Zero to Hero? The Good ole' Days? You can't please anyone!

[Cave Diver]

Yes. My point is that with some agencies even knowing how to swim isn't a requirement for training. It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to realize that what you start with at the beginning of the process will affect the end result. It's panic waiting to happen.

Yes, I would agree that if you have to teach someone how to swim or be comfortable in the water then abbreviated class are not adequate. I guess that I just don't view teaching someone how to swim to be part of dive training. If someone came to my LDS wanting to learn to dive and they couldn't swim, the shop had the name of several swim coaches that they could refer them to prior to enrolling them in a class.

 

[DCBC]

Yes, I would agree that if you have to teach someone how to swim or be comfortable in the water then abbreviated class are not adequate. I guess that I just don't view teaching someone how to swim to be part of dive training. If someone came to my LDS wanting to learn to dive and they couldn't swim, the shop had the name of several swim coaches that they could refer them to prior to enrolling them in a class.

Yet some instructors could train them to dive (swimming is not required for all agencies). That's my point; certification cards can be given to non-swimmers.

 

[Cave Diver]

That's what I thought when I went to Florida last year to do the eight-day course.

Same for me. I took my cave course a year before I discovered SB and I had no idea or reference for what I was getting myself into. It was a pretty big shock. This was also before all the "improvements" at Peacock and Little River and when you were still allowed to enter and exit at Olsen. I don't think climbing up was near as bad as trying to climb down without falling was.

 

[TSandM]

I think I understand your point, Cave Diver. We lament that beginner classes are so abbreviated and omit so many things, and then we carefully tell new divers not to rush through their classes, and criticize people who do. There is definitely a disconnect there.

Personally, I think (perhaps because it's what I did) that doing OW, AOW, a couple of specialties, Rescue, (and Fundies ) in a year is a very reasonable way to go about getting pretty complete recreational training. I do think it's important to do some fun diving in the process, or else one can become instructor-dependent, as well as burn out on training. But there's not really any need to wait enormous periods of time, or accumulate huge numbers of dives, between those classes. They are all basic recreational classes, and can only improve the diver's skill and confidence.

For technical and cave diving, I hold the opposite opinion. Do a LOT of diving at your cert level, before you push it up. But you can get into SO much trouble, being overly ambitious in a cave.

 

[Walter]

 

[k ellis]

You know when I took my Open water I was a non swimmer too and nearly dropped out of the course before I ever started. But my instructor who is former military would not hear it LOL He got me in the pool and worked with me till he got me to float and then explained swimming is a lot similiar. I certified without problems after his little bit of work with me but I made it a point to get out and swim.

Swimming is not so much how you swim as opposed to what your doing as I discovered breathing technique was 90 percent of it. Now I can swim and I would not hesitate to recommend anyone to my instructor. So I think if someone has a little extra time and is trully into diving and wants to share the sport then he should be willing to at least attempt to help a potential diver learn to somehow swim.

 

[gbray]

I am a little confused about the swimming issue. I was never a good swimmer, could not float, and was terrible at holding my breath and swimming underwater. I always loved being on or around the water though. The first time I was introduced to scuba I fell in love with it. I did pass the swim test but did not like it. In my limited diving experience I have yet to see where swimming skills both above and below the surface contribute to scuba. Scuba is an equipment dependant sport(there would be no scuba without it) and the skills required to be efficient are exactly the opposite of most swimming skills IE no use of hands, no holding breath, no fast pace etc..

For my experience level I consider myself to be a fairly good diver but a poor swimmer. I would consider a good working knowledge of math with a mechanical apptitude to understand your equipment more useful tools for diving than being a good swimmer.

Maybe someone can explain the errors of my way but until then that is my observation.

 

[k ellis]

I am a little confused about the swimming issue. I was never a good swimmer, could not float, and was terrible at holding my breath and swimming underwater. I always loved being on or around the water though. The first time I was introduced to scuba I fell in love with it. I did pass the swim test but did not like it. In my limited diving experience I have yet to see where swimming skills both above and below the surface contribute to scuba. Scuba is an equipment dependant sport(there would be no scuba without it) and the skills required to be efficient are exactly the opposite of most swimming skills IE no use of hands, no holding breath, no fast pace etc..

For my experience level I consider myself to be a fairly good diver but a poor swimmer. I would consider a good working knowledge of math with a mechanical apptitude to understand your equipment more useful tools for diving than being a good swimmer.

Maybe someone can explain the errors of my way but until then that is my observation.

You are correct that its an equipment issue but its like anyothe equipment. In the rare event that you say get entangled underwater and have to come out of your gear. Now you make it to the surface but the boat maybe 300 yards away. If your not in a wet suit you got a serious problem if you cant swim to the boat and it also endangers others who may have to get in the water to rescue you.

I agree with you and share your logic but unfortunately cars come with spare tires not because you have a flat but because you may have a flat. and in scuba you dont have to even know how to swim to dive you just need to know how in case you have to swim to safety

 

[Walter]

It's all about confidence in the water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I gotta agree with Walter ... the main reason for good water skills is for the mental boost it gives you. Diving is all about confidence, because that's the antidote for stress and underwater stress is not your friend.

As a diving instructor I have found a definite correlation between people with good swimming skills and people who can easily and confidently master diving skills.

For sure, there are those who are poor swimmers who have become excellent divers ... but they had to work much harder at it than those who came into diving with good swimming skills to start with.

It ain't the physical act of swimming that makes the difference ... it's the "rewiring" that comfort in the water helps to produce as you adapt to an environment you were never built for ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)