Myth: Snorkeling is just as good as scuba diving

  Myth: Snorkeling is just as good as scuba diving

Truth: Don't get me wrong. I like to snorkel--floating around on the surface peering down on the reef from above is a great way to spend time between dives. But just as good? No way! Not if you like action.
Snorkeling is sort of like watching a football game from the window of the Goodyear blimp high above. Diving is like suiting up, running down the tunnel and getting in the game. Strap a tank on your back and you are a player--swimming with the sharks as equals, getting up close and personal with giant Goliath grouper, or, for a good laugh, looking up and seeing the soft, bulging underbellies of all those snorkelers drifting like flotsam on the surface and blocking out the sunlight.

Scuba Divers are easy shark bait.

Scuba Divers are easy shark bait.

Let’s just say your chances of getting hit by lightning, dying of a wasp, bee or snake bite are a lot more than becoming a shark’s supper. Like most animals Sharks too are weary of foreign objects (read as humans in the ocean!). Look at it from a shark’s point of view- if you came across a noisy bubble blowing, large strange shaped creature that often flashes bright lights (with flashlights or camera’s) and not to mention in groups or at least more than one, would you stick around to figure whether they would harm you? If you’re still thinking, the answer is No. Most sharks with an exception of very few species, don’t often stick around when they spot groups of divers. However we must never forget that we are on their turf and the rule of the wild still holds true- never draw attention to yourself, provoke them or feed them or you could be mistaken as a snack yourself. It’s not to say there have never been any unprovoked shark attacks, but most often it’s a case of mistaken identity and the number of deaths from shark bites negligible as compared to the number of people who have come into contact with the creature diving, snorkeling, swimming or boating.

Scuba Diving is a high-risk, dangerous sport.

1) Scuba Diving is a high-risk, dangerous sport.

Diving is just as dangerous as any other activity/sport like skiing, football and basketball even. Injuries from motor vehicle accidents far exceed those of diving. I’m not saying there isn’t an element of danger involved in the sport, but that’s why there is a training requirement and a certification process involved to Scuba dive. What’s important to remember is that while there are potential hazards, it is a diver’s knowledge, training, judgment and decision making that limits or controls that risk. Research has shown that the injury rate in diving is just 1 per 2,000 participants or 50 per 100,000 as compared to 21,300 injuries per 100,000 participants of basketball!