Average Speed for a Scuba Diver

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UB

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Martin County
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What speed does an average scuba diver swim at underwater? - Assuming there is no current and the diver is just paddling along (not over exerting himself).

I want to use this to help me estimate how far I go out when I do some beach dives where I just calmly swim out in a certain direction. I consider myself in good condition.

I read that the maximum speeds are in the 2.5 to 3.5 mph range.
 
Have you taken any sort of AOW or Underwater Navigation class? The first thing we had to do was mark out 100 feet, and count fin kicks to see how many kicks it took us to cover that distance. If you were to do something like that, you'd have a much better idea of what YOU swim at and how long it would take to go a certain distance underwater than an actual mph speed.
 
UB:
I read that the maximum speeds are in the 2.5 to 3.5 mph range.
The "Average" diver is not going to be able to reach those speeds much less sustain them. Those are DPV speeds. Maybe in a short burst but that's about it.

Then there are those out there that can swim upstream in 10 knot currents.:shakehead

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

Gary D.
 
Jimmer:
Have you taken any sort of AOW or Underwater Navigation class? The first thing we had to do was mark out 100 feet, and count fin kicks to see how many kicks it took us to cover that distance. If you were to do something like that, you'd have a much better idea of what YOU swim at and how long it would take to go a certain distance underwater than an actual mph speed.

No I have not yet, just OW.
 
Looking at my log I was swimming at about 1/2 mile an hour last year in Jackson Blue. That was against a reasonable but not strong current.
I would guess normal speed is about 1 mile/hour.Not very fast at all.
 
Jimmer:
Have you taken any sort of AOW or Underwater Navigation class? The first thing we had to do was mark out 100 feet, and count fin kicks to see how many kicks it took us to cover that distance. If you were to do something like that, you'd have a much better idea of what YOU swim at and how long it would take to go a certain distance underwater than an actual mph speed.

I had to count kick cycles on last dive for OW. I remember it took me a couple of tries as I kept losing count.
 
ramgib:
I had to count kick cycles on last dive for OW. I remember it took me a couple of tries as I kept losing count.

It definetly takes some practice, but I think once you know what sort of kick cycles it takes for you to cover a certain distance, then you can get a better gauge for distance travelled than speed. Get a rope of known distance, grab your buddy, and find a calm shallow dive spot and play.
 
Gary D.:
The "Average" diver is not going to be able to reach those speeds much less sustain them... Maybe in a short burst but that's about it.
One might be able to exceed 3.5 if there was a big dark form approaching out of the murk. :DGary D.
getting up that much speed while reaching for your prayer beads? Wow! That is something to behold, indeed.
 
When puttering along looking, my usual speed is 1/2 kt or less.

When doing a transit to get somewhere my normal speed is pretty close to 1kt, or 100' per minute.

While this will obviously vary from diver to diver, the many divers I've buddied with pretty much all fell into that range, except for a few speed demons that went 1.5kts and blew through their tank in record times.

When you do the trials to get a feel for your speeds, it's worthwhile to at the same time to measure your SAC at the various speeds.

Charlie Allen
 
UB:
What speed does an average scuba diver swim at underwater?

Two things came to mind when I saw that post !!!!

1) The faster you " try " to go, the more air you spend. More air = less down time ???

2) Scuda Diving is not an Olympic sport !!!! Wonder why ???:wink:
 
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