Swimming in the ocean

[TMHeimer]

Where are you likely to have to assist or rescue someone? Is it in a pool or is it in the sea? You will need to swim in the sea if you want to work as a DM or instructor.

I'm reminded of a dive in Key Largo where a diver was swept to another boat by current and his dive boat backed up to the other dive boat to pick him up. Both boats turned off their engines and the diver jumped in. Without his fins! The current moved the boats and the diver far apart and the DM of his boat had to go after the diver and perform a rescue tow. This too can be part of your responsibilities.

Good point. I just always have to bring this up though-- I assume the rescuing DM was was wearing his fins to swim there and tow the diver back. If so, that was not swimming--aka the 400 meter test. Rule, like, #2 of Rescue course is have your mask, fins & snorkel handy at all times. My take on it is the 400 meter/yard test has nothing to do with rescuing. The 800 meter M/F/S test yes, EXCEPT you're not allowed to use arms! --which you would do if performing a rescue. I apologize for beating that dead horse again.

maristu: Best approach to the swim test (for me) is to first get your technique right--arm strokes, kicking, breathing (not too much or too little), head movements. Then swim lots to build up swim muscles--other excersises don't help all that much. I went from a "1" to a "3", but it took time.

 

[RJP]

I was diving in the Red Sea (Jordan) and I jumped off the boat, and when I came up a second later I was already 10-15 meters away from the anchored boat because of the current, which kind of freaked me out. There was a line and I was fine, and I knew that if I ended up too far away to swim back the boat or someone would come for me, but it still freaked me out a little.

The thing is, swimming in a pool is so controlled. You have your own lane, no waves or currents to worry about (except when you're sharing a lane with someone), and you know that no matter how much you swim you're always a short swim from the edge. I'm used to a slow controlled swim, with long extended strokes. The lake here in Brasilia is pretty small and filled with boats everywhere, so it's usually an easy swim to safety, and there's hardly any swell (and definitely no current). I've been to Khao Lak and I've dived the Similan Islands, and I know that we're usually in open water where I can't see any shore. There's also plenty of surface current and swell in some places, but I'm thinking we'll pick a day and a spot where that's not so much of an issue. What I worry most about is swallowing water when I breathe because of the swell, and panicking because of it. I also worry about having a big boat next to me, which on the one hand is my safety line, and on the other could hurt me if for any reason currents change quickly (especially if it's anchored). I guess the only way around it is to just get there and practice some before the actual test.

T I'm guessing I'll swim about 70-80m each time I go round it, so about 5 or 6 times around the boat should be enough. It'll be a guess, definitely. I don't really mind, though, since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get more than a 1 on this anyway...

And you decided that becoming a DM is something you want to do because... ???

I'm in a very contrary mood tonight, so please forgive me, but if you do eventually become a DM do yourself a favor and never, ever tell anyone about your apprehension about swimming in anything other than a controlled pool environment. Will not exactly instill confidence/trust among potential customers or students.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

And you decided that becoming a DM is something you want to do because... ???

I'm in a very contrary mood tonight, so please forgive me, but if you do eventually become a DM do yourself a favor and never, ever tell anyone about your apprehension about swimming in anything other than a controlled pool environment. Will not exactly instill confidence/trust among potential customers or students.

Says the guy whose avatar is of himself in a pool hanging on a floaty????

 

[RJP]

Says the guy whose avatar is of himself in a pool hanging on a floaty????

OK, you got me there. But here's my FB profile pic, just updated this morning ironically enough.

Swam 4,000m today in 58m24s.

 

[maristu]

And you decided that becoming a DM is something you want to do because... ???

I'm in a very contrary mood tonight, so please forgive me, but if you do eventually become a DM do yourself a favor and never, ever tell anyone about your apprehension about swimming in anything other than a controlled pool environment. Will not exactly instill confidence/trust among potential customers or students.

I would like to become a DM because I love diving. My apprehension at the moment is about doing something I've hardly ever done before, which I'm pretty sure is a normal human reaction to most things novel. Like for example people who are apprehensive about diving when they start off. I'm hoping this apprehension will go away with time and experience, but if it doesn't, trust me, I'll head back to the office and go back to being a weekend diver. I just wasn't lucky enough to grow up on the coast with easy access to large bodies of water...

Cheers.

---------- Post added October 26th, 2013 at 02:00 AM ----------

Best approach to the swim test (for me) is to first get your technique right--arm strokes, kicking, breathing (not too much or too little), head movements. Then swim lots to build up swim muscles--other excersises don't help all that much. I went from a "1" to a "3", but it took time.

Yeah, that's what I've been doing in the pool this past month, and let me tell you, those muscles are burning as I type ;-) It's pretty impressive how much my technique and breathing have improved in one month through daily training with a good coach. I'm still trying to get my time down (I'm currently stuck at 12 minutes), but I'm happy just with being able to swim the 400m...

The thing is, when you look at videos of swim competitions at sea, the technique looks different: the strokes are faster and shorter, the whole form feels choppier than when you watch pool competitions. So I'm thinking I'll need to adapt my technique... We'll see. I'll leave the tests for the end of the DM training, so I'll have about 2 months to train at sea and get the hang of it.

Cheers!

 

[RJP]

I wouldn't worry too much about "competition" technique here. While the DM swims are timed, the required times are by no means fast, and the distances are short.

Someone mentioned above to look at triathlon swimming style. I suggest you not bother. Triathlon swimming style is different from "regular" swimming, in two ways. 1.) Legs aren't used as much, since they need to be "saved" for the bike and the run, and 2.) since triathletes are swimming amongst many competitors it's not about a "pretty swim stroke" but a short, powerful, momentum-driven stroke. (I could get into "front-quadrant swimming" etc here, but won't.)

The problem that beginning/weak swimmers fall into is moving into "distance" mode before they master "technique." Maristu, you are far better off at this point working on being able to do 50m with proper technique, 8 times, resting in between, before you try to string them together for a single 400m. Using poor technique for 400m does not build endurance, it merely tires you out and as you tire, your technique will get worse... not better.

With 2 months to train, your progression should look something like this

50m with proper technique, don't worry about time
50m with proper technique x8, don't worry about time, rest in between as needed
50m with proper technique x8, timed, rest in between as needed
100m with proper technique x4, timed, rest in between as needed
200m with proper technique x2, timed, rest in between as needed
400m timed

Also check out the SwimSmooth website (www.swimsmooth.com) for a good overview of proper technique. Poor, inefficient technique is the number one problem you have. I guarantee it. Because it's the number one problem everyone has. Unless you've been a competitive swimmer, you've never really been taught how to swim properly/efficiently.

As long as you are physically fit - and I don't mean an elite athlete, I mean a non-obese, non-smoker, with two arms and two legs that work - there is no reason you can't get 3 or 4 points on the DM swims using proper technique.

Good luck.

 

[TMHeimer]

RJP's training method seems ideal. When I trained I did something like that. First concentrated on just finishing the 400 meters (16 laps) with proper technique, then gradually tried improving my time. I think I agree with you that ocean swimming may be slightly different stroke wise. Both my brothers swim competitively and in watching them it seems the arm strokes are a bit shorter/quicker, whatever--I could be wrong. The older guy is 70 and still does the ocean 2 mile competition.

Regarding DM-- I've had read of a lot of people that want to do this in your exact words "because I love diving". The reason I got into it (other than the minimum wage pay) was as a former teacher I thought it would be neat to get back into education in a small way during retirement. My view is you don't really "dive" assisting with classes. You are concentrating on your duties. Charters, on the other hand, would give you some real diving, as you deal with only certified divers. I haven't done that (you can get DM insurance by the way for assisting classes only, which is a lot cheaper). In the DM course you do get a lot of practise perfecting the 20 OW skills, but other than that it really does little to improve your own diving. If you like to teach and deal with students, this would be the only reason IMO to pursue DM.

 

[maristu]

Just to update this thread... I've now done all my swim tests, and got:

5 on the 15 min float
4 on the equipment exchange
3 on the 800m snorkel/fins
3 on the 100m tow - 15 seconds from a 4! :-(
1 on the 400m free swim - as predicted

So... I passed, technically. I'm going to redo the 400m sometime soon, though, maybe swimming from boat to boat (if there's a boat moored nearby) instead of around the boat. The problem with swimming around the boat is, you're always going against the current on one side, and although the current does help you on the other, it doesn't REST you, so I got tired as hell after 2 laps around the boat (I did 5). Ended up also doing a breast stroke for a good part of it, as I just couldn't get the hang of breathing over the waves and ended up drinking a lot of water when I tried the crawl. So, lessons learned, and we'll try a different tactic so I can get at least a 2. Worst case scenario, I go to a swimming pool

Thanks for all the tips and hope everyone has a great 2014!

Mariana

 

[tracydr]

Congratulations, Mariana. I did my DM training with a guy who is a triathlete. We swam in a lake for our test. Interestingly, I got a better score than he did. I swam on a swim team for a short time in high school and took years of swimming lessons. I also did the swim test instead of the run during my Army years, as I had a physical problem that didn't allow long distance running.I took my test at 47 years of age and I am by no means in great shape. I was amazed that I beat my buddy.
Swimming really is all about technique. My brother also took years of swim lessons but hasn't continued to swim during his adult years and never did swim team. He says that he can hardly swim 50M without being exhausted. He's in much better condition than me. Plays polo, a basketball league and a softball league, plus a lot of gym time.
I actually spent 4 months of this year in a wheelchair and 12 weeks with crutches or a walker. I can still swim 1500 meters or more, non-stop, in about 25-30 minutes. I lose track of my distance most times, so I'm really not sure how much I swim but I do several 200 meter sets ( over half are breast stroke to strengthen my knees and rest my shoulders, because I have knee problems and shoulder tendonitis),and also a 200 meter set of just kicking with a board, which slows me down a lot.
I did recently get the Garmin swim watch but haven't had many chances to play with it,yet. It's a great watch for swimming laps,btw. There is another Garmin triathalons watch that's better for open water swimming.
I'd suggest that you continue your lessons and practices when you get back home. Confidence in the water and fitness are important parts of being a DM.

 

[TMHeimer]

Yes, congratulations on getting it all done. I stand corrected in saying going with and against current should balance out. Your experience of not really getting rest going with it makes sense. I am very opinionated on these tests and have posted on the Going Pro forum several years ago my opinions on how the various tests should be changed. One of my points is that in as practical a way as possible, the tests should be done in a similar way by ALL candidates everywhere--ei. in a pool--or perhaps in a smooth lake, etc. Another one of my favourites is tired diver 100m tow: How big or small is the pool? If you have to make like 10 turns as opposed to 3 (or NONE if done in smooth open water), your time will vary drastically. Those turns take a lot of time to maneuver, regardless of your ability and strength. But you can do a search for all my rants... Time to move on and get into DMing. Nice job.