Swimming Abilities?

[elmer fudd]

With no swimming aids of any kind, you should be able to swim 300 yds, swim underwater 50 ft on one breath (with no push off), and stay afloat for 15 minutes.

This sums up my own feelings about the subject. You don't necessarily need to be a very strong swimmer, as in having competed or knowing how to do a perfect crawl or butterfly stroke, but you certainly should have the necessary water skills to save yourself or your buddy if necessary. To me, that means a long surface swim after you have ditched your gear, treading water for extended periods or a long CESA from depth. What's more, you should be comfortable in big water. It's one thing to be at ease in an 8' deep pool with the sides no more than 20' away and an entirely different thing to be at ease 1/4 mile from shore in deep water.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

If she cannot swim it begs the question: Does she want to learn to scuba dive or do you want her to scuba dive?

 

[Krazytomdiver]

As a dive guide,I am a old 'strong swimmer' but I either utilize the boat or my young flat-belly marinero to travel any great distance on/in the water.

"living life without a hard bottom"
KT

 

[Jim Lapenta]

What everyone seems to not get is that swimming is not a scuba skill. If you are going to be around water it is a life skill. Parents who do not teach their kids to swim and allow them around water are neglectful. Those who don't see that their kids learn how to swim and allow them in the water are guilty of abuse.

And second what RU4SKUBA asked. Does she want to dive or do you want her to?

And why would someone who can swim even think it's ok to put a non swimmer in the water?

 

[TMHeimer]

What everyone seems to not get is that swimming is not a scuba skill. If you are going to be around water it is a life skill. Parents who do not teach their kids to swim and allow them around water are neglectful. Those who don't see that their kids learn how to swim and allow them in the water are guilty of abuse.

And second what RU4SKUBA asked. Does she want to dive or do you want her to?


And why would someone who can swim even think it's ok to put a non swimmer in the water?

Jim, I agree completely with all of that. I also agree with Walter that snorkelling has very little to do with swimming and that I can see that people could snorkel quite OK without knowing how to swim at all. Snorkelling uses fins (and mask/snorkel), making it a brother to scuba whereas swimming is a distant cousin. There, I got into the swim debate yet again......

 

[scubadobadoo]

Knowing how to swim is a must IMHO. Scuba is all about feeling comfortable in the water. A person who isn't totally comfortable in the water is a panic attack waiting to happen. Take panic out of the equation and you decrease diver deaths significantly. It makes no sense to me to take a person who can't swim and strap a hundred pounds of gear and weight to them and then put them under water. Imho that is TORTURE!

She must be the one who initiates her interest in scuba and she must be the one to want to learn how to swim. If she wants to, then help her and you will both have more fun. I hope she does and I hope that you can help her to discover th wonderful world of diving! That's an awesome thing! Just take it slow.

 

[Peter Guy]

What is "swimming?" For me, I contend that "swimming" includes snorkeling and thus someone who can "swim" on top of the water for 300 yards while breathing through a tube is quite capable of being an adequate scuba diver.

If the issue is being able to float after falling in, then she should be able to float too.

Way too much is made of the notion that "swimming" is necessary as a "life skill." No, being able to stay on the surface is what is necessary as a life skill.

 

[TMHeimer]

Way too much is made of the notion that "swimming" is necessary as a "life skill." No, being able to stay on the surface is what is necessary as a life skill.

Well, I agree that staying on the surface is most important. But you may fall into water off something and be taken by a current to a place far away. Better know how to swim. Particularly important if you live near or spend a lot of time at the water. But even if you are on a family trip and the kids are around a motel swimming pool.

 

[scubadobadoo]

My point is that adults who can't swim usually have a fear of water or no interest in it at all. A few weeks of scuba training is not likey to erase a lifetime of avoiding the water. What happens when that same adult loses their mask, has an equipment issue, loses their buddy, finds themselves in zero visibility for any reason, gets hit by a wave during a shore dive, ascends in a storm and heavy seas, etc....

What happens a lot is that new diver who can't swim and has avoided the water for whatever reason for an entire life will likely start to panic because they don't feel comfortable in the water because they can't swim. Once they panic, there is a good chance they become a statistic.

I have dealt with panicking divers and I have also been one. You can't really totally understand the complete lack of rationality the panicking diver experiences until you have been one yourself. A new diver can easily panic. A new diver who can't swim IMHO is very likely to eventually panic.

 

[vladimir]

As a dive guide....

As a dive guide....

As a dive guide....

As a dive guide....

As a dive guide....

As a dive guide....

....et cetera.

So, Tom, what is it that you do for a living?

May I humbly suggest that you take advantage of your signature to let everybody know that you're a dive guide--one who's "living life without a hard bottom"?