A Brief History of Reef Scuba Diving

Few hobbies are more rewarding than scuba diving reef style: the shapes and colors of coral reef are as unforgettable as they are wet. And they’re very, very wet.

Scuba is actually an acronym. It means, “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus,” and it originated in World War II. SCUBA specifically referred to a rebreather developed for underwater warefare-and it was used by the notorious “Frogmen,” a demolition unit. These combat divers scouted beachheads before landing craft arrived with marines and infantry. They would measure the exact depth of the water and pinpoint the location of underwater obstacles.

Modern civilian divers would not recognize the gear the frogmen of WWII used, and they might not recognize a military scuba set today. Bulky, but still allowing for maximum dexterity, military and special ops Scuba gear is more expensive, harder to remove by any sort of outside force, facilitates ease of communication, and includes harness hard points for all sorts of goodies that civilians aren’t even allowed to recognize, let alone own.

But today, SCUBA has become more closely associated with the form of diving, and it has almost lost its acronym status-that is, it has become commonplace to use the term “Scuba gear” or “Scuba equipment” despite the redundancy. Even though the word Scuba specifically refers to a rebreather, diving with an air tube is still considered Scuba diving.

Reef Scuba Diving can be done a number of ways, though the most common is with a diving suit and flippers. Scuba divers can also move around with the help of a propulsion device generally referred to as a “scooter,” or by being guided by a line from an overhead boat.

Scuba diving reef style, in specific, is usually done with flippers. And an underwater camera. Nothing above or below the ocean line can rival the distinctive beauty of a coral reef.

 
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