Swimming Abilities?

[Pinion]

I've gone diving almost every weekend since I got certified. Nothing but shore dives. I have a great time and so does everyone that goes with me. I am the noob of the group. I've been in 2 foot viz, no problems. a bit of a current, no problems. twisted all up in fishing twine, no problems. water in the mid 50's with only a 3mm on, no problems (didnt hang around that deep though). Down to over 60 feet, no problems. I've not had any malfunctions under water but dive buddies have and I was able to assist in solving the problems under water. In fact that's something we do a lot of, testing ourselves doing things under water so we don't need to surface. we do quite well and it always goes just fine.

I understand that bad things can happen, bad things can happen anywhere though.

I do plan to get more dive training in. I want to be in a position where I feel like I am ready to go and get more training. Everybody I dive with is very experienced and understands my level and what I'm ok/no ok with. When they want to do something I'm not okay with (like going down to 80-100 feet), I sit those dives out because I know I'm not ready for that.

I may not be okay with swimming in deep water and just lingering around in it but I don't think that amounts to anything other than just me not having been around a lot of deep swimming water growing up. I can roll over on my back and float for days and swim like that. I don't ever get sick of it. I don't ever get tired from it.

I know my instructor would NOT have certified me had I not ready to be certified. I have no doubt in my mind about that at all.

 

[Pinion]

Survival backstroke is a baller stroke. Survival backstroke, sidestroke and breaststroke have been entirely sufficient so far for me.

what do you mean a "baller" stroke.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I can't even do a discover scuba with someone who cannot swim. Agency standards dictate a short swim, tread, and UW swim to begin training. If one who cannot swim is on a boat with me I will not buddy up with them. There is no snorkel option with the agencies I cert divers through. Can't swim - no scuba. I don't permit non swimmers in my snorkeling and skin diving classes. Had an issue with the new Girl Scout program I am developing when one of the girls showed up and informed me she could not swim. I put a snorkel vest on her and she was my buddy for the entire session. We now stipulate that all girls taking the 3 phase course must be able to swim before enrolling.

 

[tbone1004]

As mentioned the agencies require forward progress for something like 5-8 strokes. That's bull and any idiot can make forward progress for 5 strokes... We require our students to swim 200yds of a reasonable acceptable stroke non stop, as well as a 25yd underwater swim on day 1 before we allow them in the class. If they can't make it, but are close we let them work on it throughout the semester, but if they can't do it they aren't allowed to continue. It's not safe. To complete their certification they are required to do a 800yd circuit
25yd UW swim, 375 on surface, flip turns required, no stopping
without touching the wall or bottom, don mask fins and snorkel, 25yd UW kick, then 375 surface kick without stopping
If they can't complete that within 18 minutes I think they lose a letter grade for the course and don't get certified. Oh how I love teaching at a university...

 

[ozzydamo]

I have been swimming for over 30 years and I use to competitively swim so it made picking up scuba very easy.

I'm trying to get my girl friend scuba diving but she can't swim. It's hard for me to gauge how important it is to be able to swim for scuba diving. She can snorkel fine, but wouldn't be able to hold her breath and touch the bottom of a 5 foot pool.

Should she take some swim lessons before scuba diving? It's debatable too since most swimming schools teach you surface swimming techniques?

Opinions? Thanks ahead!

YES most definitely! crawl before you walk!
You call that being able to snorkle aka "skindiver"!
What about being able to duck dive and go down breath holding- sounds like to me you've got some work to do with her, start with a kick board.....very strong swimmer???? Good swimmer is enough, for me capable skin-diving is more important then very strong swimming for a scuba diver, because you will always use a fins, which are a lot more efficient.Being a good swimmer is ok I believe(can do a reasonably clean freestyle putting the head under water in between breathing(holding breath!), lack of distance capability shows lack of fitness, but will improve with work after they commit to a diver's lifestyle- fit and healthy...no smoking! even just scuba diving improves swimming fitness.

I have a Thai gurl' she can swim, but I won't put her on a reg till she's seriously impressing me skindiving, showing some good aqua-nautical skills, dodging swell surge in reefy shallows and doing clean duck dives into a good 30second breath-hold(I am watching her and coaching). I reckon a lest one season of skin-diving progressing into feeling confident while skin diving alone to put her on a reg, in an OW class (with Padi of course!) a friend of mine will instruct her.
Must be able to breath hold to take the reg out of mouth/ clearing mask.

 

[PittCaleb]

I am a swimmer. During my CW class last year, first time at the pool, instructor told us we had to show basic swimming skills Forget if it was 200 or 400 yards we had to swim without stopping, but taking as much time as we wanted to. He tells the class, "don't just jump in there and swim hard, you won't finish, take your time, we'll move on when everybody is finished."

When he asked the class of 8 to start, no one wanted to jump into the pool. I pulled down my goggles, dove in and finished before most people had completed half their laps. Instructor stated multiple times about how scuba is *not* swimming. I agree, however, you're in the water and knowing how to swim I find absolutely important. I suppose I don't understand why one would want to scuba if they weren't a swimmer/very comfortable in the water. I would live underwater given the opportunity. If I were as 'afraid' of the water as some of my classmates were, I don't know why I would be wanting to scuba to be honest.

 

[Fdge]

Breath hold while taking the reg out or clearing mask???

 

[Easdem]

YES most definitely! crawl before you walk!
Must be able to breath hold to take the reg out of mouth/ clearing mask.

Ahhh... I hope you mean "not breathe in" and not "breath hold." One should not hold breath while breathing compressed air at depth.

 

[diver 85]

My wife was not a strong swimmer when we got certified in 1985----actually SCUBA made her a much better swimmer...I'm thinking she'll be fine right now??....

 

[rx7diver]

As mentioned the agencies require forward progress for something like 5-8 strokes. That's bull and any idiot can make forward progress for 5 strokes... We require our students to swim 200yds of a reasonable acceptable stroke non stop, as well as a 25yd underwater swim on day 1 before we allow them in the class. If they can't make it, but are close we let them work on it throughout the semester, but if they can't do it they aren't allowed to continue. It's not safe. To complete their certification they are required to do a 800yd circuit
25yd UW swim, 375 on surface, flip turns required, no stopping
without touching the wall or bottom, don mask fins and snorkel, 25yd UW kick, then 375 surface kick without stopping
If they can't complete that within 18 minutes I think they lose a letter grade for the course and don't get certified. Oh how I love teaching at a university...

Saxplayer,

I, too, believe one needs to have competent swimming skills to be a competent scuba diver. However, I think some of the more stringent swimming requirements need to be reconsidered (and tossed out). For example, my initial scuba training (NAUI/YMCA) took place at a university, too. We had several swimming requirements, two of which were a timed non-stop quarter mile swim (any stroke) and an "un-timed" non-stop half-mile swim (only overhand recovery strokes permitted). The quarter-mile swim had to be completed w/in ten minutes, though the faster your time, the higher your grade. The half-mile swim had to be completed simply w/in 30 minutes.

I never certified with this program, because my best quarter mile swim was a less than adequate 10:15 mm:ss approx. (and because I had not completed a heavy weight belt swim skill) before I became quickly PADI certified by my LDS (in order to go diving in the Keys with friends).

I have always thought that this (the fact that 10:00 mm:ss would quality me, but 10:15 would not) was ridiculous, and never felt compelled, after I was PADI certified, to complete this NAUI Open Water II certification. (Similarly, I have always thought the heavy weight belt swim requirement was ridiculous. I was an extremely buff and athletic 6'2", 185#, and extremely negatively buoyant, 31-year-old when I took that NAUI course. So what if I couldn't complete a 75 yd swimming circuit wearing a 19#--10% of my body weight--weight belt!)

Your course's requirement for mandatory flip turns seems similarly ridiculous (to me). I can see no earthly application for flip turns to scuba diving. Certainly, even a long surface swim in full scuba would never require flip turns. Am I missing something?

I have heard of others' similarly ridiculous (to me) requirements, too, including mandatory breathing off both sides during the distance swim skill, for example.

Safe Diving,

Ronald