Question about swimming ability

[freediver]

I'm wondering how exactly skin diving skills will make you a much better scuba diver. So let's say we require everyone to clear their mask underwater without scuba, how much better of a diver will they be now?

Skin-diving skills will help you by making you more comfortable in the water and it puts you in tune with your water skills before any additional equipment tasks are added. It gives the diver a sense of self-reliance before gear reliance, which is a really comfortable feeling. Strong skin-diving skills generally mean an easier transition into the unfamiliar world of scuba skills. As far as the mask clear, try this drill: take a breath, hold it and submerge and see how many times you can clear your mask on the single breath. I wouldn't hesitate to say this will help a scuba diver clear with more efficiency.

 

[NCSCUBADOOBA]

Okay, for the originator of this post... I thought of you fondly this past weekend. My dive buddy and I got seasick. So seasick that we called off our 2nd dive and decided to wait for all of the other divers in the ocean treading water hooked to the boat hang line rather than sit on the boat and get further sick. I am happy to say that I'm very glad I'm a decent swimmer b/c if I wasn't... oh, spending that extra hour on a wobbling boat would've been my own personal hell! So, I give a hearty 2 thumbs up to being able to swim and tread water for SCUBA!!!!
Angela

 

[padiscubapro]

Finished NAUI OW a few weeks ago. I too was nervous about the swimming requirements to pass the test. I considered myself an average swimmer but haven't had to swim 225 meters (Naui requirement) in a very long time. Anyways, I hit the pool at the gym for a couple of weeks before I took the class until I felt comfortable and not exhausted at the end of 225 meters. When I took the class I think it was more like what DeepSeaDan is saying about the instructors are more interested in your ability and comfort level in the water, at least that is how my class went. We also had to tread or float for 10 minutes and swim under water about 20 meters I past quite easily along with everyone else in my class. But, it is nice knowing that you are physicaly fit enough to be able to do something like that if the need ever arises.

John

Unless NAUI recently change it.. their swim requirement was reduced to 15 STROKES a few years back..

 

[aic007]

Just did my 1st pool session a few days ago and the DM had me do 4 laps in the pool, then float for 10min and finally swim underwater from the shallow end to the start of the deep end, don't know exact distances. Like most said it was just to see how comfortable I was in the water. Wasn't too bad even though I haven't been in water in a few months. He was talking to the lifeguard and he said that he thinks the YMCA cert is a little more challenging than the PADI (PADI being the one I was currently enrolled in), so I guess it depends on which cert you are going for in what you will have to do and for what amt of time.

 

[Army Diver]

A few ways that come to mind..........

1. Stop certifying 10 & 11 year olds.

2. Eliminate the non certification SCUBA programs for kids even younger.

3. Require a 300 yd swim (no snorkel option)

4. Require a 50 ft underwater swim

5. Teach frog, scissor and dolphin kicks in addition to the flutter.

6. Require mask clearing to be mastered before SCUBA is introduced.

7. Require mask removal, replacement and clearing while skin diving.

8. Require recovery and clearing of mask and snorkel from the pool bottom w/o SCUBA

9. Require skills to be mastered in mid water.

10. Require a full doff & don without assistance.

11. Require rescue of simulated panicked diver on the surface.

12. Require rescue of simulated unconscious victim from the bottom.

13. Require buddy breathing.

14. Teach the panic cycle and how to break it.

15. Require horizontal body position while on SCUBA.

16. Require divers to swim without using their hands.

There are probably more, but that would be a good start.

Wow, I just signed up for this board yesterday, and while browsing about came across this post. The first thing I noticed was the aboce post. When I was first learning to dive, I hade to actually pass a test on #5-#16 (among other things) before I was allowed to perform my first open water dive. I actually find it amusing that Walter is saying we should train recreational divers the way the Military trains its EOD/Salvage Divers, and there may be a place for that in an Advance course, but a basic Scuba course should not require buddy breathing, doff and don as well as the rescue aspects of the above quote. And recreational Divers should continue their diver education if they plan on being very active Divers, but if they just plan on diving here or there on vacations above 18m its not needed.

 

[aic007]

but a basic Scuba course should not require buddy breathing, doff and don as well as the rescue aspects of the above quote. And recreational Divers should continue their diver education if they plan on being very active Divers, but if they just plan on diving here or there on vacations above 18m its not needed.

Even though I am not certified yet, I would feel very uncomfortable if I didn't know the skills you mention above. When doing anything that can be as dangerous as going into an ocean and breathing from a tank 100' below the surface it is important to know everything you possibly can that one day if needed will save your life. It may seem trivial but when your put in a critical situation the ability to relax, not overreact and think rationally is the most important thing you can do. If your air is almost out what do you do? Do you shoot to the surface or get your buddy's attention and signal your out and need to share air. I would not be comfortable with someone who could not pull or push me if I was having a problem, so it makes sense that I should be able to return the favor. I don't think DM's would spend the time to teach it to you if it wasn't necessary. It may sound corny but safety should always be your primary concern.

 

[fishb0y]

As someone said earlier, you don't let a blind person drive, a non-swimmer shouldn't swim. A 200yd swim should be the minimum. You are fooling yourself into a false sense of security by thinking that if you can struggle through a 200 yard swim scuba diving would be safe. Look at it this way, if you were on a charter the current started taking you away from the boat, would you feel confident in your swimming skills to either get you back? It's nice that certification agencies get people in the water, but it is up to the individual to do a honest evaluation of their swimming ability before they even sign up for the class.

BTW, I agree with most of Walters 'requirements' (sorry, my 11 year old is a better diver than most adults).

 

[Babs-Would-Be-Diver]

Would someone explain the "panic cycle" and how to break it? most of the time I am confortable underwater, but then get panicky without any reason. I normally take control of my breathing and slow down at that point in case I had got overexcited looking at something!

 

[fishoutawater]

Yeah Walter what is this "panic cycle" of which you speak?
I know what panic is and have felt it, but as far as it coming in cycles, I don't follow ya.
I freaked pretty bad once when I was a kid. After a three minute freedive on the bottom of a small lake trying to stab a carp, I rose up to discover I was somewhere underneath the boat dock and couldn't find the edge, and I was already way out of air.
Took me a while to convince myself to go back down and find my mask which got knocked off during my struggle.
And I too agree with most of Walter's requirements too. I'm also a serious proponant of being an accomplished freediver, THEN move on to scuba, just to be able to go deeper longer. It just makes the course so much easier. When I recertified back in 1991, I was shocked that my class had people that didn't know how to clear their mask, or their ears, or tread water, or swim any length of time. The reason I was shocked was because in my mind, scuba was always for people that spent every chance they got swimming in the water when they were growing up. People who feel totally at ease in the H2o. The kind of kids with the blue lips and wrinkled fingers saying, "Aw mom, d-d-d-do I have t-t-to g-g-get out n-n-now?"

 

[TXScubaBear]

I know this thread is kinda old, but you know what? After reading all this, and my swim test is tomoprrow (200m) and I was anxious about it, I am more confident I'll do fine. I haven't swam steadily either over the years, we just got back from a few days in Destin and I swam there and like to have wore myself out. Why? Swimming too hard, too fast, and those monster waves I encountered (I later learned I was swimming when the tide was coming in.....:eyemouth: ). But now after reading this, I am more at peace knowing I need to take my time and vary how I swim and just go with the flow. In a nutshell- thanks all for posting your experiences, etc here......