The Certified Diver's Handbook
Step 1. Download Adobe Digital Editions Both PC and Mac users will need to download Adobe Digital Editions to access their eBook. You can download Adobe Digital Editions at Adobe's website here.
Step 2. Register an Adobe ID if you do not already have one. (This step is optional, but allows you to open the file on multiple devices) Visit account.Adobe.com to register your Adobe account.
Step 3: Authorize Adobe Digital Editions using your Adobe ID. In Adobe Digital Editions, go to the Help menu. Choose “Authorize Computer.”
Step 4: Open your file with Adobe Digital Editions. Once you’ve linked your Adobe Digital Editions with your Adobe ID, you should be able to access your eBook on any device which supports Adobe Digital Editions and is authorized with your ID. If your eBook does not open in Adobe Digital Editions upon download, please contact customer service
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Switching Attitude Gears
Diving as a Lifestyle
Pursuing Your Own Interests
A Realistic Assessment of Risk
A Realistic Assessment of Cost
Chapter 2: Equipment
Masks, Fins, and Snorkels
Dive Knife
Regulators
Buoyancy Compensators
Depth Gauges
Dive Computers
Exposure Suits
Tanks
Weights and Weight Belts
Dive Bags
Chapter 3: Gear Maintenance
Mask
Regulator
Submersible Pressure Gauge
Computer
Buoyancy Compensator
Tanks
Chapter 4: Gadgets That Work, and Good Ideas
Hose and Gauge Retainers
Clip Systems
Dive Lights
Dive Slates
Plastic Ties
Clip-On Weights
Spare Air
Moldable Mouthpieces
Safety Sausages
Dry Boxes
Dry Bags
Medical Dive Insurance
Dive Equipment Insurance
Chapter 5: How to Buy Equipment
Buying New Gear
Buying Used Gear
Personalizing Your Gear
Chapter 6: Kindred Spirits and First Trips
Finding Dive Buddies
Where to Go
Chapter 7: An Introduction to Mother Ocean: Water Weight and Density
The Characteristics of Ocean Water
How Water Density Affects Light
How Water Density Affects Sound
Chapter 8: The Weather: Wind and Waves, Storms, Tides, and Currents
Wind and Waves
Thunderstorms
Currents
Chapter 9: The Marine Environment
Organization of the Ocean
The Four Life-Forms
Anatomy of a Coral Reef
Spooky and Potentially Hazardous Marine Animals
Chapter 10: Going Diving
Diving from Charter Boats
Diving from Privately Owned Boats
Diving from Shore
Drift Diving
Night Diving
Chapter 11: Staying Out of Trouble
Underwater Navigation
Buddy Problems
Chapter 12: When a Good Thing Goes Bad: Basic Rescue Procedures and Diver Problems
Rational-Patient Surface Assist
Passive-Patient and Panicky-Patient Surface Rescue
Unconscious-Patient Surface Rescue
Unconscious Patient on the Bottom
Decompression Sickness
Lung Overpressure Injuries
Some Problems of Breathing under Pressure
Hypothermia
Hyperthermia
Chapter 13: Diving in the United States
Road Trip
The Gulf Coast
The East Coast
The Great Lakes
The West Coast
Inland USA: A Place Near You
Chapter 14: International Dive Travel
Getting There
Where to Go
Appendix: Underwater Photography
Resources
Index
The real-world guide for divers who want to enjoy their sport to the fullest
More than half of the 1.5 million people who achieve scuba certification each year are stymied in their pursuit of the sport because they lack time and money to enjoy the exotic diving experiences they've read about, and don't want to be confined to group dives. The Certified Diver's Handbook is the only guide to help them create their own diving adventures on any budget, on any schedule, in waters local or distant, and without the restrictions of group demands. Thirty-year diving veteran and photojournalist Clay Coleman provides the insider's tips and how-to advice divers need to equip, plan, and execute their own diving expeditions. Divers will learn how to:
- Buy or rent the best SCUBA equipment at the best prices
- Plan dives to maximize enjoyment and safety
- Find great diving sites close to home
- Master underwater rescue procedures and shore- and night-diving techniques
- Explore wrecks, reefs, and underwater caves