Greetings ScubaBoard..

[Scooter2]

Hello everyone,

Open water certified last weekend at the young age of 51. My 10 year old niece was certified as well, so we are keeping that ‘median age of scuba divers’ right about where it was!

We are going back for NAUI Advanced classes in 2 weeks and looking forward to it – although, I really need to learn to relax and not be an air hog.

I really like the community so far - seems like a great bunch of people involved in this sport!

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Scooter2
Good luck

 

[Esprise Me]

Welcome! Where are you taking your classes?

 

[TMHeimer]

Welcome. You sound like me. OW at age 51 (2005) and AOW 4 months later after 6 post AOW dives.

 

[apenland01]

Hello everyone,

Open water certified last weekend at the young age of 51. My 10 year old niece was certified as well, so we are keeping that ‘median age of scuba divers’ right about where it was!

We are going back for NAUI Advanced classes in 2 weeks and looking forward to it – although, I really need to learn to relax and not be an air hog.

I really like the community so far - seems like a great bunch of people involved in this sport!

We are the same age and I have my refresher course pool work in a few weeks. I fully anticipate being an air hog, but hope diving is like riding a bicycle.....

 

[jwcfbd]

Welcome to the board

 

[Scooter2]

Welcome! Where are you taking your classes?

Thanks! Ocean Safari

 

[Esprise Me]

Very cool. I've never taken an in-person class with them, but I've been on some of their day boat charters and I took a virtual course with them during the shutdown. They seem like a solid operation. Maybe I'll see you folks out there one of these days!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Welcome to scuba and the board. Breathing will come.

It all gets better from here. Everything.

 

[nolatom]

Welcome ! You're in good company, lots of us were late bloomers. I started at 49, that was back in 1999. Same year I took up golf. I don't do either all that often, after 20 years I hove about 250 dives. Some binge early and then get bored with the local scene.

That's fine, you can go anywhere. But diving slow and steady, 10-20 dives a year, I've never gotten bored with the "local" scene. Which for me has been Florida panhandle and Jupiter/West Palm areas, and occasionally out to the Flower Garden Banks / Stetson Bank National Marine Sanctuary on a liveaboard off the Tex/La coast, on a liveaboard. 80-90 feet, on top of some salt domes that have pushed the surrounding rock upward from an area that's otherwise about 300-400 feet deep). Inexpensive fun for us in the Southeast. Great fun and real coral, and big pelagic creatures,

Many of us took the Advanced course at about 25 dives, then Rescue at about 50, But there's no "right" number, doing Advanced early is fine. Don't pass up Rescue, it makes you a better diver and buddy, even if you never have to "use" it. You're in Southern Cal, which I know nada about except the water is colder than the Gulf and Florida. You'll find your own pace, and your own vistas, whether you travel or not,

Anyway, I am not great at golf. If you take up both, and are going to stink at one of them, it's safer to stink at golf ;-)

Best wishes to you and your niece. It' s a wonderful world. Just being weigthtless, and "breathing" your way over or under an obstruction, is still a real kick for me. You fin out over the edge of a ledge and it drops in a cliff, but you don't. It's like flying...