Tips for the 10 minute treading portion of OW certification?

[tursiops]

You can do whatever you put your mind to.

It is a wonderful platitude, but its truth is limited.

 

[TMHeimer]

I agree with you. If you're going to pursue a sport/hobby like scuba, you should definitely know how to swim. I mean it's not like you're in water or anything.....

And yes I know scuba doesn't necessarily require swimming, but in an emergency situation one should know how. You could lose your fins, your BC could get a tear in the bladder, preventing it from holding air, and then what? Yes it's probably a pretty unlikely scenario, but stranger things have happened.

Yes, the likelihood of needing to swim (without fins) while on a scuba day are almost nil. But as one very experienced instructor on SB once said--Swimming is a life skill. I'll add that it is something everyone should be able to do unless they are never in or near water that may approach over their head.

 

[TMHeimer]

I find it interesting that people "not in swimming shape" find snorkeling "so much easier": I would think a leisurely breaststroke is at least as easy if not easier. Unless one has serious neck problems. You can keep your face out o the water at all time, and see where you're going, vs. having to breathe through a tube and looking at the bottom of the pool. However much of it you can see in your mask. You can, in fact, do almost the same as you'd do for teh 10-minute "float", only keeping your body closer to horizontal trim, and complete the swim test.

IMHO snorkeling is vastly easier because you have fins. Though I can't really comment so much on vs. breast stroke because I've never really done that (no real reason to, though I was on the HS swim team).
Snorkeling in a pool looking at the bottom and keeping a straight line (even without lane markings) should never present a problem. Well, maybe in a gigantic pool.

 

[dmaziuk]

Snorkeling in a pool looking at the bottom and keeping a straight line (even without lane markings) should never present a problem. Well, maybe in a gigantic pool.

Our pool is crowded: short hours outside of academic year, a lot of kids staying for "summer semester", and they're rebuilding the other pool. So we have to live with 2-3-4 people per lane. You may be surprised at how many of them are unable to keep to one side of a lane without running into the dividers, or drifting into the middle. That's a 25-yard pool.

 

[boulderjohn]

I know instructors who only do the snorkel and fin option. They argue that they have never had anyone fail the swim test, so they see it as something of a waste of time. Put them in the water with fins and snorkel, and they are at least using skills related to scuba.

I did it that way for a while myself. I liked it. Some people had really never snorkeled before, and you could see them improve during the swim. They got accustomed to wearing the mask, breathing through the mouth, etc. I could spot the bicycle kickers and intervene early. The only reason I stopped was forced upon me. I went from using the pool in the shop to using the pool at a recreation center with more limited time. We were allowed to have the students do the swim in a swim lane before the scuba session began, but only with regular swimming.

 

[TMHeimer]

Our pool is crowded: short hours outside of academic year, a lot of kids staying for "summer semester", and they're rebuilding the other pool. So we have to live with 2-3-4 people per lane. You may be surprised at how many of them are unable to keep to one side of a lane without running into the dividers, or drifting into the middle. That's a 25-yard pool.

Sorry--I thought we were talking about a scuba course with only the scuba students present.

 

[Geobound]

I stopped reading a few pages back, but I believe that Purbeast has put off his certification process for a little while. If however you come back and read this, I can teach you how I managed to float for 10 minutes as I had the same problem as you.

I can't float, I've never been able to float, and was crapping my shorts about having to do this............but I did!!

If I could find the link and give credit to where I found the secret I would share it with you, but I can't so just give this a go.....

The hardest part for a person to float in water is having the ability to totally relax, knowing that you can't float (or at least thinking that you know you can't float) makes you tense up before you've given yourself a chance.

The secret is to relax and just lay your head in the water. With me when I floated the only part of my body that was visible was my face, but I floated and I passed.

So once in the water lay back.....tip your head back (trust me your head will float), and flutter your arms. You can either go from your side outwards and then back into your sides, or from your sides downwards and back up again. Either way will work, but if you are going to do the up and down (pushing down on the water helps raise your body up) that on the up swing you turn your hand sideways to make it thinner and less drag in the water.

I read about the eggbeater kick thing and just couldn't get my head around it. I used my legs almost the same way I would use them if I was riding a bike.......just slower and a bit more exaggerated.

Now here is the best part and the most important part to do.....

As you are laying in the water imagine that there is a string attached to your belly button and that there is somebody above you pulling that string up into the air. This will force you to push your stomach up, and with deep inhalation of air and shallow exhales, you will float.

The air you draw in will make your lungs expand, and much like the air in your BCD it will help keep you afloat. Hold your breath for a few seconds to get the maximum free floating time, and then exhale a little and deep breathe again.

Just remember to relax your head, easy arm and legs swings, and a string attached to your belly button pulling you towards the sky.

I swear the first time I read this I went right to my lake to give it ago, and I floated for 11 1/2 minutes the very first time.

Good luck,

John

 

[teonchagi]

A guy I was with for OW failed the swim test. He actually grabbed me and tried to use me as a floatation device, causing our instructor to swiftly come to my rescue. I also got to witness a classic distressed diver sign when my buddy spit out his snorkel as the instructor was towing him in.

He only passed the float test with my constant encouragement and I’m not 100% sure he didn’t have one foot on the bottom sometimes. It was in salt water so I literally just sat back like I was in a chair and relaxed.

My entire class including confined water was in the ocean. My buddy didn’t make it past confined skills and had to reschedule.

 

[Geobound]

Mine was done in fresh water, and the 250 metre swim test had to be done without fins, snorkel and mask.

I did all my other skills (pool and open water) and he saved the float and swim test until the end.........the sick bugger!! LOL...

I actually really like my instructor (I did private lessons), and found it the best way to learn. There was no free pass either, I either completed the task at hand or I risked failing.

 

[teonchagi]

I actually really like my instructor (I did private lessons), and found it the best way to learn. There was no free pass either, I either completed the task at hand or I risked failing.

I got to do a private class too after my buddy failed on day one. It was great for me! I had a blast and learned a lot.