Considering a Dive - Physical Condition

[dmaziuk]

While we won't be regular divers, my wife and I are planning a trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and we would like to take an introductory dive.

You'll need a medical release and you'll want to check with the dive operator if they'll accept a medical release from an overseas doctor.

 

[60plus]

I too would advise discover scuba or a try dive locally. Get yourself fins, a mask and a dry snorkel and practice snorkeling (you can get cheap sets). It will improve you fitness and confidence in a very relaxing way.

 

[TMHeimer]

I too would advise discover scuba or a try dive locally. Get yourself fins, a mask and a dry snorkel and practice snorkeling (you can get cheap sets). It will improve you fitness and confidence in a very relaxing way.

Agree completely. I wish all OW students would have done a lot of snorkeling first. Solves some of the problems seen in the OW course.

 

[jgttrey]

+1 on doing a try dive locally first (after medical approval). You'll be ahead of the game when you get to Australia.

My wife had many anxieties about diving whereas I had a lot at stake in her having a good try dive experience and deciding to become a diver. I arranged for her to do pool sessions locally and become totally comfortable with the gear and basic skills before she did a try dive when we were on vacation. It made a huge difference in her ultimate happiness.

 

[Patrick R. Held]

Hey Boiler: Thanks for the links to the shops. $60.00 is definitely a bargain. I think we shall each do one, if not a second one just for practice.

Our trip is not for a few years still, but I am planning ahead, if even planning too early.

DMaz: Good point about whether they will accept a clearance from in international doctor.

 

[-JD-]

Hey Boiler: Thanks for the links to the shops. $60.00 is definitely a bargain. I think we shall each do one, if not a second one just for practice.

Our trip is not for a few years still, but I am planning ahead, if even planning too early.

DMaz: Good point about whether they will accept a clearance from in international doctor.

At 50, I am a newbie (PADI Open Water and then Advanced Open Water in just over the past year) and somewhat local to you (north of Philly)

My suggestion would be to do the Discovery dive locally and see if you and your wife feel comfortable. If you do, I would seriously consider getting your Open Water certifications before voyaging halfway around the world, so that you feel (at least more) comfortable and competent and can focus more on taking in what you traveled to see rather than being overwhelmed by the newness of the diving experience. You are investing a huge amount of time and $ to be there to not maximize what you take away.

My son and I did our course and pool work here, and then did our OW checkout dives over two days on Grand Cayman (I had done the Discovery dive with the same operator there a year before). Most of the local shops here will do checkout dives up at Dutch Springs in Bethlehem PA (near Allentown) - I did AOW there and will be working toward Rescue and eventually Master Diver ratings this year. I won't kid you, Dutch is nowhere near as nice as tropical diving but manageable, and fun if you truly like the diving aspect. I don't know what instructors down on the DelMarVa do for OW checkouts.

Of course if time and finances allow you could do your checkouts and/or some practice trips in warm FL or the Caribbean. And also enjoy some great diving locations there.

If you go that route, before beginning the OW pool work, you will have to complete a basic water skills test. Under the PADI standard it is:

Become a Certified Scuba Diver FAQs | PADI

Do I have to be a good swimmer to scuba dive?
Some swimming ability is required. You need to have basic swim skills and be able to comfortably maintain yourself in the water. Your PADI Instructor will assess this by having you:

• Swim 200 metres/yards (or 300 metres/yards in mask, fins and snorkel). There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want.
• Float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any methods you want.

Any individual who can meet the performance requirements of the course qualifies for certification. There are many adaptive techniques that allow individuals with physical challenges to meet these requirements. People with paraplegia, amputations and other challenges commonly earn the PADI Open Water Diver certification. Even individuals with more significant physical challenges participate in diving. Talk to your PADI Instructor at your local PADI Dive Center or Resort for more information.

As other have suggested, get some pool time if you can first.

I had been in a pool for just 15 minutes in 38 years due to a chlorine allergy so my "swimming" skills were now extraordinarily rusty, but I had spent a number of vacations snorkeling as much as possible. I also have usually minor, but chronic, rotator issues with my shoulders, making arm-dominant swimming strokes difficult for extended periods. So I did the snorkel swim which is more leg-strength reliant and frankly 600 yards would have been OK - I'm built for short bursts or slow and steady.

At 5'10" and 185 I am actually almost neutral with lungs-full. I can barely still-float my mouth and nose above fresh water for maybe 15 seconds before my legs drag me face under. You will need to learn how to more efficiently float/tread water. Best is if your anatomy floats, but I floated as much as possible with supplementary kicks and sculls to keep me on top.

Frankly, you should probably work to meet that standard at least even if you are only doing discovery dives out in open water.


As for the medical, I would suggest that you contact the dive operator that you will be using and see what documentation that they will require. Frankly, I have trouble believing that an AUS ( a renowned international dive destination) operator wouldn't accept a US medical form, at least if they have the opportunity to confirm in advance.


Best of luck to you

 

[Patrick R. Held]

It actually sounds like we (both of us) would benefit from:

1. Building up a little upper body strength we both have strong legs but weak upper bodies.
2. Taking some adult swimming lessons and joining the community pool to practice. Practice treading water and breast stroke. Even get some fins, a mask and a snorkel and practice with that.
3. Going to one of the dive stores (either the one in Newport DE or Bethlehem PA) and take a practice dive or two.

From what I gather, with the BCD, I could "get away" with doing it now, but as mentioned above, there is no doubt that a little training and practice will help us be more prepared and get more out if it as well as enjoy it more.

Just for the record, diving is only one day of our week and a half in Australia (2 weeks away from home minus a 3 days for round trip travel). Also, if for some reason we are unable to do an actual dive, we can still snorkel and/or take a helmet dive. That said, not being able to dive would not be a waste of a trip or money, but it would be really cool to be able to add this to our list of accomplishments.

 

[dmaziuk]

If you're not used to being in water and breathing through a tube, practicing in a pool with snorkels should certainly help you stay calm and relaxed later and enjoy the actual dive more.

You really want masks that fit and not leak, and fins that fit. You can find those ahead of time and get used to them, that's the bonus.

 

[tarponchik]

Reminds me of how we were shore diving in Hawaii at "2 Step" with my wife once. While on a surface break, we watched how a group of maybe 7 people arrived and went into the water. They all stayed close to lava. About 10 min later, one really big guy, maybe 6'5", started complaining loudly that he was very tired. I thought he was just kidding but his wife who was standing chest-deep in the water next to him and talking to another woman, took the issue seriously and acted promptly. Without even interrupting her conversation, she threw him out of water onto the lava where he lay, continuing his complaints for some time, then fell asleep. She didn't look like a powerlifting champ; probably, just knew her drill too well.

 

[Rred]

A few years off? Things change in a few years. If you are planning to "just book a dive" you will need to pass someone's open water certification, and that may involve swimming 20 laps in an Olympic size pool, and treading water for 15 minutes more. Specifics will vary with the organization.

Then again, if you are diving with a "taste of scuba" resort operator with guides, there are some places that will throw a tank on anyone, in a pool, and then hold their hands in sheltered water, so the physical abilities are not a bar. (After all, we even have groups that offer scuba to seriously disabled people.)

If you REALLY want to look into this, stop by some local scuba shops, even if that means an excuse for a day trip and dinner in the next county. Ask them what they require, what they think, and see if that's motivation to sign up for a pool program or other fitness routines. Or, to look into glass bottom boat tours instead.