When I was 8 years old, my dad gave me a mask and some fins, when we were camping at Ponce de Leon Springs, near Deland, FL. First time in the water I was hooked and had to be dragged out of the 72 degree water, with blue lips and wrinkled toes. I did my first scuba dive at 14 and was an avid diver by 16, though I didn't get certified until I was 21.
My daughter Laura, received her first mask and fins, literally, when she was just learning to walk. She was a natural and was snorkeling all over the pool, before she could even walk around it, without falling down. I kid her that her second pair of shoes were fins. At 8, while camping in the Keys, I gave her my pony bottle and a two pound weight, to carry in her hands. The campsite had a small, roped off swimming area, where she could see and swim with tropical fish in about 5' of water. She was hooked and started her OW class, a week before her 12th birthday. She's 21 now and looking forward to the day when she can show my grand-daughter the wonders of the sea.
Oh, and that's not my grand-daughter pictured in my avatar, that's my youngest daughter, Jordy, now 4.
How old were you when you first discovered snorkeling and diving?
