Yeah great idea!
/ sarcasm off
(Maybe you should repeat yourself a third time and you just might start to get people agreeing with you. Especially if you add in some sort of disclaimer that the nonswimmer must always enter the water with a wetsuit and a pair of those floaty arm thingies)
I'll agree with the guy. In fact this is my first post and I registered on the board just to do so!
I'm not a swimmer, but I took the PADI course in Australia back in 1984. Of course the instructor wouldn't certify me because I couldn't pass the swim requirements. On the other hand, I was the only person in class who could (or would) skin dive down to 40 or 50 feet with her. On top of that, she did allow me to do the certification dives so I guess she figured she'd rescue me if my fins fell off. So long as I have those fins on I'm just fine in the water.
I did manage to do about 6 dives in the year or two after, including a wreck dive in around 70 or 80 feet (Petchburi?). All of these were overseas, and typically the dive master would just buddy up with me. It is a business after all, and business generally don't like turning money away, especially in countries that aren't overrun with lawyers. Regardless, I got tired of feeling like a burden, so I quit diving.
Anyway, I would just like to echo the question someone asked on the first page, which is, what empirical evidence is there that being able to swim 200 yards makes you a safer diver? Another good question might be how many weak swimmers injure or kill themselves while diving--although that would be tough to answer since thanks to these requirements weak swimmers aren't usually allowed to dive.
This discussion reminds me of another I had at work the other day about motorcycles splitting lanes. I mentioned to a couple of guys (we're all riders) that Arizona is considering legalizing lane splitting, and their immediate reaction was the very common "oh man that is so dangerous." OK, so if it's so dangerous why is it that motorcyclists aren't dying in droves in California, where lane splitting is practiced regularly? Perception and reality are often at odds, even among those very familiar with the subject.
Now I didn't come here just to be a dick and argue with you guys. I found this discussion because I'm planning to take the course again in a couple of months with my son (he's a good swimmer). In preparation I'm taking swim lessons so I can hopefully pass the stupid test, but
in my uneducated opinion its importance is overrated. Despite not being a swimmer, and despite having almost drowned while paddling around at a beach once, I manage to find myself always attracted to the water. Besides the interest in diving I've also had sailboats for years. I could certainly agree that some test at the beginning of training to see that the student doesn't panic just by getting in the water makes sense, but the 200 yards is arbitrary. Unless, the evidence otherwise is out there--which it may be.
BTW, I personally knew one very strong swimmer who drowned off that same beach that almost killed me, and I have a buddy whose girlfriend was a strong swimmer and experienced diver and who died in a dive accident in the Caymans. Apparently just being a strong swimmer isn't a panacea when it comes to water survival.
Alex