Average Speed for a Scuba Diver

[nolatom]

Good advice above. Don't overestimate your speed. Half a knot is good travel, one knot is an effort, and two knots will trash you in short order.

YMMV, but if the current's over a knot, consider staying on the boat.

 

[String]

Good advice above. Don't overestimate your speed. Half a knot is good travel, one knot is an effort, and two knots will trash you in short order.

YMMV, but if the current's over a knot, consider staying on the boat.

If current is > 1 knot then get in and enjoy a lovely relaxing drift dive.

 

[Garrobo]

A few weeks ago I was on some dives off of Key Largo with a pretty good wind. I think it was 15 knots. It was an adventure getting back on the boat with all the gear. The current was actually about the same speed that I was finning. I was at a standstill sometimes. Some sediment was floating around too. The couple I was attached to had quite a bit of experience so I followed them around till we got near enough for me to see the boat anchor line. If I'd been on my own or with another inexperienced diver we'd probably have had to surface and find the boat. This goes back to the discussion that a OW divers' C-card, when issued, is just permission to learn.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Interesting thread! Time your self in a pool?

 

[nolatom]

You're right, I forgot about those; drift dives rock. But if anchored, I may give it a pass, you'll spend the whole dive struggling against it or hanging on to something.

 

[dannobee]

One might be able to exceed 3.5 if there was a big dark form approaching out of the murk.

Gary D.

You don't have to outswim the shark, only your dive buddy. Practice swimming fast if you're in GWS territory, you never know when the landlord wants the rent.

 

[baitedstorm]

I suppose how much water you displace might have something to do with it


Sorry, I couldn't resist...


Drift dive, forget all that quick swimming stuff. If you really need to know, count your kick cycles during various currents, you'll get a basic idea of how fast you can travel.

 

[Gilldiver]

Sorry to burst a lot of bubbles but what you think is 1 mile an hours is more like 1/4 mile an hour.

Here is something to think about.

The US Olympic trials cut mark for the 200 meter mens freestyle is 1:52:89. Call it 1 minute 53 seconds. This works out to 3.97 miles an hour. Now these guys are striped down to their spedos and have even shaved off all their body hair, or they are in the newer slick full body suits. They are also doing a full out sprint.

For a diver in the same physical condition with exposure suite, tanks, etc. doing a sprint might make it to 1.5 miles an hour.

But lets face it, not to many on this board have olympic class fitness conditions. I would imagin that almost all would be shot after a sprint at 1/2 knot for 60 to 90 seconds.

But divers have fins you might say - next time you are in the pool do 3 laps at full speed in your fins and see how much your legs burn.

For those who say they can go faster, I have been in 1 knot curent for deco hangs, it is not fun, a 1.5 knot curent is imposable to hold on in for more then a few minutes (that is why we have John Lines) and anything above that is not diveable unless you do a drift deco.

So, figure the avg diver will be between 1/8 and 1/4 miles per hour over any distance greater then 100 yards.

 

[Jason B]

My cave diving team travels at 50ft a minute (pretty standard cave travel rate according to my instructor) which comes out to 3000ft in an hour (a tad over 1/2 mile per hour). This pace can be maintained for pretty decent lengths of time.

 

[arman68]

You should try freediving: I timed myself once on "active cruising speed", and I was doing 5 km/h (or 3 mph). And that feels pretty fast.

Now when I need some speed (eg: to race a fish), I can go about twice as fast. But I'll soon have to rush for the surface, and will take a while to recover. It's quite exhilarating though, and for a few seconds, I believe I am a dolphin ;-)

On the other hand, when scuba diving, I am slower than a snail, just being chilled and relaxed, and watching the surrounding environment in pure bliss. I have yet to find a fellow diver slower than me, as I always end up asking everyone to slow down.