NAUI underwater swim test question?
- Thread starter SparkE79
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Bravo! Now grasshopper it is time for you to snatch the pebble from the lifeguards hand.
Seriously Spark, well done. Remember this when you actually start your scuba training. Relax, follow the instructors directions, and repeat as often as you can each skill. Do them slowly and as you've just learned don't try to power thru or fight the water. Work with it and use it to your advantage. Be one with it and you'll make a fine diver.
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Seriously Spark, well done. Remember this when you actually start your scuba training. Relax, follow the instructors directions, and repeat as often as you can each skill. Do them slowly and as you've just learned don't try to power thru or fight the water. Work with it and use it to your advantage. Be one with it and you'll make a fine diver.
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Crewfish13
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Woohoo! Way to go Spark! And you may have just learned one of the most important lessons you'll get in your certification classes, at least as far as I can tell. Cool, calm and collected (or slow and steady, if you prefer) seems to be the secret to just about everything I've learned in my pool sessions (OW divers are a couple weeks off). Mask off? Keep breathing, then orient your mask, then put it on your head, then clear. You can't do them all at once.
You're definitely on the right track. Congrats with both the weight loss as well as getting over this hurdle. :cool2:
You're definitely on the right track. Congrats with both the weight loss as well as getting over this hurdle. :cool2:
Silly requirement staying under water to complete the swim. If you're actually diving and find yourself swimming underwater without your gear your goal is going to be.....GET TO THE SURFACE!
If all else fails there is always PADI. I don't remember having to hold my breath for anything other than a sideways CESA which was nothing like the real thing...
If all else fails there is always PADI. I don't remember having to hold my breath for anything other than a sideways CESA which was nothing like the real thing...
Crewfish13
Registered
Silly requirement staying under water to complete the swim. If you're actually diving and find yourself swimming underwater without your gear your goal is going to be.....GET TO THE SURFACE!
I'm going through SSI, so I didn't have an underwater requirement, just a 200m surface swim and 10 minute tread water. However, most of these requirements are really in place to demonstrate comfort in the water moreso than physical ability. Basically, if you panic or get worked up, you fail. I had winded myself about halfway though my surface swim by simply going to fast, but then slowed down, and it couldn't have been any easier. If you keep it slow and easy, you're generally okay, but you've got to win the mental battle. The rest of the course bulds on that (lost reg drills, mask clearing, lost mask, OOA drill, CESA, etc.)
The difference is that NAUI, SEI, CMAS, and a few others believe that watermanship skills are important to anyone who will be around said environment. Underwater swims are part of that. These are the foundations of the programs. They then progress to snorkeling and skin diving skills before a student even gets on scuba. Before they even get a breath off of the reg they have learned to successfully clear a fully flooded mask underwater, simulated clearing a reg (using the snorkel), learned how lung volume affects buoyancy control, and how to move efficiently underwater. I see absolutely nothing silly about that.
Before a student even gets on scuba they will take and place their mask and snorkel on the bottom of the pool, surface, move away from it, then swim 25 feet underwater to retrieve said mask and snorkel and before surfacing have the mask clear and snorkel breathable when their head hits the surface. A great confidence building exercise as well and clearly demonstrating the benefits of proper breathing, buoyancy, and clean, efficient movements. What is silly about that? Because to successfully perform this they need to have the basics of moving underwater down. The swimming, treading, and underwater swims see that they do. I still don't see any silliness.
If anything is silly it's putting people who can't swim without fins, mask, and snorkel in the water at all. Let alone on scuba.
Before a student even gets on scuba they will take and place their mask and snorkel on the bottom of the pool, surface, move away from it, then swim 25 feet underwater to retrieve said mask and snorkel and before surfacing have the mask clear and snorkel breathable when their head hits the surface. A great confidence building exercise as well and clearly demonstrating the benefits of proper breathing, buoyancy, and clean, efficient movements. What is silly about that? Because to successfully perform this they need to have the basics of moving underwater down. The swimming, treading, and underwater swims see that they do. I still don't see any silliness.
If anything is silly it's putting people who can't swim without fins, mask, and snorkel in the water at all. Let alone on scuba.
Silly requirement staying under water to complete the swim. If you're actually diving and find yourself swimming underwater without your gear your goal is going to be.....GET TO THE SURFACE!
If all else fails there is always PADI. I don't remember having to hold my breath for anything other than a sideways CESA which was nothing like the real thing...
Holding your breath on SCUBA is NEVER a good idea, and the "Real Thing" well you would not be here if you did hold your breath.
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Silly requirement staying under water to complete the swim. If you're actually diving and find yourself swimming underwater without your gear your goal is going to be.....GET TO THE SURFACE!
If all else fails there is always PADI. I don't remember having to hold my breath for anything other than a sideways CESA which was nothing like the real thing...
It's not silly at all ... it's teaching you something about the value of remaining calm when faced with a problem underwater ... which is probably one of the most important "skills" anyone can learn as a scuba diver ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
FM1520
Contributor
we were allowed to kickoff from the side of the pool. Usually the instructors will work with you until you get it, I wouldn't worry about it.
Another violation of standards treated like no big deal. No wonder people say training is going down the tubes. This is why these occur. It is something to worry about for those of us who give a damn.
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