Just how fast is the average diver

[fdog]

During testing for the Tahoe Benchmark, we asked test divers to swim over our surveyed test track. They were instructed to swim "at a steady pace to cover the most ground without urgency".

82 feet per minute, in a single steel 72, BP/W & drysuit.


All the best, James

 

[TSandM]

Those were very fit people and very experienced divers, James.

I suspect the 50 fpm/.5knot number for a protracted swim would be accurate for most people. At least, I can do it.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

In my PADI Navigation courses, timed 100' have typically been from a minute 20 sec to a minute 45 sec.

I have only had active, health Navigation students. Instructions are to go at a pace you could continue "for a while" but most people go a just little faster.

If 1 ft per sec is ~.6 knot, 100 ft would be ~ one minute 40 sec at .6 knot.

 

[tstormdiver]

Not sure how to convert to knots, but in a drysuit with double LP 108 cylinders, in a cave with virtually no current, I can swim 50- 65 fpm, without really stressing myself.

 

[fjpatrum]

Never really thought about this one before, but in really numbers:

How fast can your average diver in full gear swim?

and/or

What speed current in knots can your average diver kick against for any significant period of time?

If it makes it easier, maybe breaking it down further would help?
1: single tank, wetsuit, minimal gear
2: drysuit, doubles
3: diver swimming with large video/camera housing

Others may have said this, but how do you define "average diver"? Vacation divers who get 1 or 2 dives a year or people who frequent places like scubaboard and dive as often as possible, or professional divers? Average isn't a very good statistic to start from, I think.

If by average you mean a true average of all the people certified, I'd say at best 1 knot speed (continuous), if that, in any gear configuration.

I'd also say, what difference does it make? Each diver is an individual with individual gear and capabilities that vary from dive to dive. "Average" doesn't really have any meaning under water because under water you are not an average, you are a unique individual in a unique circumstance.

 

[knotical]

Not sure how to convert to knots, ... I can swim 50- 65 fpm, ...

1 foot per minute = 0.0098747300216 knots

So 50-65 fpm is about 0.49 – 0.64 kt.

And 82 fpm reported by fdog is about 0.81 kt.

It's almost as simple as moving the decimal point two places.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

As a cave diver I know I can sustain 50-60 fpm in a no flow cave for a two hour dive without breaking a sweat or tiring. I also know that I can double that speed for a short while, but the gas consumption tends to take a serious hit. And as middle aged cave divers go I am probably pretty average.

When I started diving 25 years ago, I could move upstream against a 1.5 kt current for a fair distance in a single tank and wing - but I could also leg press well over 400 pounds and score 275 on the USMC pft without much effort either, so the fitness levels were a lot different.

I doubt the average diver could sustain anything over 1 kt for any significant distance and i think 1.5 kts is the upper limit for even a short period of time. I seriously doubt anyone could do 2 kts for even 100 yards in more or less normal scuba gear, let alone doubles.

 

[Mike Boswell]

If I want fast I use my scooter. Otherwise I'm like a Percheron ... I can go all day, but I don't like to run ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

No arguments, Bob.... but do you like to do THIS?

YouTube - Roman Riding 4 Black Percherons

 

[hg frogman]

These records are obtained underwater in a pool with a tiny tank and a regulator:

100 meters in 32" (6.1 knots)
800 meters in 5'47" (4.5 knots)

I guess from these values that a fit, streamlined scuba diver with a thin wetsuit and free-diving fins can probably race at 2.5 knots for at least 100 meters.

On the other hand, the Michelin Man with a trilaminate drysuit will probably be somewhere between 0.5 and 1 knots at maximum speed.

 

[grouchyturtle]

Others may have said this, but how do you define "average diver"? Vacation divers who get 1 or 2 dives a year or people who frequent places like scubaboard and dive as often as possible, or professional divers? Average isn't a very good statistic to start from, I think.

I don't think dives/year matter as much as health. Well unless you factor in horrible fin technique on a 1-2 dives/year diver. I'd say it would be a range excluding the 2 extremes. AKA: no one who's extremely overweight/out of shape, and no one who's borderline professional athlete.