Is it illegal to scuba dive without a license

Otherwise the risks associated with scuba diving are very small. These dangers are addressed in all good diver training organisations and the risks associated with them are very small.

I have included some of the more important risk factors associated with scuba diving, which starts with the risks associated with diving alone.

In the diver training circles and within all the leading diver training organisations, solo-diving is a complete no, no! Diving on your own is not only not recommenced, but is actually frowned upon and vehemently discouraged.

The reason why this is so dangerous, is because you are diving in a foreign environment. If your equipment fails, as it can and does do, if you are on your own, your chances of survival are limited. However, within your diver training, you should be taught how to deal with any of the possible equipment failure situations.

The risks or dangers associated with solo diving are simple to avoid and overcome, by always diving in buddy pairs and by not scuba dive on your own. You are taught as a part of your diver training not to hold your breath when you are diving.

Scuba diving is totally different to surface diving when snorkeling , when you would need to hold your breath. If you hold your breath when you dive , and whilst you are holding your breath you ascend, you risk causing a burst lung or a gas embolism.

Both of which could be fatal. The solution to this danger or risk is very simple. Always make sure you are consciously breathing out when you are ascending from your dive.

If you do this, it will keep you safe from this risk or danger. However, one trick to conserve air is to carefully regulate your breathing. This means that you slowly release the air from your lungs. So that whilst the air is in your lungs for that bit longer, they are able to take out as much of the oxygen as possible with each breath that you take. Which in turn, will help to make the air in your dive-tanks last for longer. So your dive will be extended and you can enjoy the underwater world for longer too.

More Reading : What are scuba tanks made out of Steel vs aluminium scuba tanks. One of the most common of risks or dangers is getting the bends. The bends, which is also known as decompression sickness DCS , is caused by dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body. DCS can occur if you either ascend from your dive too quickly, or if your length of dive has taken you into decompression stop time , but you surface without taking the required decompression stops. Both situations can result in getting the bends or decompression sickness.

DCS can lead to death in severe cases. So this must be avoided at all costs. However, the number of times this occurs in diving are extremely low, considering the number of dives that are done each day around the world, so the chances of this happening to you are minimal. What can happen with this type of diving, is either a diver error or equipment failure happens at depth.

And despite diving in buddy pairs, sometimes the only solution is for an immediate surface. But of course, due to the depth of the dive, there will have been a build up of nitrogen in the body tissues, and with a rapid ascent, without the necessary safety stops , the dissolved nitrogen will form bubbles in the body.

The worst case scenarios where this happens, is when these nitrogen bubbles either get into the blood stream and find their way to the heart, which can cause a heart attack.

Or if they find their way into the spinal cord, which can cause paralysis. If decompression sickness does occur, the first medical solution is to give immediate oxygen to the casualty. Whilst oxygen is being administered, the casualty needs to be to rushed a barometric chamber. A barometric chamber is a chamber that will take the diver who has DCS back to the same pressure he was experiencing during his dive, plus a bit more.

This renewed pressure will to reduce the bubbles of nitrogen back to a dissolved state in the body tissues. Then the pressure inside the barometric chamber is slowly reduced, to decompress the diver back to normal atmospheric pressure. This is quite a detailed explanation of decompression sickness for someone who is either new to scuba diving or just about to learn to scuba dive.

As already mentioned earlier in this article, my reason for highlighting these dangers and explaining what they are, is to discourage anyone from diving without certification. And not to discouraging anyone from learning to dive.

Of course, if you run out of air underwater , you are in trouble. However, this is something that rarely ever happens. So by regularly checking your air during the course of your dive, and by planning to return to the surface with the prescribe reserve amount of air in your dive tank, the danger of running out of air is virtually nil. More Reading : Do empty scuba tanks float?

This depends on the material they are made from. Newbie divers are more at risk of this occurring, but to avoid this becoming a risk, always dive with someone with more experience than you. Normally, the more experienced diver will take charge and lead the dive, and is supposed to ask for air checks during the course of the dive.

Also, when you dive with any good diving school, the dive leader will always check the air of everyone on the dive, by signalling to each diver for them to show how much air they have left. Equipment failure can and does happen.

I have been on two dives where the air apparatus has failed, once was in the UK and the other was in Bonaire. On both occasions, I followed the training I have been taught and on both occasions all was well. One way to avoid the risks associated with equipment failure, is to have your kit regularly serviced. In particular your diving regulators.

If these are serviced properly and are replaced if they too old, then they are less likely to fail on the dive. This is what happened on the first occasion I experienced the consequences of equipment failure, which was in the UK. On this occasion, my buddies first stage on his regulator burst, but because I was close-by and because I was suitably trained, we came to the surface calmly and safely, with him breathing from my spare air breathing apparatus. On that point, the second way to minimise this risk where equipment does fail on a dive , is to always dive in pairs.

Always dive with a buddy and never stray too far apart. Always keep within visual sight of each other for the whole of the dive. It is possible to become separate on a dive, despite your best efforts not to lose sight of your buddy.

More Reading : What should you and your buddy do if separated during a dive? The other time when getting separate is likely to occur is in low visibility diving. To minimise these risks, when you are in either of the above scenarios, firstly, make sure you check the position of your buddy more often during the dive. But if you do split up and you lose sight of your buddy, simply follow the procedures explained in your diver training.

Which is to spend a few moments checking nearby and circling to see if you can find your buddy. Buy by being careful to follow the correct ascent rates and safely stops on your way to the surface. However, you are probably more likely to be knocked over by a bus than to be attacked by a shark or other sea creature. For example, I love diving with sharks , they fascinate me. However, diving in and around Great White Sharks is perhaps more of a risk, as Great Whites are extremely curious and bold creatures.

So a note of caution, if you decide to dive in the vicinity of Great White Sharks , be very careful. However, most other sharks are actual very timid and shy creatures. No prior dive experience is necessary and it is open to everyone 10 years of age and older. The dive centre the course is hosted at will provide all of the necessary diving equipment: mask, snorkel, BCD, regulator, fins, tank, dive computer, etc. This program will teach you the basic safety guidelines and skills needed to safely scuba dive.

You may be performing these diving exercises in a pool, from the shore, or even from a dive boat out in the sea. The water will be shallow and calm so that you can focus on the basics. Once ready, the divemaster will take you for a real open water dive session.

You will be diving for minutes, which is roughly how long it takes for your scuba tank to run low on air , depending on your air consumption. The DSD program is a half-day activity.

You will dive at most 12 m 40 feet underwater, which is the depth most recreational diving is done at. Again, you do not need any prior experience to take this course; it is designed for people with no experience. You do not have to be in excellent physical shape, though some degree of fitness and swimming experience is recommended. This is a fun and legitimate way to dive without a certification. By taking this course, hopefully you discover a love for diving that inspires you to get a scuba diving certification in the future.

If the thought of diving in the open water is too frightening, you can try diving in an enclosure. One difference between the marine life here is that they are not afraid of people, and they will approach you. You can get up close and personal with the marine life that you usually see on the other side of the glass. There are some hazards to aquarium diving which will be explained to you by the instructor. First, you are in an enclosed area, which means space is limited.

Be careful not to bump into objects or other divers. To prevent this, aquarium dives are typically done without fins and with extra weight so you will sink to the bottom. In order to move in an aquarium, you must bounce instead of walk. You may not have many opportunities to dive unless you move to the coast or go on a vacation.

By going on an aquarium dive, you can scratch an item off the bucket list, or perhaps find a love for diving that will see you moving to a state with a coastline in the future.

We did not make a typo. You breathe using a regulator with an extremely long hose that connects to an air source at the surface. This eliminates the need for a scuba tank. This is because lung expansion injuries are a risk even in shallow waters. SNUBA is becoming more and more popular worldwide. Click this link to see where SNUBA is being offered, and maybe that can be your next vacation destination. I like to think of it as buying a car.

You do not need a license to buy a car, at least in the USA. When it comes to renting a car pretty much anywhere in the world, it would be extremely difficult for you to find a rental without a license. Nobody in their right mind is going to rent a car to someone who does not have a license.

Again, the same concept applies to scuba gear. One of the first things that you get taught when obtaining a scuba diving certification is the buddy system.

Again, there are no laws that dictate how many people you need to have with you when you go scuba diving. With that being said, almost every reputable scuba diving course teaches you the buddy system. Firstly, you will learn that you should always have somebody with you. Diving alone is not ideal, in fact, it can be dangerous. You will be taught how to work as a team to keep each other safe.

The buddy system is one of the most important concepts in scuba diving. Some scuba diving training centers offer programs where they take you on a dive for one session.

Because you are constantly with a group of trained professionals, you will not need certification. The program starts with a briefing where they just highlight a few safety instructions before moving on to a swimming pool. Once you have had a session in the swimming pool, you will then be taken to open water. On your first scuba dive, you will have an instructor with you every step of the way. They will do everything for you including controlling your buoyancy so that you can basically just enjoy the experience.

Here is a list of scuba diving associations that offer courses that result in you getting a certification. PADI is by far the most popular and the certification is recognized internationally. This is a refresher course that is aimed at people who are already certified but have not been diving regularly. The course takes a few days and is inexpensive. Once you have gone through the course you will be a competent open water diver.

BSAC is considered to be a leader in specialty scuba diving courses. These specialties range from ice water diving to much more.