Open-water diving
Encyclopedia
Open-water diving has at least two different meanings in scuba diving
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Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
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- In the later stages of initial diver trainingDiver trainingDiver training is the process of developing skills and building experience in the use of diving equipment and techniques so that the diver is able to dive safely and have fun....
, divers progress from diving in swimming pools to "open water", which normally implies the seaSeaA sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
or a lakeLakeA lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, including quarriesScuba diving quarryScuba diving quarries are depleted or abandoned rock quarries that have been allowed to fill with ground water, and rededicated to the purpose of scuba diving....
. - Any diving where the surface of the water immediately above the diver is in contact with the Earth's atmosphere. "Open water diving" implies that if a problem arises, the diver can directly ascend vertically to the atmosphere to breathe air. Penetration divingPenetration divingPenetration diving or no clear surface diving is a type of diving where the scuba diver enters a space from which there is no direct, purely vertical ascent to the safety of breathable air of the atmosphere at the surface...
—involving entering caves or wrecks, or diving under ice—is therefore not "open water"" diving.