"Swim-through" okay for open water divers?

[Tassi Devil Diver]

Personally, I have no problem open water divers swimming through swim throughs whether it be a wreck scuttled for divers or appropriate geological features.

My region is known for many sea caves that cut into the coastal cliff faces most are simple in and out tunnels others loop around, the Cathedral Caves is a more complex sea cave system that consists of some large wide-open tunnels maybe 50m long with smaller off shoots, that take a few bends out of sight of light. This is a bit of bucket list dive for many, local dive centres and clubs will take open water divers through these systems after a couple of checkout dives.

 

[MidOH]

Its your call.

Theres tons of swim throughs perfectly designed for open water folks. Its not like youre meth diving a cave in FL, or anything.

The only one ive skipped was in Belize. A swim through the cabin of some kind of wreck. All the windows were knocked out, so you could exit at any point. My bouyancy was still messy, so I went around on the outside.

Skipping swim throughs in CZ felt like it would have put me up in the current, or off the trail too close to coral on either side. Its safer to stick together on drift dives. Even if the swim through is a little sketchy.

On the Rms Rhone you swim through a half buried propellor. (IIRC) Due to the shape of the ship, at any point you could inflate your rig and plinko up the side of the ship. No big deal.

 

[MidOH]

You swim right, through the prop gap. Forget if left or right of the top blade.

I had my trim and buoyancy dialed that day. But to make it easy, I just waited an extra 30 seconds or so. So that the diver ahead was clear, instead of following her through. Then I just finned through with a little extra speed to remain steady.

 

[tursiops]

When I was the age and experience/training level when "should I swim through or not?" was a question, I was also immortal and knew everything. So, of course, I did the swim-throughs. Was it a good idea, in retrospect? No. I'm still here, but that is as much luck as anything. Other things I did back then were much more dangerous, but that has no bearing on the OP's question. Ideally, swim-throughs would be marked like ski slopes, to at least give the diver some indication of what is about to take place. Now, when I go through a swim-through, it is the other divers that concern me as much or more so as the environment itself. Somebody panicking, ruining the viz, going OOG in a bad place, hell-bent on getting out of there no matter who or what is in the way....these are my concerns today.

 

[broncobowsher]

A solid definition of a "swim through" needs to be made before determining if it is acceptable or not.
A 2-mile long cave where you surface through a different hole than you entered, is that still considered a swim through? An arch off a wall you can see clear around and big enough to drive a truck through, is that a swim through? Both cases you swam through a hole.

 

[MidOH]

If you cant get through it with your eyes closed, its not really a swim through, is it?

If silting it up, makes it dangerous, not a swim through?

 

[Doctorfish]

Everyone has their own comfort level but I would point out this is the "Basic Scuba Forum". What's safe for an experienced diver with hundreds of dives is not the same as for a newbie open water diver.

 

[rx7diver]

@rx7diver ... As a parent you, for good prudent reason, attempted to impose your experienced judgement and risk tolerance on your daughter. As a parent and former teenager, I know that what happened may or may not have perfectly matched up to that.

Ha! Don't I know it!

rx7diver

 

[scubadada]

I think @boulderjohn did work on this topic for PADI, defining swim through vs. overhead

 

[EFX]

You haven't defined "swim-through." Is the proverbial swim under the anchor chain a swim-through?

In my opinion, we might as well call all things swum under, through, etc., a "swim-through." There's a huge spectrum between the swim under the anchor line and the Devil's Throat tube in Cozumel.

As for what's appropriate, I consider it an OW swim-through if I can see daylight from the other side, it's not much longer than a couple of diver lengths, and it's wide enough that if something were to happen in there another person could fit beside me to assist. Even then, such a swim-through may not be appropriate for all OW divers at all times, depending on experience and personal comfort zone.

Yes. The above bolded text otherwise known as the opposite of a restriction is something most novice and even experienced divers ignore. The longer the swim through the more dangerous a restriction is. There are some swim throughs of 10+ feet at Devils Den I will not go through with the group because they are restrictions. I can help them because I'm on a long hose but they can't help me diving with standard length octo's. Pity the poor diver with someone in front and behind them when they go OOA in a restriction.