Two small questions.

[Eddie Kish]

I am referring to PADI requirements (other agencies may differ):

For OW, the requirement is to swim 200yds without, or 300yds with mask, snorkel and fins (neither option is timed - this was the point of my mention of DM!).

For Divemaster there are 4 tests, which are timed. 1 to 5 points are allocated for each according to the time. Pass mark is 12 points. So you need to do all of:
200yd swim
400yd swim with snorkel, mask and fins
100yd tired diver tow
15 minute float/tread water

PADI Divemaster requirements are actually:

400 metre/yard swim
15 minute float/tread
800 metre/yard snorkel swim
100 metre/yard diver tow

 

[kadleck]

Oops! I knew there was a 400 somewhere. Thanks.

 

[rstofer]

There are some divers who consider bright, flashy, items to be a hazard underwater in that some fish (Barracuda) MAY consider these objects to be edible smaller fish.

I don't know that I would be concerned about this. A lot of dive gear is flashy (some 1st stage regulators, some belt buckles, snap hooks, etc) and I don't read about a lot of negative encounters. Nevertheless, it is probably worth thinking about.

Richard

 

[don Francisco]

Most (probably all) people can float. Just lay on your back and stay very still with your head way back and you'll be able to float for a lot longer than the 10 minute requirement. So treading water will not be necessary.

Minor correction, While most people can float, many cannot. More specifically, a sizable number of people have specific gravities above one, even with lungs fully inflated and therefore will sink. Some have specific gravities high enough to sink in seawater, though this is a smaller number.

For these folks, following your instructions would result in a slow drift to the bottom of the pool.

Natural sinkers, are usually, but not necesssarily, highly athletic with low amounts of body fat. The group includes, professional dancers, cyclists, runners, ice skaters and other athletes, especially those where speed and agility are more important than strength.

Natural sinkers can swim, but need to devote some swimming effort to keeping on the surface, and so they work much harder and will tire more quickly. While they can't float they can tread water though with more effort than natural floaters.

Even among floaters, weight distrubition may be such that simply floating on ones back is impossible. The legs sink, torquing the body around into a vertical position, often with the nostrils below the waterline.

I'm posting this not to discourage anyone, but just the opposite; to encourage frustrated non- swimmers, who might give up diving unless they can overcome this hurdle. Even the densest natural sinker can swim or tread water well enough to pass the PADI or other requirements, but it requires extra effort and different swimming styles. Any good swimming instructor coach can help you. dF

 

[J.R.]

Two best pieces of advice:

Reefraf: If you're concerned that you might not be able to do this, give your instructor a heads up now and ask for some help.

This doesn't only apply to the swim/tread water thing... one thing you'll find as you begin diving is that good communications and 'buddy work' are skills as valuable as any "scuba skills" you might develop... a good place to start developing these is when you're taking your classes... if you're having issues with any part of your class or skills don't hesitate to communicate it to your instructor...

Walter: Take the lessons. If you're not confident in your abilities, you'll be more prone to getting scared if something goes wrong. Fear can lead to panic. Panic can lead to injury or death. The better swimmer you are, the more comfortable, confident diver you are. You'll have more fun and be much safer as a diver.

... again... the skills you learn are starting points... if you *know* you're a weak swimmer... now is a good time to start working on it. In the long run it will make your diving much more enjoyable to have confidence and comfort with your basic water skills.

Enjoy the adventure...

 

[Jeffykins]

WOW!! Thank you everyone for all of the replies! Very informative answers! I know where to come from now on with the rest of my questions, that's for sure!

#1: I don't see it as a problem. Lots of students have facial piercings.

#2: Swimming lessons will never hurt. Treading/floating is part of PADI Open water. As long as you are in water too deep to stand in and don't hold onto anything, you should be able to swim around for that part.

Good to know! I agree with the lessons, I have a few lifeguard friends that I've asked and they said they will give me some help. So I think I will definitely do it.

It might give you a problem but it probably won't and if it does you can take it out, right?



If it's a PADI course, you will need to swim on the surface for 200 yards and float/tread/swim for 10 minutes. No stopping or hanging on the side of the pool is allowed. If you're concerned that you might not be able to do this, give your instructor a heads up now and ask for some help.

Ya, I can take all of my piercings out, no problem. My lip ring is just a pain to get back in at times is why I was wondering, because it's much easier to leave in. Haha!

Sorry - no idea whether the lip self-mutilation will affect using a regulator (I doubt whether it will make a significant difference). But I find myself compelled to ask - WHY?

No worries! I get asked why a lot! ESPECIALLY because I have my ears gauged(stretched) to a rather large size. 1 & 1/4" to be exact. And the reason is boredom really. Haha! And I've always thought it looked cool. So I did it! I am also fairly heavily tattooed, so I get a lot of looks!

Take the lessons. If you're not confident in your abilities, you'll be more prone to getting scared if something goes wrong. Fear can lead to panic. Panic can lead to injury or death. The better swimmer you are, the more comfortable, confident diver you are. You'll have more fun and be much safer as a diver.

That's what I feel as well. I'm confident in my abilities to swim, especially with fins and a mask, it's just treading water that I'm not so confident with. But I agree, much better safe than sorry! I will be taking a few lessons!

Greetings Jeffykins! Welcome to SB and it is great to hear of your interest in diving. I think others have answered your questions very well, what I would add is that your instructor can make a huge difference. There have been many threads on this topic a little research will turn up a volume of information.
It is important for you to choose and then the hard part is over. Once you have an instructor follow his guidance and rules. Sometimes there could be differences in opinion but he is training you and therefore is responsible for your well being. It is always a good idea to get to know him or her before the final decision. Check out references and do not be afraid to ask questions.
Diving is really awesome the best advice I have is "GO FOR IT!". You are already on your way, researching and asking questions here on SB!
PS. Welcome to the diving community at large I think you will find many friends in your diving future! Good luck and happy training!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

Thank you very much for the warm welcome! :kiss2: Haha! I actually have what I feel a fun background which has garnered my intrest in Scuba. I posted and introduction when I first joined the board, but I can't remember what it said. Maybe I should post another one, and really let you guys know who I am, where I came from, where I want to go and why! Haha! So if you're interested, look out for another introduction in the correct forum!

PADI Divemaster requirements are actually:

400 metre/yard swim
15 minute float/tread
800 metre/yard snorkel swim
100 metre/yard diver tow

Very good to know. I do plan to become PADI Divemaster Certified.

There are some divers who consider bright, flashy, items to be a hazard underwater in that some fish (Barracuda) MAY consider these objects to be edible smaller fish.

I don't know that I would be concerned about this. A lot of dive gear is flashy (some 1st stage regulators, some belt buckles, snap hooks, etc) and I don't read about a lot of negative encounters. Nevertheless, it is probably worth thinking about.

Richard

Ya, I have actually thought about that. While my nose rings are silver, my lip ring is actually black and not shiny at all. But either way, I do appreciate the heads up!

Minor correction, While most people can float, many cannot. More specifically, a sizable number of people have specific gravities above one, even with lungs fully inflated and therefore will sink. Some have specific gravities high enough to sink in seawater, though this is a smaller number.

For these folks, following your instructions would result in a slow drift to the bottom of the pool.

Natural sinkers, are usually, but not necesssarily, highly athletic with low amounts of body fat. The group includes, professional dancers, cyclists, runners, ice skaters and other athletes, especially those where speed and agility are more important than strength.

Natural sinkers can swim, but need to devote some swimming effort to keeping on the surface, and so they work much harder and will tire more quickly. While they can't float they can tread water though with more effort than natural floaters.

Even among floaters, weight distrubition may be such that simply floating on ones back is impossible. The legs sink, torquing the body around into a vertical position, often with the nostrils below the waterline.

I'm posting this not to discourage anyone, but just the opposite; to encourage frustrated non- swimmers, who might give up diving unless they can overcome this hurdle. Even the densest natural sinker can swim or tread water well enough to pass the PADI or other requirements, but it requires extra effort and different swimming styles. Any good swimming instructor coach can help you. dF

Wow, I've never even given that any sort of thought, but it makes perfect sense! I can backfloat and whatnot if need be, I had to do it as a kid in swimming lessons, so maybe I can use that to my advantage! Haha!

 

[rollerboi]

Ya, I can take all of my piercings out, no problem. My lip ring is just a pain to get back in at times is why I was wondering, because it's much easier to leave in. Haha!

You shouldn't need to take any of your piercings out. If the ring interferes with breathing off the regulator (ie., letting watter in), you should be able to switch to a stud for a better seal. Entanglement-wise, the risk is very low unless diving in special environments. A captive bead ring would probably pose the least amount of entanglement risk. A stud could theoretically get fishing line wrapped around it, and a bent/circular barbell would probably be worse.

No worries! I get asked why a lot! ESPECIALLY because I have my ears gauged(stretched) to a rather large size. 1 & 1/4" to be exact. And the reason is boredom really. Haha! And I've always thought it looked cool. So I did it! I am also fairly heavily tattooed, so I get a lot of looks!

As long as you don't route your inflator hose through your ear, you'll be fine. I'm no stranger to stretches myself, having gone to 00 at one point and able to hang a padlock in it for the looks.

Ya, I have actually thought about that. While my nose rings are silver, my lip ring is actually black and not shiny at all. But either way, I do appreciate the heads up!

Be sure to research the possible effects of saltwater on your jewelry. I presume when you say your nose rings are silver, you mean silver in color and you're actually wearing 316L stainless steel. This can get pretty cold. Consider changing to a plastic retainer when diving extreme thermoclines/cold water. The black ring sounds like it's treated niobium. Some people have allergic reactions, and saltwater does have corrosive effects that can release the (trace) amounts of nickel contained in both types, causing irritation and a reaction. Proper rinsing/cleaning after a dive should minimize your corrosion issues.

Have fun and happy diving!

 

[Jeffykins]

You shouldn't need to take any of your piercings out. If the ring interferes with breathing off the regulator (ie., letting watter in), you should be able to switch to a stud for a better seal. Entanglement-wise, the risk is very low unless diving in special environments. A captive bead ring would probably pose the least amount of entanglement risk. A stud could theoretically get fishing line wrapped around it, and a bent/circular barbell would probably be worse.

Ya, for sure. I'm not too worried about fishing line or things like that. But I'll know after my first dive whether it will effect the regulator. And if so, I'll figure out what to do. :thumbs-up

As long as you don't route your inflator hose through your ear, you'll be fine. I'm no stranger to stretches myself, having gone to 00 at one point and able to hang a padlock in it for the looks.

Haha! I have put plenty of things through my ears, but more often than not girls just want to put their fingers through, so no worries there. And I'll take my earrings out when diving anyways. I take them out to swim just so that I don't risk losing them.

Be sure to research the possible effects of saltwater on your jewelry. I presume when you say your nose rings are silver, you mean silver in color and you're actually wearing 316L stainless steel. This can get pretty cold. Consider changing to a plastic retainer when diving extreme thermoclines/cold water. The black ring sounds like it's treated niobium. Some people have allergic reactions, and saltwater does have corrosive effects that can release the (trace) amounts of nickel contained in both types, causing irritation and a reaction. Proper rinsing/cleaning after a dive should minimize your corrosion issues.

Have fun and happy diving!

I will do some research for sure. I've been snorkeling and swimming and surfing in Saltwater for extended periods of time with my lip ring in, and so far haven't had any issues. So I'm not too worried about that effect. But like you said, a little cleaning/rinsing never hurt anyone!

 

[leeblackman]

Speaking of swim qualifications.

Our class did the swim test at the beginning of the semester (taking scuba for college PE). I was really scared about if I could make it all the way to the half way point in the pool underwater on one breath. Fortunately I did some research on youtube. I swear like every scuba skill there is is demonstrated on youtube if you search for it. Anyway, I got lost watching some video of some combat divers, and they were swimming completely across this really long pool underwater. But what I noticed was their stroke. They did the whole frog kick thingy, but they would only do it once then glide until they were almost stoped then do it again, all the way across the pool. I gave it a try in the pool at my appartments and ended up hitting my head on the opposite side of the pool. It works. Keeping your heart rate down, staying relaxed, and not moving alot keeps you from burning oxygen from that breath and building up CO2 as fast, which keeps that burn in your chest from coming as fast or as stong.

Swimming in a wetsuit is really hard for me, I don't know why but I just can't seem to get a good grip in the water, if that makes sense. But they sure make it easy to float. And I'm a sinker. If I don't have a lung full of air, I go straight down. With my 3mm full wetsuit, I can float on my back like an otter with no problem, pretty much indefinately. If you can do the float test with the wetsuit, I'd do it. But if you can't swim with the wetsuit, I'd recommend probably not using it. Oh and that long swim however many meters, take is slow and pace yourself. In my class I was the slowest starter, everyone else just burned off on the bat. I was the last one to the other side of the pool, but on the way back I was the first, lolz.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

First: I have my lip pierced. I have never been diving before, but I have snorkeled. My lip ring didn't effect how the snorkel mouth piece fit in my mouth at all. I'm wondering if it will effect the mouthpiece diving? Like letting water slip by. And if dive shops will make me take the ring out to dive?

While I'm not much of a fan of body/face piercings, for the most part, they should not be much, if any, impediment to diving. Under a tight wetsuit, some body piercings may become uncomfortable and you may want to take them out while diving. Same with face piercings. Some equipment may rub uncomfortably against them, in which case you may want to take them out. If not, then there shouldn't be any reason you can't dive with them in.

One other caviat... Some sea creatures are attracted to shiny objects as food. Barracudas come to mind...