SCUBA skills enhanced by snorkeling

[MikeFerrara]

You log it? Ok, This will prove my ignornace. If I freedive does that count as a dive toward a higher certification. I mean before doing the DM you need 40 logged dives. Can a freedive count toward that. I am 99% sure that it can not-but you mentioned logging the dive. I guess that is for your own personal reference.

Free dives don't, as a rule, count toward diving prereqs. That's not the only reason you log dives though. You're log is primarily for your own records. You write in it anything that you think is of value.

 

[diverbrian]

I just don't buy it. I know too many cave divers who are amazing in the water who probably never did a free dive in their life except fo maybe a little during training or just plain swimming.

In fact of all the great divers that I know none of them have ever been a sereous free diver. Maybe because I'm in the midwest, I've only come accrossed a couple real free divers in all the time I've been diving. That was a couple guys I ran into inside the plane at Gilboa sans tanks. They were certainly comfortable in the water but the one who was outside the plan waiting for his two buddies to come out was sitting on the wing of the plane. We just hovored while we watched. The water's cold and with a heavy wet suit an free diver is a little negative at that depth if he has enough weight to get down in the firstplace. We don't need to sit on things. LOL

As I said being comfortable in the water is important but you don't need a snorkel to develop that. Control in scuba come with body position, balance, finning technique and buoyancy control using breathing to control it in large part. Except for being in the water it's a almost totally defferent skill set.

As a side note I've had more than one student who was a competative swimmer and yet sucked on scuba.

But to settle the arguement, you grab a few of your free diving buddies and I'll grab a couple of my cave diving buddies and we'll go see who has greater control in the water on scuba ok? LOL

I really didn't learn snorkeling that well until I had to learn the skill set to teach it. I worried more about bouyancy control and that is a different skill set than holding my breath. In my mind, free diving/snorkeling up here is just not that entertaining. Now, take me to the Caribbean where I can see coral and fish and I need to take a "day off" in the middle of the week to off-gas, then I love snorkelling and developed a taste for it.

It is simply that I can spend longer underwater on scuba than I can free diving. I pay boat charters out for a reason. That reason is bottom time and freezing my butt off is not part of the deal, LOL.

Also, the philosphy of breath hold diving is quite different than "never hold your breath".

Overall, I think that many free-diving skills can help in scuba diving (kicks, for example). Sometimes I will work with students near the end of a session without my scuba on to expedite our getting away from the pool. I feel that many are not applicable, like holding your breath.

Being a good freediver may help,but it won't make one a good scuba diver.

 

[Scubaguy62]

I agree that being comfortable in water is a key to being a good scuba diver. I just don't see how free diving makes you more comfortable in water than scuba. I grew up free diving in Puerto Rico and back then, as a kid, I could free dive to 30 ft, while some of my buddies could dive to 60. Not that I couldn't dive to 60, I felt more comfortable at about 30. In scuba, I feel equally comfortable at any depth as I did at 30' free diving as a kid. I have done some free diving to about 40' in Hawaii, and again, I felt as comfortable free diving then as I do now in scuba. I only had 1 dive at that time, a resort dive I did in St. Lucia 6 months before.

Now, what I will agree is that people who are accustomed to snorkeling or free diving will, perhaps, not have as much comfort issues straping on scuba as someone that has not ever snorkeled or free dived before; the mask can be somewhat intimidating, and breathing in and out the mouth is an acquired skill.

It also doesn't do anything to teach breath control (even when handling a problem) because you're not breathing.

I agree with Mike on this. I believe Mike is referring to the breath control at depth that only comes from being on scuba, and the buoyancy control that comes as an inevitable result of breath control at depth. This cannot be done while freediving.

I will never believe someone who is a accomplished freediver is not in better control of his body in the water than someone who hasnt.

Again, speaking in my experience, I do not notice the difference. I have friends who have not free dived a day in their lives and are as in control of their bodies as I am, and I grew up free diving.

They are more tuned to the demands of their lungs, and more ready to deal with any situation with or without equipment.

I fail to see how controlling the lungs at the surface implies control of the demands of their lungs at depth. It doesn't mean I disagree, it means I just fail to see the connection.