Finding comfort in adventure: experiences of recreational SCUBA divers

Abstract

Adventure experiences are most often examined from a position that seeks to understand interpretations of risk and uncertainty. This paper has adopted an alternate view in seeking to consider aspects of participants’ comfort during an adventure‐based experience, namely recreational SCUBA diving. Interviews were held with divers who had variation in their level of experience and involvement with the activity. An interpretive approach to analysing the interview data revealed physical, social, psychological and visual contexts of comfort within SCUBA diving. Themes that reflect comfortable experiences are important to recreational SCUBA diving and the broader context of leisure.

Keywords:

• contexts of comfort
• SCUBA‐diving
• underwater
• marine
• in‐water