Want to learn to dive! Pool training question

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Maya,

It depends upon the temperature of the water. For me, the 3mm wetsuit is good from 65 to 75 deg. After that I am without a wetsuit. Everyone's tolerance for cold is different though and the time in the water and the surface interval also affects it.

Give it a try to find out. Check the water temperature each time and note how you feel.

If it is a hot day you may get hot out of the water but once you are in you should feel better.
 
Maya,

Try the wetsuit in the pool before the class and see how you feel with it on and with out it. You could be in the pool up to four hours (with a break or two). So if you might get cold wear it. If you are not comfortable than learning a new skill set is that more difficult. I use a 3mm shorty wet suit when I teach in the pool for this reason; when I dive the same water temperature I do not use the wet suit as I am very tolerant to cooer waters.
 
You will almost certainly be fine in the pool with your wet suit. Most pools are either unheated, or heated to about 80 degrees, which is a water temperature that is perfect for a 3 mil wetsuit (if you like wetsuits). As you will learn in your class, water takes heat away from the body almost 30 times faster than air, so even water that seems very comfortable will get you cold if you spend enough time in it.

I would say by all means play with your mask and snorkel, especially if you have never used them before. Mask skills are a challenge for some new divers, so getting a leg up on that skill is great. My only warning would be that, if you try to flood and clear your mask a number of times and it isn't working for you, stop trying and wait for some instruction. A little coaching can really help with that skill, and the last thing you want to do is begin to build an anxiety problem around doing it.
 
This video is made by Dive Training Magazine so has pointers if you want to practice mask clearing.
I personally use the method shown in the 2nd example - it works better for me.

[video=youtube;PuVXxj70s1w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuVXxj70s1w[/video]
 
Wear the wetsuit. Even if you get hot, you can just circulate some cold water in the suit by pulling your neck open a bit and dunking under the water. Being too cold in a pool is far worse than being a little warm, especially when you're trying to learn new skills.
 
Wear the wetsuit. Even if you get hot, you can just circulate some cold water in the suit by pulling your neck open a bit and dunking under the water. Being too cold in a pool is far worse than being a little warm, especially when you're trying to learn new skills.

This method also works for flushing if you are one of those people that pee in your wetsuit. And there's and old saying: "There are two kinds of people, those that pee in their wetsuits and those that lie about peeing in their wetsuits." Personally, I don't anymore but I did before I figured out how funky they get.

You might also get a weight belt and maybe a couple of two pound weights. They will let you get used to the feel of having weight on your hips and will get you closer to the neutral bouyancy that you will be striving for on scuba.
 
I definitely agree with NetDoc, The Kraken and TSandM's posts above - swimming with fins, mask and snorkel will get you familiarised with all three pieces of equipment and whilst we don't use snorkels underwater, the mouthpiece is the same shape as that used in a scuba regulator and the clearing technique is similar - i.e. blast clearing by blowing forcefully through the snorkel - it's just easier with a scuba regulator. Wearing a mask will get you accustomed to the sensation of water creeping inside it, and propelling yourself through the water at the surface wearing fins teaches you a valuable technique that you can adapt to diving when you are underwater. Wearing a wetsuit - well - temperature may be a factor but try skin-diving whilst wearing it, and if possible, try without - you will notice a substantial difference between trying to skin-dive with or without one (temperature permitting) and this is a valuable lesson in the effects of equipment on buoyancy - all about sensation - and makes understanding of weighting a little clearer.

I think snorkelling is a great way to learn some fundamentals of diving without actually getting into scuba - so have fun with it, and good luck with your course!

C.
 
The swimming test is without swimming aids. (no mask, fins or snorkel. No flotation devices.)

PADI allows for a Swim Assessment without swimming aids (200 yds/m) or with swimming aids (mask, snorkel and fins for 300 yds/m); neither are timed.

I have not looked at other training agencies' requirements for new diver's training.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom