Not the best swimmer...

[scubadada]

Sorry, this is disheartening to know that DMs will be weak swimmers. This is not what I would expect of folks who are responsible for the lives of others. I have higher expectations.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sorry, that's just wrong. You want to pull as close to straight line as you can. "Elbow up and out" is how you keep your arm from going deep and wasting effort on pushing downward to get there. True of all styles, too, although in backstroke it's not going "deep", it's the "semi-circle" that's the waste of effort.

I will not argue, as you may well be correct. I'm certainly no expert, my competitive experience being in HS in 1969. I was just passing on info. from my competitive-swimming brothers that helped me get my "3" on the 400, after failing badly the first go-round. My older brother at age 73 got a Gold in an amateur competition 2 mile swim.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sorry, this is disheartening to know that DMs will be weak swimmers. This is not what I would expect of folks who are responsible for the lives of others. I have higher expectations.

Are you saying that all DMCs should either score 5 on everything right off the bat, or that they should train for months beforehand in order to do that? What about people like me who were on the HS Swim team 4 decades ago but needed to polish up my swim technique (I hadn't actually swam in 39 years but probably snorkeled a thousand miles)? I won't get into what you mean by "weak swimmers", since that gets back to the old "What does actual swimming have to do with scuba" and performing rescues--without fins, and that's been debated to death.
We must remember the OP said he was just a slow swimmer. Slow doesn't necessarily mean weak. My mother had perfect crawl form and probably could swim 10 miles (well, I think she did once across Long Island Sound), but she had no speed. The OP needed help to improve on speed since that's how you are graded--not on form.
At our shop during the 4 years I was a working DM I heard of only one guy who ever got a 5 on the 400. He was a competitive swimmer who eventually became an OW instructor.
There was a recent post somewhere advising an OP to give up diving and take up skiing or something because (I think) he had some problems with the DM course. Perhaps we should give some slack to those who just need help to get up to snuff.
Some who become DMCs don't come in looking like an RCMP Officer, but more like a donut-filled NYC cop who may be able to run a block (yes, I know many NYPD are in fine shape, but not all--I grew up there and can attest to that).

 

[MEmersonC]

We're all here trying to help out a diver achieve a goal. I feel it is not beneficial to make a blanket statement criticizing someone that is requesting advice to achieve a better outcome. Also, just because someone doesn't swim the 400m in 6 minutes doesn't disqualify them from being a divemaster.

::Edited:: for positivity

 

[scubadada]

@TMHeimer

Hi Tom,

You're correct, this topic has been discussed many times previously. I appreciate your view, however, my view is different. I believe DMs should have a superior performance in the swim, tread, snorkel, and diver tow. This is not so much directly related to scuba skills as it is to the ability to assist and rescue in case of emergency. In my opinion, excellent watermanship skills may contribute to a positive outcome, I doubt they would hurt.

Very best and good diving,

Craig

Hi @MEmersonC

We can disagree, but still dive together

 

[DeputyDan]

I personally chose not to become a DM or an instructor because of my poor swim skills.
This might have been my biggest take away from the Stress/Rescue class.

 

[dmaziuk]

I will not argue, as you may well be correct. I'm certainly no expert, my competitive experience being in HS in 1969. I was just passing on info. from my competitive-swimming brothers that helped me get my "3" on the 400, after failing badly the first go-round. My older brother at age 73 got a Gold in an amateur competition 2 mile swim.

You're actually right about "most power" but here's one explanation of why you shouldn't do that. It doesn't mention the "straight line" aspect that I was taught, though:

 

[dmaziuk]

PS anyone practicing for a timed pool swim should learn flip turns: you'll shave a good second off every turn by just doing those. If you're doing 400 in a 25-metre pool, you do the math.

 

[TMHeimer]

PS anyone practicing for a timed pool swim should learn flip turns: you'll shave a good second off every turn by just doing those. If you're doing 400 in a 25-metre pool, you do the math.

Excellent idea. Would give you quite a better time on the 400. But, irrelevant
regarding DM duties/rescues, etc.
Kind of gets back to my questioning some stuff on these tests.

 

[dmaziuk]

Excellent idea. Would give you quite a better time on the 400. But, irrelevant
regarding DM duties/rescues, etc.

"cram for exam" is the feature of test-based learning, not limited to rescues. (Hence the smiley)

PS where they really should teach it is OW: by the time the students master it, they've got so much chlorinated water up the nose, the mask clearing drills will be a breeze.