spayne Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 It's kind of on topic yet kind of off topic as well, so I figured I'd post it over here. I know that there are several of you who are certified divers. My question is, do you have to be a really strong swimmer to dive? Jay wants to go diving in the worst way, and as horrified as I am at the thought of squeezing my carcass into a wet suit, I'd really like to make this happen for him. Silly man wants me to go with him. He must like me or something. I think with snorkeling you'd have to be a fairly strong swimmer since your air supply depends on your ability of reaching the waters surface at an opportune time. I might be wrong, but I think diving might be easier? Long story short... I took swimming lessons when I was a kid and wasn't a very strong swimmer/floater. Then it came cannonball off the board into the deep end day and I was terrified. Crying, refusing. An instructor walked up and shoved me in. I just about didn't make it to the top in time. Needless to say, the lessons ended and I'm not the strongest swimmer in the world for the effort. Not overly trusting as a result either! :mad: So I was just curious? Can a dog-paddler/weak swimmer learn to dive or do I need to learn to swim? Which there's a happy thought. All the kids can laugh at the nutty adult trying to learn to swim! DOH! Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Stacy, Being a strong swimmer definately is an advantage for diving but not a requirement. My wife got certified with me & she is not a strong swimmer. If you are going to try to get certified you may struggle one of the competencies with removing & putting your weight belt back on. (Maybe not though as I am a far stronger swimmer than my wife & she smoked me at that one. ) Do a little research on the dive shops around as good ones with a pool in house most often will take you for a private session to try on some equipment & play around in the pool before you commit to diving certification. I know of a person that wanted to get certified until they actually got in the water with the gear and hated it, but I also know of a couple of people personally that didn't think that they could do it & fell in love with the sport. I personally think that there is nothing cooler than sharing your passion with reefs, fish, ect. with a spouse or loved one than being 50 ft under water with them holding their hand and watching the beauty of the sea. That is something that you can not get from a fish tank and something you will talk about for a long time. We have taken some cool vacations since we have gotten certified & almost always a dive from the vacation sticks out in my mind as one the most memorable moments. If you are seriously thinking about it now is a good time to get started. If you are going to get certified locally then late summer is the best time for your dives. The weather is much warmer for your surface time between dives. Sorry to have rambled on but I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any question you like & myself or someone else will answer. Cuda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 8, 2006 Author Share Posted April 8, 2006 Sorry to have rambled on but I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any question you like & myself or someone else will answer. Are you kidding! You can ramble on all you want! Thanks for the info! And you're right, I can't imagine anything better than being able to dive and see the wild reefs. Or even the myriad of other things you can explore and discover while diving. I suppose we need to find a dive shop and see what's what! Oh, hey... how do the four-eyes like Jay and I fare while diving? Do your glasses fog over so that you can't see anything at all? Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 While being a good swimmer is definately an advantage as a diver, I have seen people that had never learned to swim become very good divers. As far as those of us wearing glasses, face plates of masks with corrective lenses are made all the time. I am nearsighted, but the magnification from the water allows me to see fine underwater with a standard mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 There are a few ways to deal with corrective lenses. I have a friend that just dives with his contacts in instead of glasses ( not what I would think is the best idea but he has never had a problem. My father in law also has had corrective lenses installed for his mask with good results also. Cuda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 8, 2006 Author Share Posted April 8, 2006 Good to know that there are corrective masks! I used to wear contacts, but now that I've grown older and wiser I can't stand the things. So there's hope for me diving! Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rude944 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I felt that many people who took my class were not strong swimmers, that said, I can't imagine getting the cert passed if you could not swim well at all. There is an element of danger inherant in diving, and this is complicated by people not being in good shape. So, if you feel that getting across a pool is a difficult task, then diving may not be a good idea right off. In my class, you really had to be on your toes. They would suprise you by pulling your mask off at the bottom of the pool and you had to get it back on, clear it, and then do the ok before you were passed. Think about this. There you are in the bottom of the reef @ 60 feet. There is a strong current and you hit a rock and your mask falls off (It's not going to happen on every dive, or even one in ten, but it could easily happen). So do you either chase down your mask as it floats to the surface cause you need it to see (and get the bends) or you just decide to die. That's my reality too, as I wear contacts. It's not really that serious, but you see how it can get complicated pretty quick. I got into pretty good shape for a while and scuba diving was streneous even then. But is anything worth getting into shape for like seeing the reef in the wild? I'm going to Kauai in a month. I have 2 shore dives scheduled, perhaps a boat too. I'm totally amped, and nothing is making me happier right now! So overcome your swimming issue, and partake!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Okay... learn how to swim and get into better shape. Gotcha! I do have some water issues, and from what you said about taking the mask off and clearing it I need to work past them before I can even begin to entertain the thought of diving. :o Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Okay... learn how to swim and get into better shape. Gotcha! I do have some water issues, and from what you said about taking the mask off and clearing it I need to work past them before I can even begin to entertain the thought of diving. :o Stacy Stacy I suggest talking to someone at your local dive shop/school about your "water issues". I'm sure many will be covered in your dive course. It is usually advised by most schools to get a health checkup before starting a dive course. Learning to swim and getting in better shape is always a good thing to do. As I mentioned before, even non swimmers, with proper training can learn to dive. There are also paraplegic divers, blind divers, and divers with many other handicaps. http://www.hsascuba.com/ The toughest obstacles to overcome are usually in our minds anyways. I'm just saying get yourself in your best possible condition, but others have overcome greater issues and enjoy diving. I started diving when I was 16, but we had people at the dive school learning to dive that were in their 70's! (I have to admit the couple was in good physical condition... they would occasionally sail their Trimaran from California to Hawaii and back!). I haven't had the opportunity to do much diving lately, but all this dive talk is making me want to get back in the water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 I suggest talking to someone at your local dive shop/school about your "water issues". I'll do that. I probably should learn how to swim better anyhow. Plus it would have the added benefit of being... exercise. After all, it only gets harder to shed the extra table muscle as we age. :p Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Stacy, my wife dives, you saw how small she is and i would not consider her a strong swimmer. I had a lot of fun snorkeling. You basically just cruise on the surface of the water, using mainly your fins. Of course if you want to see something more closely you have to dive and hold your breath. I had considered learning to dive, but i'm scared of sharks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 10, 2006 Author Share Posted April 10, 2006 Stacy' date=' my wife dives, you saw how small she is and i would not consider her a strong swimmer.[/quote'] She is a mere scrap of a woman, isn't she? I do want to learn how to dive. I think it would be an excellent complement to the hobby, to be able to interact with coral/fish/inverts in the wild. I'm going to first do what Rude advised and get into a swimming pool and try to figure out how to be a better swimmer (I doubt I'll ever be an Olympic hopeful though!) and maybe even suffer the embarassment of taking lessons. Then I'll move on to finding a diving school. I'm going to do it, darn it! Now I just need to find a pool in Eugene or Springfield that isn't overrun with kiddies! Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I think you can take the classes at Lane or U of O. I'd give them a ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 I think you can take the classes at Lane or U of O. I'd give them a ring. I'll have to check that out! I suppose I should learn how to swim since I am in my mid-thirties now. Oh, but Jay was putting the pressure on me. He said I only have six years to learn how to dive. Why, you ask? Because the end of the world is coming in 2012. DOH! Silly Mayan prophecy anyhow! Course, who's going to be eating crow if it actually happens! waving Stacy PS... I don't think he actually believes it. Just in case anyone is thinking that Jay is a closet conspiracy theorist or something like that! :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 No - the world dosen't end in 2012... only the Mayan Calendar! lol (icon) (fish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 No - the world dosen't end in 2012... only the Mayan Calendar! lol (icon) (fish) That's what I told him when he popped that off to me. They probably figured 2012... good place to stop, let the future generations worry about it! Heck, I have enough trouble with my dry erase monthly calendar on the fridge! Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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