HOW DOES RECREATIONAL SCUBA DIVING DIFFER FROM OTHER FORMS OF SCUBA DIVING?
Diving was revolutionized by the development of a workable demand regulator, co-invented in 1943 by Jacques Cousteau and Emil Gagnan. The “sport” of scuba diving did not catch on for another 10 years. Today the greatest use of scuba equipment is for recreational diving. Recreational scuba diving, as taught by national certifying agencies, is defined as diving that: • Uses only compressed air as the breathing mixture. • Is never done solo. • Does not exceed a depth of 130 feet. • Has a depth-time profile not requiring a decompression stop; if necessary one can ascend to the surface without stopping. • Does not require specialized training beyond the basic open water course. Scuba equipment is also widely employed by two other types of divers, loosely categorized as “professional” and “technical.” By definition, these two groups are not constrained by the RSD criteria listed above. Professional diving is done for military, governmental, commercial, or scientific purposes. Professional di
