Under a blazing sun and fronted by a beautiful Pacific Ocean beach, with the breakers lazily rolling in, stand ten scuba diving students, outfitted in diving gear from head to toe. Their instructor finds a calm area for them to practice and commands, "Jump!", but some reluctant ones take the plunge only after it's clear their teacher is quite willing to push them in. A dip in the swimming pool was never like this.

"The first deep dive, you can't touch the ground, you're carrying over twenty kilos on your back, all you can think of is: 'If something goes wrong, how do I get out of here?' How do I know if the dive went well or not?," says one student fresh out of the water.

Yet fear cannot completely hide their excitement. "It was great. So many colors, so many fish swimming around you. Just put out your hand and touch them. Algae of all colors swinging like weeping willows. All those interesting fish and turtles. . ."

One nineteen year old diver, Yao Jofen, said the Chinese hemlock forest she encountered on her first dive four years ago was far prettier than any forest she'd seen on land. Once, diving about 100 meters off land, she bumped into a large, stone-like object, which turned out to be a sea tortoise. The two had a momentary eyeball-to-eyeball standoff, and then went their separate ways.

Lin Ming-ho, who hikes in the winter and dives in the summer, says being underwater gives him a feeling of weightlessness, like spacewalking. Says Lin, "Hiking demands all of your energy and strength, but with diving you can 'jump over buildings with a single bound' and not even breathe hard, so I like it a little bit better."

Scuba diving first became popular after the Second World War, and according to present count, millions of people have taken the plunge. The sport has also become popular in Taiwan, and the island has seventeen diving clubs and at least 20,000 divers. Excluding the west coast, with its sandy bottom and turbid waters, the island's coastline is extremely well suited for diving, with several different kinds of algae growing on the outlying reefs. Divers have many favorite spots, most of which are near the northern and southern tips of Taiwan and around the P'eng-hu Islands, whose waters boast the world's largest coral forest.

Does the scenery become more beautiful the deeper one goes? "Water absorbs light," says China Diving Co. Chairman Hsieh Hsin-hsi, "Light can only penetrate about 20 meters. Below that the light dims and it all looks like a shade of bluishgrey. Because of this, 15 to 20 meters is considered the ideal depth." In addition, due to water pressure, most people can go no deeper than 30 meters. Further below this, divers usually become dizzy. Lockjaw is also a dangerous threat, occurring when nitrogen enters the body and disrupts the nervous system, making the diver lose complete control of his motor coordination.

As to how to check the problem of depth, Chairman Hsieh points out, "Scuba gear itself has buoyancy. When preparing to dive, one wears a weighted belt to make submerging easier. For getting back up quickly and safely, an inflatable life vest is used. You make it more buoyant, and returning to the surface is no problem."

Regarding other problems, divers off Taiwan can rest assured about sharks, says international diving instructor Hua Ch'angsheng, noting that Great Whites and their kind have yet to make an appearance here. But, he adds, caution should be exercised, since many colorful plants conceal sharp thorns and poisonous barbs. One assistant to the National Taiwan University Marine Research Institute, feeling around in the sand for a misplaced instrument, grabbed onto a stingray instead of a sextant once and spent the rest of the day in considerable pain. The most frequent mishap involves divers chasing lobsters under rocks and then being bitten by poisonous snakes. Delayed treatment of such wounds sometimes can result in death. Reminds Mr. Hua, "We're guests down there, and shouldn't take things which aren't ours. It's best to follow the golden rule and mind one's own business."

Only after the invention of the scuba tank in 1942 did man overcome the most formidable obstacle to diving: breathing underwater. Before that, people could only envy the fish and devise complicated systems in which divers breathed oxygen from tanks connected to compressors on board ship, in what was an expensive and highly inconvenient operation. Scuba tanks freed people from the need to make such arrangements. Most tanks store about three cubic meters of compressed air and weigh about twenty kilos. For every ten meters that divers intend to descend, the air supply must be doubled. One tank can provide air for between 40 and 80 minutes.

Most other scuba gear (sometimes called wetsuits) is made from a combination of rubber and plastic and is designed to protect divers from injury while going near sharp reefs and from loss of body heat. The suits are highly water resistant, and the water that does seep through gradually becomes warmed by the body, although if the suit is ill-fitting and large amounts of seawater penetrate, the water remains cold, making the diver feel as if he's wearing no suit at all. Diving equipment generally becomes thoroughly soaked in the course of an excursion underwater, and must be well taken care of, for it easily rips and tears.

Lin Ming-ho remembers one dive when his tank suddenly became blocked. Later he discovered that after his previous dive, the regulator hadn't been cleaned and salt had formed on the valve, making the equipment rust. He advises that all equipment be washed after a dive, to get rid of the salt and other foreign matter, and then placed in a cool, dark place. For long-term storage, gear should be first dried outdoors and then put away in plastic bags.

Because scuba diving is a complex and difficult sport, all divers at first join clubs to learn the basic rules. Entrance fee for a two week course generally runs to about NT$2000 (US$50), and applicants must pass a swimming test of 200 meters before they are admitted. Gear can be rented. First classes explain diving equipment and its usage, as well as water currents, water pressure and tides. The initial efforts are made in the swimming pool, and then it's off to the ocean for shallow dives (three to five meters), using just mask, fins and snorkel.

After the novice has gotten his feet wet in shallow water, then comes time to explore the fantastic world which lies ten to twenty meters below the water's surface. Divers usually go in pairs or in groups, both to share the excitement and for safety's sake should some accident occur. If a tank malfunctions, the diver can use the tank of a companion (tanks have two nozzles), and then they can slowly rise to the surface together. Some clubs connect their divers with lines to prevent people from drifting away and becoming lost.

"Beginners fear waves, and experts fear currents," says Hua Ch'ang-sheng. Novices often lack the patience to understand the patterns of the waves, underestimate their power, and sometimes are knocked down by the waves or thrown against the ocean floor. Experienced divers, on the other hand, peacefully spend their time taking pictures, fishing, or just playing, only to discover the current has taken them to someplace they never intended to be. The diver then can use a compass and retrace his steps or go to the surface and wait to be rescued by a fishing boat. Currents can be felt by divers, particularly if they're having difficulty reaching their original destination. As yet no instrument exists which can measure the power of a current, and divers advise first consulting with local fishermen about area currents before diving. Due to the effects of water pressure, diving is not recommended for those with high blood pressure, sinusitus or tympanitus. These problems make it extremely difficult for the diver to reach an equilibrium with the different pressure conditions underwater, and in the last case, can result in severe earache, bleeding, and even punctured ear drums.

For the rest of us, diving presents an opportunity to exercise and explore. And with 70% of the globe being covered by ocean, wouldn't you say you're missing something if you don't take the plunge below?

(Mark Halperin)

[Picture Caption]

Tropical fish gliding in and out of coral reefs are a common sight in Taiwan waters.

Underwater photography is one of diving's delights.

A diving student practicing the back flip into a swimming pool.

Checking equipment is a predive must.

The luminous sea squirt shines brilliantly in the dark.

A predive roll call to make sure no one is missing later.

A secluded bay on the lee shore of a promontory is the best place for a dive.

Nan Wan is famous in international diving circles for its soft coral.

A couple of black and white "cleaner shrimp" cruising about their symbiotic partner, the sea anemone.

A curious blenny pokes its head out to take a look at the big wide world .

The curiously shaped lionfish has beautiful bright colors but watch out--its fins are deadly.

The lionfish spreading out its fins like a butterfly's wings.

These young Showe coral have not yet put forth their hornlike tentacles.

The sea anemone is also home for this bright little clownfish.

Underwater photography is one of diving's delights.

A diving student practicing the back flip into a swimming pool.

Checking equipment is a predive must.

The luminous sea squirt shines brilliantly in the dark.

A predive roll call to make sure no one is missing later.

Nan Wan is famous in international diving circles for its soft coral.

A secluded bay on the lee shore of a promontory is the best place for a dive.

A couple of black and white "cleaner shrimp" cruising about their symbiotic partner, the sea anemone.

A curious blenny pokes its head out to take a look at the big wide world .

The curiously shaped lionfish has beautiful bright colors but watch out--its fins are deadly.

The lionfish spreading out its fins like a butterfly's wings.

These young Showe coral have not yet put forth their hornlike tentacles.

The sea anemone is also home for this bright little clownfish.