About the call of the deep

Mermaids have been part of sailors mythology and folklore for a very long time, as far as ancient babylon. These beautiful creatures, half-woman and half-fish, are often associated with bad luck and misfortune. They lured sailors off course and into rocky shoals, to their demise.

The deep waters have always fascinated scuba divers, and non-divers. Most of the non-divers question a scuba diver about how deep they have been underwater. The challenge of depth has led scuba diver to break world records, and to some failed attempts ( some even fatal ).

I view depth as the scuba diver´s mermaid. It calls him, trying to lead him astray from his dive plan, luring him to his demise.

Depth should not be a goal to achieve in scuba diving, but rather an important part of the equation when planning a dive. Scuba divers don´t dive deep because they can, but because there is something below 18 meters that´s the real objective – a reef, a wreck, deep water fish, etc. Most fun can be had in shallower dives :

• they are colourfull, because you have a broader lightwave spectrum availabe – less water for them to travel and get absorved;
• most sealife resides in shallow water, as most of them feed on plankton or soft corals, wich needs light to thrive;
• it´s less stressfull for the divers – they are less focalised in the NDL and air consumption, and acess to the surface takes less time in case of an emergency;
• it´s safer and there is less nitrogen absorved by the body, so there is less risk for decompression sickness;
• it´s warmer – the more closer to the surface, the less chance to hit a thermocline, and a diver can wear less thermal protection.

It´s not that there is no fun in deeper dives, they just requires more risk manegement by the diver, so they avoid accidents, such as :

• running out of air ( the deeper one goes, the more air he consumes );
• running into deco limits;
• decompression sickness.

There are no reason in doing a deep dive to do something or see something that can´t be done in shallower depths. The main reasons for doing deep dives are :

• there are certain types of fish, corals or kelp that can only be seen at deeper depths;
• waves, weather, fishing, and other negative factors tend to affect less the underwater ambient;
• underwater mountains, pinnacles, and walls usually present themselves at deeper depths;
• wrecks are usually found, and are probably less damaged, at deeper depth.
• drift dives are usually done at depth, because currents lose intensity or cease at shallow waters;

To safely do deep dives, a scuba diver must seek training, and develop skills and confort underwater. Deep dives start at the advance adventure course, which certifies divers up to 30 meters, and after, the deep dive specialty that certifies a diver up to 40 meters of depth, the limit for recreational diving. Nitrox Specialty course is also a must, as it essencialy increases both safety and bottom times. Peak performance boyancy diver specialty, can also help develop an important skill for deeper dives.