Breathing Underwater
What’s it like to Breathe Underwater?
Breathing underwater transforms you. It’s hard to put into words, but here’s how several
scuba divers describe their first time:
I felt accomplished and serene. I had finally experienced the joy of diving and planted the
seed of a new obsession.
- Holly Beck, 26,
Body Glove Professional Surfer, CA, USA
I jumped from the boat into the Red Sea to discover an incredible world beneath – beautiful
and clean with a view of over 100 metres, more than at the surface as it was very hot in
this period. There was no current at all and the sea was calm. I have never seen such a
beautiful and clear sea bottom view. For the first time I was breathing underwater and
carefully looking up to the bottom of the boat while descending... my safe haven, now it was
up to me and my scuba equipment to make sure everything went smoothly. Scary, yes
a little bit, but it was so beautiful that I quickly forgot about that... After a couple of exercises
we went to visit the reef and I discovered the real pleasures of diving, I called it flying in
slow motion. This is the description I give people when they ask me about scuba diving.
- Steven, 36, Belgium.
My first breath was on the Great Barrier Reef. I did not have my ticket, it was a
"resort" dive, I will never forget that wonderful moment. I submerged, holding my breath
(as you do) and felt a moment of fear as I took my first breath, expecting my lungs to fill with
water... I inhaled..
wow... is all I can say. The sound of air, the sound of my breathing... .
wow... incredible... I was breathing, and I was underwater! I was born to do this...
I have done this before... this is where I am meant to be… this is what I am meant to do...
I belong underwater...!!!! It was too awesome to describe, too life changing not to do again...
- Anne, 48, Australia
It felt so natural. I was always warned by people that the scariest thing is trusting your
equipment and taking your first breath underwater, but that wasn't the case for me at all.
I couldn't believe how natural it felt. Feeling so comfortable also helped me concentrate on
the skills being learned and doing things like scuba mask removal and BCD removal were
no problem at all. I will always remember that experience, it was one of the most thrilling
moments of my life, and also a moment when I discovered my new passion for diving.
- Katrina, 20, Canada
It's was an amazing feeling, little bit scary and unusual. But, at the end I couldn't
imagine myself breathing underwater, I felt like an underwater astronaut
- Fahad, 24, Saudi Arabia
The water was lovely and warm! We got all suited up and the time had come to breathe
underwater for the very first time! What an amazing yet surreal feeling. Suddenly, as I went
under the world became so quiet with only the sound of many little bubbles escaping from
my regulator. And so we sat on the bottom of the pool, all just looking at each other.
I just had to giggle watching everyone’s face as they adjusted to their new surroundings.
It reminded me of the way fish look when you take them out of water...trying to figure out
where the air was coming from.
- Mandy, 31, Canada
We asked divers to share a few words that describe scuba diving and they said:
