• Introduction
• What do I need to learn, and how do I learn it?
• What's with all that gear?
• What are the risks?

Many people love to explore the world. They travel to exotic, far-off locations, meet new people in different cultures, and see the wide and amazing variety of life on the earth. But more than two-thirds of our planet is underwater; this accounts for 95% of the biosphere. To really understand and appreciate this world and its living creatures, we have to explore the hidden underwater places. This is what scuba diving is about. It is about seeing the play of nature unfold in a way that is entirely different from our own experience. About seeing the vast diversity of life underwater. About seeing the amazing variations and relationships between these creatures that have evolved over the last four billion years. And it is an indescribably amazing experience.

While humans had been experimenting with diving bells since at least the time of Alexander the Great, it wasn't until the invention of the on-demand regulator by Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1943 that humans were able to freely explore the underwater world, without a surface-supplied air source and it's attendant constraining umbilical hose. The on-demand regulator allows the diver to take a bottle of highly compressed air under the water, and so frees the diver from the surface connection. The regulator regulates the flow of the highly compressed air, so that it comes out at just the right pressure to be breathed comfortably. "On-demand" refers to the fact that the regulator will supply air when the diver breathes in, instead of just being on or off like a simple shut-off valve. This was the birth of the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, or SCUBA.

Today, there are millions of divers worldwide, exploring our worlds oceans, lakes, and rivers. This getting started guide is intended to help you join these adventurous people in exploring our world to the fullest!