Recreational scuba in 1966: PADI founded

Open-water scuba to 18–40 m — PADI, SSI and the difference between a holiday course and a craft. Recreational scuba is open-circuit diving within sport limits: usually 18 m on a first qualification, up to about 40 m with further training, no-stop profiles, and a buddy. PADI (1966) and SSI (1970) sell the mass courses; agencies do not own the ocean.

Gear load and wow factor sit high in this atlas. Accessibility is middling because a course, a medical screen and a boat day stand between a swimmer and a reef. Risk is real and still lower than wreck penetration or night in a current. This chapter is not a certifying agency, not medical advice, and not a dive briefing. Tables, computers and the day’s conditions belong to a living instructor and a local operator.

Agency cards (PADI/SSI/federations) gate depth and gas — not Instagram. Local shops own currents, checkouts and boat briefings. Medical forms and insurance differ by country; renew before the trip. Recreational scuba mapped for mechanisms, locale notes and limits. Recreational scuba sits in the scuba atlas — mechanisms, locale notes and limits, not slogans.