Posted by mike on July 25, 2002 at 00:13:08:
In Reply to: Swimming, Diving and Fitness posted by Kendall Raine on July 23, 2002 at 10:07:17:
Being in good shape gives one some extra leeway in the event of an emergency or a potentially bad situation. A number of my non-diving friends & loved ones have been looking at my pictures too long and are getting interested in getting that C-card and i have to ask myself, "would i take them to Catalina or PV knowing that they could not handle a current or surge or shore entry and that they might die on my watch or i could get killed or disabled trying to save them?" and i find that the answer is a resounding "NO!"
There are too many things that can happen, and in my observation, the level of fitness and comfort in the water that the swim test seems to demonstrate has to be there. It seems that fitness and comfort level in the water give rise to a rational mind when there's too much lead on the belt & the reg free-flows while the BC gets punctured when the viz is 6 feet & the current kicks up.