Main > Everything Else

My Son is getting SCUBA certified!

<< < (2/4) > >>

Vanguard:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on May 20, 2010, 09:37:51 pm ---Well, my wife was 14 and ~80lbs when she did the coursework and graduated at 15.  She couldn't even pick up the tank to set it on the bench.

She says you're nuts.

FWIW



--- End quote ---

Well, not knowing her, it doesn't mean much.   I've seen adult divers who were grossly overweight and couldn't even lift their weight belt let alone their tank.  They are completely winded just trying to get their wetsuit on.  I've seen adults who would drown if they weren't wearing a BCD.  They literally couldn't swim good enough to keep themselves afloat.  If my son was as inept as many of the adult divers I see, he wouldn't be getting certified.  He's grown up around boats, diving, snorkeling, etc.. so he's pretty competent in the water. 

Also, We dive mostly from our boat.  It's not like he needs to walk a mile to the ocean with the tank.   Once you're in the water, you're weightless so who cares?   Main issue with the gear is that it fits snug.  We have a swim platform on the back of the boat and usually slip into our tanks sitting on the dive platform.  We don't even have to stand up with the tanks to get in the water.  My wife is certified too and she's pretty petite.   She has a hard time standing with her gear on and again it really doesn't matter much.  She also has rheumatoid arthritis so she is weaker than a normal person her size yet she still has no problems.

The biggest issue with kids getting certified is how they handle the unexpected and how they can keep their head straight if something goes wrong.   The weight of the equipment on land is of little contribution to the danger aspect of diving.

At one of the dive shops last weekend, we suited him up with a BCD and a 50cf tank and he was able to stand and walk around.   He couldn't lift the tank with this arms high enough to put it in the BCD but he really doesn't need to either.   

I was curious to see what other people's experience was with kids this age getting certified and handling the equipment.   I'm think that is the biggest delta between doing it at 10 and 15 but in the end for the type of diving we do, it really doesn't matter.

Vanguard:

--- Quote from: pmowry on May 20, 2010, 09:52:45 pm ---
--- Quote from: pinballjim on May 20, 2010, 09:37:51 pm ---
She says you're nuts.


--- End quote ---

Well, that made me laugh =) but my daughter is 14, and because of this post I'll see if I can get her interested. But just what I need is 1 more expensive hobby =)

--- End quote ---

Yeah it does get a little pricey.  I was surprised when I was pricing kids gear.  The price is exactly the same for kids and adult stuff.   You'd think they would cut you a break considering you're going to need to replace the kids equipment much more often due to growth.

Vanguard:
My son could do the frog march if he needed to.   He couldn't put the tank on the BCD or stand on a pitching boat either but again, I know adults that can't either.   

If all my son has ever done was swim in a pool, I wouldn't be considering letting him get certified.   He's logged quite a bit of time in the ocean and has had shark swim right next to him.   He's kept his cool (probably too cool) and thought it was the most awesome thing.   I don't intend on exceeding the 40ft limit or pushing him at all.   I'll let him find his comfort zone.   If we end up exploring Carysfort reef in 15 feet of water with tanks on, that's cool with me.   I just want to see him explore his limits and learn at his pace.   

I want my son to get the class and the certification for several reasons:

1) It has an impartial person doing the evaluation.   I don't want to find out the hard way that I over evaluated his abilities.
2) If he wants to dive when he is older (without dad), he'll need a certification anyway.
3) I took my classes almost 30 years ago.  I don't know what has changed.  I know the dive tables have but I'm looking at this as a refresher for me too.
4) It's a confidence booster / sense of accomplishment thing for him to take and pass the class.
5) There will be occasions we aren't just diving off the back of our boat. 

The expensive part is the equipment anyway.  It's not like I'd be saving myself a load of dough by skipping the class.   I can't really think of any good reason not to take the class. 

I'm also going ultra-safe with him on the air supply.   I carry an octo but am also going to get a pony (SpareAir) as a backup.   If anything did go wrong, he'll have a redundant backup on top of the octo.  I've never had any failures that even required an octo but I'm not taking any chances with my son.  I've also considered looking into full face setups with communications so we can talk underwater.   I'm not sure we could find one that would fit his face though.  If anything did happen, I could talk him through it.

protokatie:
The only dangerous sport I ever wanted to do as a kid was hang glide, but diving sounds fun and I know a few people who have been certified since 15.

As per the communicating underwater, have you considered taking American sign language with your kid? I know this won't work in water that is highly turbid, but could be useful in many other situations (imagine being able to tell you kid how to hold the camera underwater while underwater, etc)

Just a thought.

Vanguard:
SCUBA has it's own rudimentary sign language and we also carry tablets that we can write on.  The tables are like a high tech etch-a-sketch that is waterproof and has a stylus.  Normal communication isn't really problem.   The only reason I'd consider the full face electronic communication systems is so that I can communicate with my son if we lose each other or so we can talk when we don't have visual contact.   It's hard to sign or scribble "SHARK!!!!!" and get someones attention.

Plus, it would be fun to hear the excitement in his voice when he sees new things.   Now we just geek out on the boat afterwards talking about all the stuff we saw and reviewing photos I took.

I also wanted to hang glide when I was a kid.   Unfortunately Florida isn't too conducive to it.  My brother did too and he ended up going into the aviation industry.   He met these 2 guys who were opening a glider park   They struck a deal for my brother to do the FAA inspections on their tow aircraft.   He became good friends with them and was helping them launch the business when one of them was killed when he crashed his hang glider.   It looks like a ton of fun but at my age, with a family, I think I'll stick to the safer sports (like SCUBA).


Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

Go to full version