| Star Trek referred to space as "the final frontier", | | | | Some people visit their local scuba dive shop, while |
| however, the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration | | | | others prefer to spend vacation time learning |
| estimates that 95% of the ocean floor is unexplored. | | | | something new. While it may seem like an expensive |
| You can learn to scuba dive as a fun addition to any | | | | hobby at first, most divers say that it's comparable to |
| vacation, or as a lifetime hobby for your adventurous | | | | ski resort and golf course prices. |
| spirit. You've probably seen plenty of colorful fish or | | | | Why would one want to learn to scuba dive, you ask? |
| brushes with sharks on the Discovery Channel, but | | | | Aside from it being a mind-blowing vacation addition |
| why not take the leap and see for yourself? | | | | and rewarding hobby, there are career and practical |
| Did you know that for as little as $350 and in as little | | | | reasons too. |
| as three days, you can get your scuba diving | | | | Commercial divers build boats and docks, excavate |
| certification? If you love the water, have an interest in | | | | ancient ruins and shipwrecks, survey tectonic plates |
| biology and a never-ceasing curiosity, then scuba diving | | | | and underwater volcanoes, construct pipelines and |
| could be a rewarding hobby, providing you with the | | | | dams, or repair bridges and submarines. |
| kind of peace that can only be found at the bottom of | | | | Scientists dive all the time to study marine biology, |
| the ocean! | | | | underwater species and habitats and archaeological |
| You can learn to scuba dive in just a few hours, but if | | | | finds. Additionally, combatant divers have completed |
| you want to be swimming ancient ruins in Egypt's Red | | | | military assignments underwater for centuries. |
| Sea or investigating Australia's Great Barrier Reef, you | | | | Whether you plan to scuba dive just once or you |
| will need diver certification. | | | | would like to learn to scuba dive as a rewarding, |
| There are a number of valid certification agencies out | | | | long-term hobby, it's something definitely worth looking |
| there (such as PADI, SSI and NADI) that all pretty | | | | into. |
| much provide the same service for $350 to $450. You | | | | It has been estimated by the President's Panel on |
| will experience a combination of classroom, pool and | | | | Ocean Exploration that approximately 95% of the |
| open water instruction, while learning not only about | | | | ocean floor remains unexplored. Wouldn't you love to |
| swimming and breathing techniques, but also about | | | | boldly go where no man has gone before? |
| equipment and first aid information. | | | | |