panic
    10. Adrenaline Rush & Stop-Think-Act
    11. Hygiene: Dive Gear & Diving in a Post-COVID World
    12. Skills Related to Post-Dive Gear Care
    13. Diving After a COVID-19 Infection
      .
  7. GEAR CHOICES FOR SPF DIVING
    1. Getting Familiar With Your Scuba Equipment
    2. What My Dive Instructor Is Wearing
    3. Dive Gear Brands
    4. Gear Configuration & Streamlining
    5. About Do-It-Right (DIR)
    6. Selecting The Right Scuba Diving Equipment For You
    7. Your Dive Mask, Defog & Mask Preparation
    8. Your Snorkel & Snorkel Attachment
    9. Your Fins, Booties & Socks
    10. Your Exposure Protection & Wetsuits
    11. Your Regulator
    12. Your Alternate/Redundant Air Source
    13. Your Instruments
    14. Your Dive Computer
    15. Your BCD: Buoyancy Compensator
    16. Your Dive Weights
    17. Emergency & Safety Tools
    18. SMB & DSMB
    19. Save-a-Dive Kit
    20. Rinsing, Disinfecting & Drying Gear After a Dive
    21. Repair & Maintenance
    22. What To Buy & What To Rent
    23. Should I buy second-hand?
    24. Should I buy online or in person?
      .
  8. SCUBA DIVING SKILLS
    1. Breathing Underwater
    2. Air Consumption
    3. Returning Pressure
    4. Out-of-Air Drills
    5. The Mammalian Reflex & Diving With A Mask
    6. Propulsion: Finning
    7. Snorkeling Skills
    8. How much weight do I need?
    9. Buoyancy & Trim
    10. Doing Skills While Neutrally Buoyant
    11. Pre-Dive Safety Check
    12. Entries & Exits
    13. Descents, Ascents & Safety Stops
    14. Navigation
    15. Debriefings
    16. The Missing Skills
      .
  9. SAFETY SKILLS & CULTURE
    1. Scuba Accidents & Statistics
    2. Murphy’s Law & The Train Wreck
    3. Don’t Ask For Troubles
    4. Stick To Your Guns
    5. Calling A Dive
    6. Peer Pressure & Self-Imposed Stress
    7. Task Loading
    8. Plan Your Dive & Dive Your Plan
    9. Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
    10. Where is the O2? And the first aid kit?
    11. First Aid Skills & Marine Life Injuries
    12. Recall System
    13. Roster Management: Will I be left behind?
    14. Surface Safety, Identification, Dive Flags & Boat Traffic
    15. Currents
    16. Situational Awareness
    17. Dealing With Decompression Sickness (DCS)
    18. Flying After Diving
      .
  10. CYLINDERS, FILL STATIONS & AIR QUALITY
    1. Cylinders (Tanks)
    2. Cylinder Sizes
    3. Cylinder Valves & Threads
    4. Hydro Tests & Cylinder Inspection
    5. Cylinder Handling
    6. The Silent Killer
    7. Where is the air from?
    8. Analyzers: Nitrox & CO
    9. Cylinder Fills
      .
  11. THE ENVIRONMENT & YOU
    1. The Underwater World & You
    2. Do Not Make Things Worse
    3. Ecotourism & Local Communities
    4. Standards on Environmentally Sustainable Practices in Recreational Diving
    5. Green Fins
    6. Shark-Feeding Dives
    7. Educating Yourself About The Underwater World
    8. How To Select a Green (Blue) Dive Operator
      .
  12. GOING DIVING
    1. Local Diving
    2. How to Pick a Dive Destination
    3. How To Pick a Dive Site
    4. How To Pack & Travel With Dive Gear
    5. Dive Trips With Your Local Dive Center
    6. Liveaboard vs. Land-based Resorts vs. Cruise Ships
    7. “Check Dives”
    8. Picking or Being Assigned a Dive Buddy
    9. Pre-Dive Briefings & Signals
    10. The Three Speeds in Scuba Diving
    11. The Dive Leader’s Role & How To See More
    12. Diving With Sharks & Shark Attack Prevention
    13. Tipping or No Tipping?
      .
  13. WHAT’S NEXT?
    1. Stay The Course: Master The Fun
    2. Learn From Your Mistakes
    3. “Advanced” (Additional) Open Water Diving Skills
    4. The Next-Levels of Training: The Skills That Matter
    5. A Career in Diving