Scuba Diving in the Midwest
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Searching coral reefs and watching sharks may not be common hobbies in areas like southern Illinois, but that doesn't stop local scuba divers from sharing their interest with others.
JALC hosted the Try Scuba event at its Aquatic Center Friday and Saturday to let participants get a feel for what it's like to scuba dive.
The four hour event gave a taste of what is involved in normal scuba classes and training, giving small lessons on equipment, safety and buoyancy, breathing, and kicking. The bottom of the college's pool may not have held the splendor of a bed of coral but it allowed for a safe environment to practice proper diving.
It cost $20 to sign up for the Try Scuba, but Mermet Springs provides $20 vouchers that are given to all participants to reduce the price of full-time scuba lessons by the same amount if they sign up within a week of the event.
Glen Faith, owner of Mermet Springs and scuba instructor, had recently returned from diving in the Galapagos Islands to teach at the event.
"Scuba diving invites the best kinds of people," Faith said, "It's fun, it's relaxing, and it's exercise. It's like flying underwater.
"People always think scuba lessons are expensive, but when I started in scuba 15 years ago they were $260 and today they are $290. That's not a lot for something as amazing as diving."
Faith teaches at the springs, located between Vienna and Metropolis on US highway 45, that provide 40 hour courses that take two to three weeks to complete for scuba certification cards that last a lifetime. The springs offer a staff of 45 and an underwater Boeing 747 from the movie "US Marshals."
JALC plans to host another Try Scuba event but does not have a date set.
<element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[</group><group id="F1B46B5C-F438-4B30-B3F1-D7BDB892215E" type="seoLabels">