Whether it’s to learn to swim or simply to see the underwater world, scuba is a fascinating and safe activity. In fact, you’re more likely to get injured fishing, playing golf or bowling than you are scuba diving. The most common medical issues are sunburn, seasickness and dehydration. And while scuba may have some of the same risks as other activities, such as car accidents and sports injuries, most of these can be avoided with proper training and safety precautions.

A scuba diver’s lifeline is their breathing gas supply, so the most urgent underwater emergency is running out of breathing gas under water (a ‘bailout’). This can be managed in several ways, including donating and receiving breathing gases from a buddy in an emergency, or carrying an independent alternative air source that doesn’t rely on a buddy. Other emergencies include a loss of control of depth, buoyancy control failures and an uncontrolled ascent.

In most scuba training programs, divers will be taught to use hand signals to communicate under water. This is an important skill, and is one that all divers should know. Other dive management skills include planning a dive’s maximum depth and time to remain within no decompression limits, the choice of entry and exit points and preparing an emergency ascent plan.

There is a specific vocabulary and jargon used by scuba divers and the professionals who work in dive shops. Familiarising yourself with this can help you to understand the conversations that take place when discussing diving equipment, dive trips and other related topics.