On Wed, 5 Feb 2003 12:43:13 +1100, Julian Pool
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>SNIP
>Bob said..
>>>So, my point is simply that, again, for SCUBA purposes, I never need
>>>to do so WITHOUT fins, so why bother to test anyone on such?
>
>Hi Bob,
>I am of the opinion that any certification for a sport that involves water
>should include a swimming component.

Yup.  Swimming WITH fins, and mostly underwater.   :-)
>
>Diving can involves boats.
>Boats can sink....and you wont necessarily get time to gear up before you
>are swimming for your life.

That argument is a bit far-fetched.  There are enough BASIC skills in
scuba that's inadequately taught that no time should be wasted on such
improbable events that are much less life threatening than all the
mistakes UW that cause diver deaths.

Why do you think we don't need to train to survive in a hurricane or
all kind of other emergencies that are as likely as a sinking boat?
Besides, I dare say a large number of the lour ocal divers never dive
from a boat.  Quarries, shallow rivers, and some lake shores don't
accommodate boats very well.  :-)

>
>Fin straps can also break - I have had one break on me whilst swimming on
>the surface and it sank (admittedly I still had one fin, but going around
>incircles just made me dizzy!!).  Fortunately the water was clear and not
>deep and we recovered it a short while later.

Glad you brought that point out.  All this time, I hadn't mentioned
that swimming above water WITH fins, and WITHOUT fins require very
different techniques to be proficient in each.  The kicking cycles
and styles are COMPLETELY different if you want to have the endurance
to swim for miles and not tire, wearing fins.

It took me YEARS and years of practice, practice, and practice to
learn how to use relaxed kicks with fins to maximize the power while
conserving energy and not cause muscle cramps.

Which bring up the point of losing one fin.  I can assure you that
one can swim ALMOST as well with one fin as one can with two fins.
I wrote about that in this thread.  I think you must have missed it.
Dolphins don't swim in circles just because they have only one fin. :-)
Granted, it's not everyday practice that one swims with ONE fin, but
it's worth the practice, JUST IN CASE.   Try it again next time in
your regular dive when you haven't lost the other fin.

With a little practice, you can probably beat some of your divers
who swim with two fins.  :-)

-- Bob.