>”First Experience of diving – most people are the same”<\/p>\n
delawareonline \u00a6 The News Journal \u00a6 Getting the scoop on scuba diving trends<\/a>: “I never will forget those first moments as I sank below the surface of the water and tried to breathe.<\/p>\n Rapid, deep, nearly desperate snatches at air. I couldn’t get it fast enough. A classic sign of panic?<\/p>\n Saddled with 40 or so extra pounds and my arms and legs constricted in neoprene, I was sinking deeper and beginning to feel the squeeze building in my ears.<\/p>\n And this was just a 13-foot-deep pool. I remember thinking: ‘What have I gotten myself into?’<\/p>\n Diving has come a long way since French explorer Jacques Cousteau and his countryman Emile Gagnan, an engineer, pioneered scuba — it stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus — systems in the 1940s.<\/p>\n Today, there are more than 8.5 million certified scuba divers in the United States.<\/p>\n Because of the sport’s broadening appeal, the ‘typical’ scuba diver is disappearing, said Doug McNeese, executive director of Scuba Schools International (SSI), based in Fort Collins, Colo., one of the country’s four principal diving schools.<\/p>\n It used to be a domain for males age 35 to 50, typically professionals who could afford it and had the leisure time. A growing number of women are taking it up, McNeese said, and they now account for about 30 percent of scuba divers.<\/p>\n More older teens and retirees also are learning to dive, said Kristin Valette, a spokeswoman for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., and a dive instructor for 15 years.<\/p>\n Diving appeals to a wide spectrum of people — baby boomers, the X Generation, the Y Generation, echo boomers — because there are so many different types that people can find one that fits their personality best, whether it’s recreational diving, night diving, shark diving, wreck diving, cave diving or deep water diving, McNeese said.<\/p>\n ‘Older divers can enjoy it for the tranquility a”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" >”First Experience of diving – most people are the same” delawareonline \u00a6 The News Journal \u00a6 Getting the scoop on scuba diving trends: “I never will forget those first moments as I sank below the surface of the water and … Continue reading