Can people really get scuba certified without knowing how to swim?

[gcarter]

I have a question about this discussion.

I can swim (but its not pretty) and float in a lake no problem. I worry about swimming in the ocean though because I am not a strong swimmer. The couple times I have scuba'd, I was comfortable on the surface with all my gear on. And snorkeling isn't a problem either. I think I would be ok without any gear for a while. My reason for worrying is that when I'm swimming from a beach, I lose all my strength and energy battling the surf and waves.

I got in a situation in high school where I was trapped in water over my head. The incoming waves and outgoing surf wouldn't let me go anywhere. I swam sideways but didn't get any closer to shore. I finally found a sand bar I could stand on. I was a varsity tennis player at the time and regularly played intense 3 hour matches. I was in very good shape. But the waves (and my lack of proper technique) just kick my ass.

I currently live in Indiana and my LDS does OW in local quarries. The conditions are basically like a lake/pool, and I'm not worried about swimming there. What can I do to prepare for ocean swimming though. I also suck at treading water, if I have to stay still for any more than a minute I just float on my back.

Take swimming lessons, that's what I'm doing. I am slowly progressing from a functional but not recognizable "what the heck kind of stroke is that?!?!?" to something more recognizable, functional, and efficient.

Never too old or too late to learn!

 

[Ste Wart]

In Europe the MSF is not an option. It must be a swim without aids. If I were on a boat and found out someone was on there who could not swim and was going to dive I'd refuse to dive with them. If it happened before we left the dock I'd get off and get my money back.

Jim's right. Also the EU stipulation is that it has to be done before OW1.

Personally I like the 200m swim; it gives me 10-15 minutes down time to double check kit before CW1

 

[boulderjohn]

...My reason for worrying is that when I'm swimming from a beach, I lose all my strength and energy battling the surf and waves.

I got in a situation in high school where I was trapped in water over my head. The incoming waves and outgoing surf wouldn't let me go anywhere. I swam sideways but didn't get any closer to shore. I finally found a sand bar I could stand on. I was a varsity tennis player at the time and regularly played intense 3 hour matches. I was in very good shape. But the waves (and my lack of proper technique) just kick my ass.

There is rarely a time you have to battle waves like that, and big waves can kick anyone's behind. I finished a dive yesterday in very rough seas--we canceled the planned second dive because of it. This is probably the worst case scenario you will ever see.

Our group of three had surfaced to very high seas after the dive, and the dive boat came toward us to pick us up. I was the first one drifting by in the current, and the deck hand threw a line to me an missed--it landed between me and the two buddies up current. One of them managed to grab it, and the second swam hard to the end of it, with me right behind him. For a few tantalizing moments I was only a few feet from the line, but I could not gain an inch getting to it. I finally gave up and relaxed, drifting away while the boat took on my buddies. It took the boat a long time to board those two because of the waves and their need to remove and hand up equipment. Meanwhile, a member of the crew was keeping a sharp eye on me as I floated on the surface, casually waiting for my turn to come. Eventually the boat was able to come around and get me, this time hitting me squarely with the tag line and hauling me in.

That is the worst situation I have ever faced, and all it required was an understanding that there was no point fighting a tough current and a willingness to wait for things to happen.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

There is rarely a time you have to battle waves like that, and big waves can kick anyone's behind. I finished a dive yesterday in very rough seas--we canceled the planned second dive because of it. This is probably the worst case scenario you will ever see.

Our group of three had surfaced to very high seas after the dive, and the dive boat came toward us to pick us up. I was the first one drifting by in the current, and the deck hand threw a line to me an missed--it landed between me and the two buddies up current. One of them managed to grab it, and the second swam hard to the end of it, with me right behind him. For a few tantalizing moments I was only a few feet from the line, but I could not gain an inch getting to it. I finally gave up and relaxed, drifting away while the boat took on my buddies. It took the boat a long time to board those two because of the waves and their need to remove and hand up equipment. Meanwhile, a member of the crew was keeping a sharp eye on me as I floated on the surface, casually waiting for my turn to come. Eventually the boat was able to come around and get me, this time hitting me squarely with the tag line and hauling me in.

That is the worst situation I have ever faced, and all it required was an understanding that there was no point fighting a tough current and a willingness to wait for things to happen.

Why would a current make it hard? I am confused... Are you saying that the boat was affected by a different current than the diver?

You must consider yourself very lucky if a the worst problem you have ever faced while diving, was a current.

 

[boulderjohn]

Why would a current make it hard? I am confused... Are you saying that the boat was affected by a different current than the diver?

You must consider yourself very lucky if a the worst problem you have ever faced while diving, was a current.

Current, wind, and high waves made things more difficult than normal. Lucky or not, that is the worst I have ever faced. I hope you also saw that I thought it was easily manageable and nothing to be concerned about. My point was that conditions that are not easily manageable are quite rare. Usually you know about them well ahead of time and don't go diving. For example, the weather is worse today, and no one went out. I hope it will be better to tomorrow, because I have a dive scheduled for the afternoon.

EDIT: I may have misunderstood the purpose of your response. Was it a serious question or a manifestation of the need to insult people at any given opportunity?

 

[gcarter]

 

[Islandheart]

Not with my Name and Number on the PIC's .........

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Current, wind, and high waves made things more difficult than normal. Lucky or not, that is the worst I have ever faced. I hope you also saw that I thought it was easily manageable and nothing to be concerned about. My point was that conditions that are not easily manageable are quite rare. Usually you know about them well ahead of time and don't go diving. For example, the weather is worse today, and no one went out. I hope it will be better to tomorrow, because I have a dive scheduled for the afternoon.

EDIT: I may have misunderstood the purpose of your response. Was it a serious question or a manifestation of the need to insult people at any given opportunity?

That was not very nice Mr. Moderator.

My primary question was that you said that the CURRENT was strong and this made it your most challenging dive ever for you to get on the boat. In fact, as I read your post, the current was so strong that you were incapable of getting to the live boat and that you had to be "hauled in" via a rope to exit the water.

Now this might all sound terribly scary for a novice reading this thread, but i find it confusing... As I tried to bring up in my previous post, current is generally not much of a problem because the drifting boat and the diver are both moving with the current. Unless there was huge amount of turbulence, then the current should have near ZERO effect on the relative position and interaction between the diver and the boat..

However, I now see that you indicate that WIND (and waves) were also in the mix. Now wind can be a huge factor because it affects a boat a lot and a diver very little (relatively anyway). When I drive a boat in high winds, I try to pull along the diver on the upwind side and allow the wind to push the boat sideways into and on top of the diver. The diver needs to push off from the boat and this can be dangerous with a large vessel and large seas and very high winds.

I just thought that your original description of diving with a live boat in a strong current should NOT be much of a challenge... we do it about ever weekend where I dive.

Where were you diving?

 

[boulderjohn]

That was not very nice Mr. Moderator.

Sorry, you ruffled my feathers a bit, and since it was not first time you have targeted me for some ruffling, I guess I was just sensitive.

Where were you diving?

Near Hillsboro. Things looked reasonably OK and then it got very rough very quickly. I don't know what it was like after we quit.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Sorry, you ruffled my feathers a bit, and since it was not first time you have targeted me for some ruffling, I guess I was just sensitive.



Near Hillsboro. Things looked reasonably OK and then it got very rough very quickly. I don't know what it was like after we quit.

Thanks for the apology, my delicately feathered friend..

t was blowing very hard here yesterday, I image it WAS very rough yesterday. Now today, was very nice, slight to moderate current and 50-75 ft vis, 75 degrees... in 80-90 feet of water..