Stupid question - what is skin diving?

I've read various posts where people have mentioned different "skin diving" requirements included in different agencies' rescue courses. I've also read about skin diving skills being considered when deciding the qualifications of a potential instructor. Is this the same thing as free-diving? I assume it is but would be interested in clarification if it is not.

The term "skin diving" was once used to differentiate between old fashioned hard hat diving and early SCUBA diving, as well as free diving. Early SCUBA divers usually did not wear exposure suits as they do today and dived in only swimsuits, thus in their skin. In recent years, the definition of skin diving seems to have narrowed down to mean free diving only. I was born in 1954 and I still use "skin diving" interchangeably with "SCUBA diving."

Cool that was part of my confusion. I was aware of the older term.

On a side note, why are free (skin) diving skills valuable to scuba divers and why?

Learning to free dive first allows the diver to become accustomed to the underwater environment and the use of basic fins, mask and snorkel. If one masters basic snorkeling skills such as clearing a flooded mask, efficient finning techniques and the like, and becomes comfortable in the water, then getting SCUBA certified is a piece of cake.

Personally, I would recommend that anyone wanting to learn to dive should take up snorkeling first and learn to use fins, mask and snorkel. A good set of snorkel gear can be had for less than $100 and you can learn on your own, at your own pace. Snorkeling is fun and easy and there are plenty of good books out there from which you can learn snorkeling techniques. Then, when swimming underwater has become second nature, sign up for a SCUBA course.

Mastering snorkeling first helps gain confidence and skill. IMHO, the best SCUBA divers are accomplished snorkelers with tanks on their backs.

The early days of scuba training was heavy on free diving skills. Now days you you barely need to know how to swim to pass a scuba course. Free divers are at a great advantage when learning scuba over someone who has never free dived.

I think snorkeling is something natural for those that love water and water sports.
I've "learned" snorkeling on my own, without any book nor class.
Snorkeling is done primarily without wetsuit, only with swimsuit. the exercise done going up and down is high, so you normally have no cold. Going scuba, breathing compressed air that comes from the regulator, the air is cold, you go deeper with deep themorlines, you go colder and colder. Scuba diving without wetsuit is reserved only for caribean waters.

OK I guess I'm probably covered then. I never did anything big or formal but always felt comfortable in the water and now that I've been diving for a few years none of that has really been as issue. I always enjoyed snorkeling, but felt like I was never going to be satisfied until I could stay under longer and deeper.

Emoreira,
I have been snorkeling/diving here in Appalachia since the early 1960s and I never once used a wetsuit until one time this past summer. Who says you can only dive without a wetsuit in the Caribbean? There are lots of us who do it all the time. I happen to like the feel of water on my skin and have been diving sans wetsuit many time in water temperatures in the 60s.

One of my favorite dive spots is Summersville Lake and have always dived it without a wetsuit, right down through the thermoclines. I usually snorkel for a while first, to get used to the water, then strap on my tank and go.

captain:

The early days of scuba training was heavy on free diving skills. Now days you you barely need to know how to swim to pass a scuba course. Free divers are at a great advantage when learning scuba over someone who has never free dived.

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This is a bit off of the original topic but still somewhat related.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that people "barely need to know how to swim". You do need to physically be able to swim for a given period of time without stopping as well as tread water for a given amount of time.

It is true that most agencies do not require a set number of laps within a given time period (say swimming a 400M freestyle in 4 minutes). The type of requirements aren't to prove your in top physical shape but they do prove that you have the basic swimming skills you need.

These requirements are certainly far lower than maybe 10 years ago but you would be surprised how many students sign up for scuba class and have to be turned away because they can't swim. Some are also just poor swimmers and need to be refereed to swim classes before we can continue with scuba training.


I think that the difference between getting certified several years ago (and maybe more than just several) and todays standards is the divers being turned out these days aren't getting the same quality education and that is why some people here on the board peg to c-cards as "learners permits" now days.

I don't want to hijack this thread in to a comparison of "back in my days" to now or even a talk about current certification methods. I just wanted to get my point across as objective as possible.

Splash-X:

It is true that most agencies do not require a set number of laps within a given time period (say swimming a 400M freestyle in 4 minutes). The type of requirements aren't to prove your in top physical shape but they do prove that you have the basic swimming skills you need.

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Man, I'd love to qualify in that agency. The world record is only 3 mins 40. Clearly I'm not pushing my students hard enough!