Do I need to know swimming for SCUBA diving?

Although getting into the Ocean without knowing how to swim sounds scary, thousands of non-swimmers experience the magic of the underwater realm through SCUBA! Some scared and some dared, India has seen a growing number of eager adventurers ready to take the plunge. With over 2500 km of India’s coastline, the options to learn & experience SCUBA diving are limitless. International federations like PADI suggest preparing and training with your local SCUBA diving club before heading to the open ocean.

But where and how do I begin? Let’s break it down.

Pre-requisites

To be able to Discover SCUBA, you must be over 8 years of age and have decent medical fitness (attached picture highlights medical conditions that could be detrimental for SCUBA & would require a fitness certificate from a doctor). Enthusiasm has no age barrier and neither do we. Medically fit seniors as well as aspiring youngsters enjoy SCUBA diving and gain comfort and confidence to sign up for a full-fledged PADI Open Water Diver course.

Where can I Dive?

To Discover SCUBA in India, people have a myriad of options like your local pools, the seas, lakes and even quarries. However, in our country where “juggad” runs rampant, I highly recommend following this checklist before choosing to sign up with any centre.

1. Check that your trainer has a professional diving licence from any internationally recognised diving federation like PADI or SSI.
2. Make sure you are given a full set of SCUBA equipment with certified cylinders & a well maintained refilling facility
3. Pick a centre with a clean safety sheet and great reviews.
4. Get in touch with our experts at Absolute SCUBA to plan your SCUBA diving experience.

How Much?

When it comes to SCUBA diving, its best to not opt for the cheapest option. Cheaper options may use sub-standard SCUBA gear and have inexperienced and unqualified dive leaders and Instructors. Since SCUBA diving is an adventure sport and poses a risk to life, quality of gear and instruction should be your first priority when it comes to booking your SCUBA diving experience. You can find more information about your SCUBA gear here.

Diving in your local pools is cheaper at approximately INR 1,500 up to INR  2,500 per person per session onwards. Whereas Discovering SCUBA in the sea starts from INR 5,500 onwards. This additional cost arises due to other logistical costs such as boats, additional staff, food and snacks, etc. If you’re unsure of where to go and whom to dive with, reach us for assistance and guidance.

Now that you have chosen a trusted dive centre, prepare yourself for an experience like few others. Whether you are experiencing SCUBA to get closer to nature or completing PADI certification courses, the experience of breathing underwater is a must try for everyone! The Discover SCUBA experience is designed specifically to introduce beginners to this mystical sport in a safe and engaging manner.

So go ahead and DISCOVER SCUBA and embrace an adventurer’s way of life!

Shaun Patel, PADI OWSI.

After starting his diving back in 2011, Shaun went professional in 2013. He’s logged in over 1100 dives since then.

About Absolute SCUBA

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena, and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456

The benefits of SCUBA Diving

12 reasons why scuba is beneficial to health 

If SCUBA diving needed any more reasons to be awesome, here are some that prove SCUBA diving is truly an all-encompassing sport which brings peace to both body and mind and freedom to the soul.

Any diving holiday begins with an excited and anxious pre-departure phase or simply, butterflies in the tummy. A growing sense of emotional well-being strikes the group as we realize we’re leaving the mundane behind and embarking on a voyage of adventure to a distant land.

Onwards, we journey to destinations remote and paradisiacal. Some lands are lush, tropical and abundant; some dry and isolated. However, ‘beneath the surface’ lie pristine, untouched coral reefs abundant with life. What better way to build your connection with Nature than to be an observer in their world.

So, off we head to our dive sites by boat. Distance and time vary from site to site. Some may be as close as a few 
steps in from the shore; others can be reached only by Live-aboard boats. Whatever be the case, boat journeys are always a big stress buster for me personally. Fresh salty breeze against the face and some phenomenal views later, we arrive at our site and begin our preparations.

Dive briefing done, we turn to our dive buddies for some last minute checks before descending onto some pristine reefs. Diving by itself increases muscle strength and flexibility, helps reduce blood pressure and improves blood circulation. Sinking but with a sense of freedom, we quickly slip into Neutral Buoyancy or weightlessness to explore our vast oceans.

Back on the boat, excited murmurs of our underwater explorations build bonds for life between like-minded individuals and bring families and friends closer.

So if you were thinking about a non-competitive sport which builds confidence, cooperation and a sense of connection with nature for yourself or your kids, look no further! Starting SCUBA diving from a young age (Minimum 10 years old) improves concentration capacity and boosts confidence as well as self-esteem amongst young and enthusiastic adventurers.

Want to see more? Subscribe us on YouTube

About Us:
Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Check us out on www.absolutescuba.in or www.scubaindia.in to start your Adventures in the Liquid World today! Reach us on info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456 for more information on the best Scuba diving experiences for you.

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

For an avid water sports enthusiast, what does the Mask, Fins and do?

Scuba equipment: An Overview for Beginners - Gear up for an adventure!

Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus: who would have ever thought SCUBA had a full form!

In 1943, the birth of the "AquaLung" freed divers from surface-fed breathing. Ever since, divers have been exploring our Blue Planet recreationally. So without further ado, let's gear up and dive right in.

Your Scuba diving equipment consists of the following:

1. Scuba Cylinder: contains a diver’s pressurized air supply. Mostly made from an Aluminium alloy, Scuba tanks come in varying sizes.

2. Regulators: reduce pressure from the Scuba Tank and allow us to use it for breathing & buoyancy control.

3. Instruments: Essentials like the SPG (submersible pressure gauge) help monitor air supply. Some may include depth gauges and underwater compasses as well.

4. The BCD (Buoyancy Compensator Device): has an inflatable bladder and fits like a jacket. Using the tanks air supply, divers can adjust buoyancy and maintain position underwater.

5. Weights: To counter-act the buoyant force of water, divers often use lead weights to help us sink.

6. Scuba Mask & snorkel:  have tempered glass allowing vision underwater at depth while keeping water out. A snorkel helps us conserve air while on the surface.

7. Fins:  enlarge our feet, boosting propulsion and saving energy.

8. Diving computers:  house intelligent algorithms which keep divers safe and provide useful real-time information

9. Wetsuit or Drysuit: provide for thermal protection especially needed in cooler waters.

10. Accessories like underwater cameras, writing slates, torches, reef hooks, dive knives among others are widely used as well.

Although this seems like a heavy load, immersion brings you to weightlessness and I realize the load we carry on land is inherently heavier. We divers sink under the surface to rise above ourselves. Enraptured and mesmerized by what a few pieces of gear on me allow for, I wonder if any other sport compares to SCUBA. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

Follow us on Instagram here: https://bit.ly/2GnUPGV | Like us on Facebook here: https://bit.ly/2Grt93T

About Us:

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456

Physical & mental preparation for Scuba diving

Absolutely Fit to Dive

While scuba diving is a recreational and non-competitive sport, it can only be truly enjoyed by understanding basic “fitness for diving” principles. The Ocean is dynamic and divers can be challenged occasionally by sea or diving conditions.

Here are 5 things that you can work on to dive safely and make your diving more enjoyable:

     1. HEART & LUNGS: Cardio-vascular fitness is important to maintain stamina, reduce physical stress and help in better breathing when needed while diving in challenging conditions. Swimming, running or even climbing up and down staircases are simple ways to build this kind of endurance
 

2. CORE MUSCLES: Carrying scuba diving gear on or off boats, swimming in a stable and streamlined posture and maintaining “trim” are all challenges that a strong back and abdominal muscles help with. Crunches, Planks & Yoga are the best here.
 
3. HIP & THIGHS: Have no doubt; strong hip and thigh muscles will save the day, every day! Shore Diving, getting on & off boats or boat ladders, finning effectively through a mild current – all of these will be a whole lot easier to deal with when the thigh muscles have been paid attention to. Squats and swimming from the hip and thigh are some easy ways to get strong thighs.
 
4. CALVES: Go diving in the Maldives and sample their famous “Channel Dives” which are all about handling some seriously strong current. A good diver will always use the calves as much as the thighs (knees and ankles being weak areas to Fin from). Many divers can suffer cramps in calves due to improper finning techniques, dehydration (a Big No-No while diving) or even mineral imbalances. Staying well hydrated&replacing essential salts is critical to happy diving.
 
5. THE MIND: A healthy body and mind go a long way in diving safely. Keep your worries away before Diving and don’t dive when you don’t feel like it, simple. This is a recreational sport, not the Navy Seals! Undue stress, mental or bodily fatigue is all avoidable when diving. Stay sharp, connected and aware so you not only react better to not OK situations but also truly enjoy Diving for what it gives best – peace of mind and happy memories.

We’d love to hear your fitness routine. Leave a comment in the section below.

About Us:

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Early morning jogs improve fitness and health

Want to see more? Follow us on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram here: 

https://bit.ly/2GnUPGV 

Like us on Facebook here: https://bit.ly/2Grt93T

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456

Where can I start to Dive? PADIs Referral programme

Where can I start to Dive?
PADIs Open Water Diver Course Referral programme

Giant stride entry 

• Must I be by the ocean to begin my PADI licensing course?
•  Can I get my PADI SCUBA certification without taking time off from my busy work schedule?

Fear NOT! There may be SCUBA at a pool near you. For PADIs first licensing course, you find yourself taking baby steps.

Internationally, the PADI Open Water Diver course begins with understanding basic principles of SCUBA and developing skills in pool-like conditions generally conducted over two days. Thereafter, confident and comfortable aspiring divers head to the Ocean to apply their newly developed skills for 4 dives over 2 days. PADIs contortionist-like flexibility allows you an entire year to do this!

Let’s begin:

Step 1: Find a PADI centre in your locality.

Step 2: Build knowledge and develop skills at your local pool over your chosen weekend with your PADI Dive Instructor.

Step 3: Sink into the underwater realms of our oceans to cement your skills under the caring supervision of your PADI Instructor.

Learning new skills in a safe environment

So why start at your local pool?

• Practice and prepare before your holiday even begins!
• Save time and holiday expenditure 
• Build comfort and confidence at your own pace over comfortable weekends.
• Earn yourself a life-long valid and internationally recognized license over two flexible weekends of your choice! 
• A plethora of course completion destinations open up to you to choose from. Make your weekends count by developing skills and setting yourself a league apart as an explorer of 70% of our Blue Planet.

Simply put, it’s the smartest way to begin an explorer’s lifestyle. The only question that remains is “where should I go for Step 3?”

 I leave this to be answered by our many students to share their own experience and recommendations in the comments section below.

As for me, I finished my course in the Magical Maldives. What will you choose?

About Us:

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Divers giving the OK signal

Want to see more? Follow us on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram here: 

https://bit.ly/2GnUPGV 

Like us on Facebook here: 

https://bit.ly/2Grt93T

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456

Cheapest weekend Scuba getaways | A trip to Netrani Island

Explore Netrani Island the Absolute way!

Beach Aerial View Murudeshwar

Finished part of your PADI Open Water Diver course but confused where to finish? Never dived before but want to take the plunge? Stressed with the week and need some relief?

Allow me to take you on a journey to “The treasure in our backyards”: Netrani Island.

Eager and excited, we depart on Friday evening and find ourselves at the gates of a small town in Northern Karnataka called Murudeshwar in time to watch the sun rise over the green hills.

Our dive sites lay around 19 kilometers off the coast where the water clears up and we find ourselves at an isolated and uninhabited Island. Lucky voyagers often spot dolphins en-route. Here, we descend on a lively reef with arguably the clearest water closest to Mainland India’s coastline. Suitable for PADI courses and fun divers, diving Netrani Island is simply a pleasure.

A turtle peeps above the surface to take a breath

Apart from having a healthy population of reef fish, turtles and eels, locals occasionally spot whale sharks & humpback whales on their migratory routes. Our surface intervals are filled with fresh cut fruits, refreshments and excited chatter about our sightings. After our dives, the captain heads back and we see Shivas statue steadily growing in the distant horizon.

Back on shore and refreshed with a sense of peacefulness, anticipation grows for Day Two. The following day calls for another immersive experience which remains in fond memory for weeks to come. Our journey back begins Sunday evening and some wish that the bus was just a boat taking us to our next dive site.

What can I say about Monday that you don’t already know? Well, let’s look on the bright side. The weekend is not so far away :) If you have ever been to Netrani Island, I’d love to hear your story in the comments section below.

Reach us to Dive the Netrani Island the ABSOLUTE WAY!

Want to see more? Follow us on YouTube

About Us:

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Underwater fun at Netrani Island

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

Follow us on Instagram here: https://bit.ly/2GnUPGV 

Like us on Facebook here: https://bit.ly/2Grt93T

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456

Diving the Lakshadweep Islands | Divers paradise below and above the surface

The mystic Lakshadweep Islands

Ariel view of Bangaram Island - Lakshadweep

The Lakshadweep Islands are a National Treasure. And are guarded as a State Secret by most visitors, diver or not. The lack of bustle in these idyllic atolls has maintained a charm that can only be described as “A step back in Time”. 

As one of the best-kept secrets in India, The Lakshadweep Islands needs to be on the bucket list for all scuba diving enthusiasts!  Almost everyone has heard of these islands but only a select few have truly discovered them. Those who have, swear by it as a "life-changing" & "surreal" experience.

The Lakshadweep is all of that; and so much more! Less is truly more as the Islands remote location and dramatic isolation truly make one feel like they have “stepped back in Time”. Find yourself walking its white sandy beaches staring up at a sky studded with stars. The Lakshadweep Islands truly enchants and allures many a traveler.

Far away from any piece of densely populated land, the Lakshadweep Islands boast unlimited stretches of aquamarine lagoons, undisturbed reefs and a welcoming and friendly population of locals. It’s taken for granted that you would be the only group diving the reefs and the marine life is as curious as for the locals on land. As for the diving, the Islands offer gentle slopes and textbook diving conditions. The islands offer a spectacular view each evening as the fiery sun sets over an expanse of ocean and millions of stars emerge each night as if only for us.

Happy campers of our Lakshadweep trip

It takes certain know-how & knack to get diving holidays in the Lakshadweep sorted and Absolute SCUBA has mastered this over our many trips and our extensive History with the islands. Our escorted trips to Lakshadweep are the best way to reach & explore this wonderful part of India with minimum hassle and maximum fun!

Stay tuned for the announcements of our return to Lakshadweep or reach out if you can’t wait! Overall, The Lakshadweep Islands is suitable for both beginner and advanced divers and is best for some seriously relaxed fun diving.

Reach us to Dive the Lakshadweep Islands the ABSOLUTE WAY!

Want to see more? Follow us on YouTube

About Us:

Absolute SCUBA is the brainchild of two seasoned Dive Industry professionals, Seemant Saxena and Siddharth Pujari. Between them, they share a collective experience of over 15 years in the Dive Training, Scuba Certification and Dive Travel business.

Want to experience SCUBA in the City? Book your spot here

Swim through at Little Canyon - Lakshadweep Islands

Want to see more? Like us on Facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/Absolutescubaindia/ 

Want to see more? Follow us on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/absolutescubaindia/

Happy & Safe Diving always – Team Absolute

www.absolutescuba.in | info@absolutescuba.in | +91 9860003456 | +91 9970983456