March 9th, 2010 | 
Author: I have no prior experience of scuba diving. I am going to catalina island next month hopefully to take a resort course scuba dive on my birthday.
But I do not want to go to Catalina and find out that I am not capable and ruin my birthday wish. Can I be a so-so swimmer and go? Is it hard to swim underwater with all that heavy stuff on you? Can I train myself before I go scuba diving on my birthday? Any input would be appreciated.
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Yes! You have to be a very good swimmer!
If you’re in good health and reasonably fit, you most likely meet the physical requirements to learn scuba diving. To earn Open Water Certification, you should be able to swim 200 meters continuously and tread water for ten minutes. You’ll also need to pass course work involving basic concepts of science.
There are 3 parts to your course: a basic knowledge class (you learn about the origination of scuba diving, become familiar with your equipment, etc), a confined instruction training (you’re put in a small pool with your equipment, more hands-on), and an open water training (this is where you are to swim and tread successfully). Then you get to explore the beautiful oceans, assuming you pass each course!
It is somewhat awkward to swim with the gear on, but it is much less heavier underneath the water then if you were out of the water. It makes sense… everything’s lighter in water!
You can of course train a little bit before you go. Go to your nearest indoor pool and simply practice swimming. Force yourself to swim continuously. 200 meters is equivalent to 8 laps in a regular 25 metered length pool.
No, you aren’t required to be a “very good swimmer”. As a matter of fact the actual swim assessment part of the course only requires you do your distance ( 200 M) using ANY swim stroke or combination of swim strokes. You can doggy paddle it if you want. It’s not timed. You can also use mask, snorkel and fins if you like but the distance is just a little longer at 300M. You’ll need to be able to tread water for 10 minutes which you can switch between proper tread and a modified survival float if need be. If you’re comfortable in the water…you can easily pass the assessment. That’s all they ask…that you be comfortable and all of this is normally done in a pool, not open water.
It’s not hard at all to swim with gear on. You’re buoyancy is neutral. You don’t feel heavy. You feel weightless. The only difference is drag. The more streamlined you make yourself and your gear, the further you go with each kick.
Training before going? No need to at all if you’re of average fitness meaning that your heart and lung function are normal. Diving is one of the most lazy sports there is. The entire idea is to NOT use energy. Using energy increases your breathing rate and reduces your bottom time as you consume more air than usual. You WANT to be lazy and use current, hand holds where possible or whatever to get from A to B. If you had a look at an average dive club, you’ll find that about 3/4 of the members are a little to a lot overweight.
Usually the only thing that prevents someone of average fitness from learning scuba is if they are claustrophobic. Putting that mask on and then learning to breath through the mouth and not the nose and underwater to boot, is what gets some people. If you’re not claustrophobic…you won’t have any issue at all.
I should add that there is a medical questionnaire that you’ll need to fill out prior to course start. If you’re average…you’ll be fine. If you have some underlying health issues that have to do with heart / lung or issues like epilepsy you’ll have to be cleared by a Doc that specializes in dive medicine before taking the course.
No, you don’t have to be a “very good swimmer”. I have said this a few times, and it is worth repeating here…
If someone is comfortable in the water, but doesn’t know how to swim, I can teach them how to scuba dive. I have seen many great swimmers that had many difficulties underwater. Being comfortable in the water is important.
With that said, since you will be around water, knowing how to swim (even so-so), is important for safety reasons.
A resort course is not a certification course so the swimming requirements required for certification as a full-fledged diver do not come into play. But for you to really enjoy the experience, you should be comfortable being in and under water.
Some medical conditions may disqualify you from scuba diving. In general, conditions that impair the normal functions of your heart, lungs, or nervous system may exclude you from diving, even in a resort course or discover scuba setting. A medical questionnaire is used to identify any conditions which are questionable, and approval from a physician (preferably one familiar with dive medicine) is required before you will be allowed in the water for scuba training.
The exact medical questionnaire used depends on which certification agency (PADI, NAUI, SSI, etc) the dive shop offers training through, but they are all looking for similar things. Here is a link to the PADI questionnaire since it is easy to find and (unfortunately
most shops these days offer training through PADI. http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/forms/pdf/10063-Ver2-0.pdf
Go through this form and answer the questions HONESTLY. If you answer yes to any of the questions, you should obtain a physician’s approval before your trip to make sure it is safe for you to dive.
Scuba gear is only heavy until you get in the water. Swimming with scuba equipment is not difficult once you relax and learn to streamline yourself. However, it is somewhat bulky so it does take more effort to swim in scuba gear than it does with just snorkeling gear. That is the reason we wear fins, it is next to impossible to swim without them.
The best training you can do before the trip is to spend time in a pool with mask, fins, and snorkel to exercise your leg muscles the same way you do on scuba. Practice breathing a little slower and a little deeper through the snorkel than you normally would on land. Bonus points if you can put your face in the water and breathe through the snorkel without a mask on.
scubabob is right you dont need to be a realy good swimmer 2 do a scuba diving course scuba diving isnt a competition or a race so aslong as you can get in water and not drown ur a good enough swimmer.underwater you dont fell the weight on you infact you need to wear weights on a weight belt so you dont float up to the top.
hope you do well.