Proud dad of my new dive buddy!

[RyanT]

Congratulations!

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Congrats to both of you! I'm a bit jealous but my son turns 10 on 9/15 and is doing his SDI OW classroom and pool sessions that weekend followed by his check dives the following weekend. I've been waiting as much as he has. I'll be at the lake with him but hopefully some students will sign up for the rescue class that's supposed to be out there that weekend so I can be the DM for it rather than having to sit on shore while he's doing his dives.

Two recommendations for you:

1. As has been stated, reconsider the ball swivels. Not saying the ones you have are junk, but they are a potential failure point that you don't want. The o-ring between the two hemispheres can blow out at any moment and it's not fun when they do. It's happened to me three times since January, the second one being during a fairly shallow dive in Cozumel a couple months back. As you can see in my avatar I typically dive a full face with a quick disconnect so I was able to stop the free-flow and switch to a conventional mask and octo, followed by connecting my normal 2nd stage to my primary hose (QD fitting) so I still had something to donate in an OOA situation. It blew the third time in the pool the other day after having just been serviced three weeks ago. It was my first time diving it since the service. I've since switched to a fixed 90 on my normal 2nd stage (the ffm is being serviced again for breathing issues).

2. If you have it available, consider taking a solo diver course. Not so you can dive alone, but because you will be diving with a buddy that could potentially not be able to assist in an emergency incident. Just like when I'm DMing OW classes, I can't really safely rely on students to be able to assist me should I suffer some sort of failure, the same can be said of diving with junior divers. Not that they don't know what to do, but will they be able to if that time comes? I haven't taken a solo course yet myself, but I can tell you it's net up on my list. If nothing else, maybe start practicing drills with her during most of your dives together. I honestly didn't look at your experience level or anything and you probably have already considered this advice but on the chance maybe another fairly new diver might read this thread I figured I'd post it up anyway.

Congrats on your new dive buddy! Hope you have hundreds if not thousands of dives together!

 

[EireDiver606]

Ditch the snorkel i'ts too busy around there and provides nothing from a safety point

Just to reiterate, a snorkel does certainly provide safety if you’re diving in rough water with high waves. Waiting for the boat with low gas in 3m+ swells ie Atlantic Ocean diving is what comes to mind off.

That said, I don’t wear one while diving and don’t recommend you do but keep a foldable one in a pocket if your conditions permit it.

A couple of years ago a few divers in Ireland who didn’t have snorkels drowned after their gas ran out in high seas.

To OP, it’s great to see new divers full of enthusiasm and I wish ye all the best diving together.

 

[aviator8]

It's happened to me three times since January

wow three times in one year! What ball swivel were you using?

If you have it available, consider taking a solo diver course

I have considered a solo class just for the skills. I also wouldn't mind slinging a 40 on dives but the logistics of it for travel diving seem to be a royal pain.

On the skills she enjoys doing them. Most people want to do them one time get the cert and move on. She wants me to quiz her and practice them. After her cert we both had half a tank left so yesterday we went to a local lake here and did a shallow dive. Viability was horrible, at no more than 5 feet at best. We stayed in touch contact the whole dive, but It was a good experience for her. Even on that dive we planned to practice some skills so she did reg switch, mask off and on, a primary donate, and keep a compass bearing to stay in the non motorized area.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

wow three times in one year! What ball swivel were you using?

I have considered a solo class just for the skills. I also wouldn't mind slinging a 40 on dives but the logistics of it for travel diving seem to be a royal pain.

On the skills she enjoys doing them. Most people want to do them one time get the cert and move on. She wants me to quiz her and practice them. After her cert we both had half a tank left so yesterday we went to a local lake here and did a shallow dive. Viability was horrible, at no more than 5 feet at best. We stayed in touch contact the whole dive, but It was a good experience for her. Even on that dive we planned to practice some skills so she did reg switch, mask off and on, a primary donate, and keep a compass bearing to stay in the non motorized area.

It's one I bought from my LDS and to be honest I'm not certain what brand it is. But having suffered that failure that many times in that short time span is enough to persuade me to find another solution. The hard 90 is a little less comfortable for routing a 40" primary under my arm than the ball swivel, but for the peace of mind of knowing that's one less o-ring I need to be concerned with....I'll live with it.

And it's great to read that she actually wants to run drills. I haven't done them as often as I should recently, but I used to run mask drills with my ffm on almost every local dive just do I could make sure I was proficient in the event of an actual incident. Boy did that pay off!

 

[gbf]

Congratulations to both of you.

Both my daughters (since they were the age of yours) and wife and a son-in-law dive, and we've had many good trips together. This past month young daughter (28 y.o) and I went to Bonaire for 2 weeks. The others couldn't make it for one reason or another.

Without doubt, one of the highlights of my life.

I wish the same for you.

 

[aviator8]

Congratulations to both of you.

Both my daughters (since they were the age of yours) and wife and a son-in-law dive, and we've had many good trips together. This past month young daughter (28 y.o) and I went to Bonaire for 2 weeks. The others couldn't make it for one reason or another.

Without doubt, one of the highlights of my life.

I wish the same for you.

Thanks, That's the kind of stuff I am looking forward to.

 

[gbf]

One other thing as regards the dangling bolt snaps on primary hose...

Keep in mind I'm old, and overheads are way in the rearview mirror, and all my diving now is in warm water to see the pretty fishes.

I HATE having that bolt snap dangling from the primary hose, either close or far from the fitting. So I attached a tank valve o-ring at the fitting and use a double-ender to clip to o-ring and right chest d-ring to stow my primary. While not stowed the double-ender stays clipped to right chest d-ring.

 

[Viper12161]

This is fantastic!!! My little guy wants to get certified in the worst way. He just turned 11. He did a bubble maker class that my LDS held and did about an hour in the pool. I just got certified a few weeks ago and only have one dive under my belt so far (not counting the cert dives). I was originally all for him going to classes, until I went and saw just how involved it is. I'm honestly not sure he can handle all the skills yet, so I told him he needed to be a bit older. In the mean time, I think I might sign him up for some swimming lessons at the local Y to strengthen his swimming skills. He does ok, but definitely can use some work and confidence. And I would like to get some more experience before he comes out with me as well.

 

[aviator8]

This is fantastic!!! My little guy wants to get certified in the worst way. He just turned 11. He did a bubble maker class that my LDS held and did about an hour in the pool. I just got certified a few weeks ago and only have one dive under my belt so far (not counting the cert dives). I was originally all for him going to classes, until I went and saw just how involved it is. I'm honestly not sure he can handle all the skills yet, so I told him he needed to be a bit older. In the mean time, I think I might sign him up for some swimming lessons at the local Y to strengthen his swimming skills. He does ok, but definitely can use some work and confidence. And I would like to get some more experience before he comes out with me as well.

Each child will be different with regard to when they are ready. Mine has been swimming since age 3 and is about to do junior lifeguard training. She is very mature for her age and sets goals for herself and does them without much pressure from us. I felt comfortable letting her do the course. Now my other girl.... I love her dearly. But she is going to need some more time before I would be ok with her diving. A parent asked her if she was ready to get certified and go diving with dad. Her response was nah, I’d rather just do gymnastics so that’s good rather than her being disappointed that I wont let her start when her sister did.