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Yes - that's the shop I was looking at. Especially their 3-hour trip - sounds like a perfect match for us. Are there good snorkeling spots near Destin? that don't require a boat ride out? (for the other days we're there) Thanks!

I'll be coming to Destin, Florida for a family reunion in late June / early July. I'd love to get in a dive or two with my 2 certified teenage sons. Anyone have any experience with any of the local dive tours? shops? good locations? Thanks! Dan

Agreed. Weight belts were a necessary part of our OWC training but the boys would be much happier with alternatives.

So I took my 2 sons with me and a relative on a cold-water dive (59 degrees at 40 feet). They did just fine and might have lasted a little bit longer, but I went ahead and called the dive after 20 minutes under - since it was our first cold water dive. A lot of work putting on 7mm farmer...

Here's a collection of my thoughts after having finished the confined and open water dives for certification with my 12 and 13 year-old sons (PADI). We had a couple teen girls and another boy in our group and found that the comments below seemed to apply to both genders. And these are kids that...

Everyone in the group would get an email notification of any new posts. (can be turned on/off for those that don't want it) Groups are more discussion-oriented in their layout...easier to navigate. You can save documents to a group, moderate chats, control membership, control privacy, etc.

Avonthediver/ChickenFried - it would be a much more effective tool if it was a group instead of a page. Just FYI, FWIW, YMMV, my $0.02

The Dive Instructor decided to move back our OW dive date a few weeks to wait for things to warm up. We will still be diving a cooler lake, as well as earlier/later season too. So the solution I've come up with is to get them a NeoSport 2.5mm shorty to wear under their rented suit for those...

So now that my confined water dives/classes are done...and I've had more fin time...I've learned a few things. I like the splits more than the jets, but that's mostly the foot pocket feeling very short in the jets. That said, I can get a very nice one-kick thrust out of either. I think early...

I've been using shorty suits for the confined dives. So far so good. No sinking leg issues. I do adopt the trim position pictured above (with my feet elevated/knees bent) and I do just fine. Last class went very well...was able to hover 12" above the bottom while moving forward. I've found I...

spectrum - no hood. I do get "nose-leakage" now and then...and now that I think about it...it *does* make it worse.

tomorrow is my last class before open water. If I need to swap a mask, would love to test it tomorrow first. Yes - confined water right now. I do breathe out of my nose occasionally involuntarily and am working on controlling that. My mask ends up "pushed out" a little, rather than squeezed...

My mask slides up closer to and eventually presses against my nostrils more the deeper I go (still only down to 13' in the OWC class). Is this common? If I tighten the mask down, it causes other problems like not being able to clear it well. My mask is a Tusa Freedom HD Thoughts?

I see nothing wrong with your decision. I too am a gear/gadget nut. Sometimes something just catches your eye and you gotta try it out. Kudos to you for getting it for free! That said (and despite being a knifemaker myself) I plan on carrying a zip knife and throw-away shears once I finish...

Yes. I'm thinking that a few months of snorkeling practice might have been helpful ahead of time.

I too am a "both breather", by the way. I know this because I kept feeling my mask push away and clear when at the bottom, despite me not doing it "intentionally". The Instructor said that it wasn't a problem. But, consequently, it looks like I'm going to have to start working on this...

Great advice, Dennis. Being in the class with my boys has been both rewarding and stressful. My 12yo that pulled the stunt was my buddy that day and I was trying to communicate with him underwater. He turned and shot up...so I needed him to understand the buddy aspect of it. The Instructor...

Ooooo - I like the red soda idea....:D

so...what's the consensus on this? I'm asking because I have large muscular legs and am also still in the process of learning to get trim correctly. So far, I haven't noticed "heavy leg syndrome" :D ....but hey, it could be hiding behind other trim problems I'm having. Dan

My 2 sons (13 and 12) and I just finished the first 2 classes of our Open Water Certification. The boys loved it and had a great time. The instructor was very "understanding" of teenage boy behavior and attention span. :D And despite being an old dog, I learned something new about myself...