OW Class Complete

[ChrisEdwards]

Yesterday, my Son (13 years old) and myself finished our OW Cert at West Palm Beach, FL.

Just want to say a big thanks to the instructors from Scuba Quest, I think they trained us well, comparing our experience to many threads I have read on this forum.

The two dives off West Palm Beach were great. My Son struggled a little equalizing his middle ear around 15ft, so we bobbed up and down for a couple of minutes while the others disappeared into the Abyss below. We were drift diving so we could see the buoy and the line attached to the Dive Master. Once my kid got his ears sorted out we descened down and were only a few yards behind the group.

It was such a neat feeling having the current pulling you along, even down at 50ft, it was like slow motion flying.

The sit time on the boat had us both feeling a bit nauseous, so we had a 'Swim pool' time where quite a few folks jumped back into the water and just floated with the boat. This cooled us off and made the tummy fuddles go away.

Second dive, we did an extended safety stop, around 15-18ft, for about 5 or 6 minutes just getting our buoyancy under control.

Again thanks to our instructors and the crew of the "The Wetter the Better".

Now I've got to dig some books out and figure out all the types of fish we saw yesterday.

 

[Ocean One]

Congratulations to you and your son on your OW Cert.
Glad to hear you wer overall pleased with the training you received.

I am a bit concerned that they left you on the surface alone though!
Thoughts from others????

Ocean One

 

[ChrisEdwards]

One of the instructors stayed with us and indicated to take our time, while the group, about 8 others, plus a couple more instructors descended. As this was our initial ascent, we were still in sight of the boat.

 

[REII]

Congrats! I think diving is a great sport for you and your son to get involved in.

TOM

 

[Paco]

Congrats to you both. Now keep diving.

 

[montychandler]

Congrats to you and your son.. My son was 14 when we were certified.. He's now 20 and we do a couple of trips a year to some fun spot on the planet to go diving. A great way to stay connected with your boy!!

 

[ChrisEdwards]

Well as an add on, we dropped of the tanks and gear, back at the LDS this lunchtime and also had our log books stamped. While there, we both signed up for the Advanced Class and well as the Nitrox class. I figured this would give us another half dozen plus dives under the careful eye of the instructors and further advance our scuba education.

 

[BarryNL]

Well as an add on, we dropped of the tanks and gear, back at the LDS this lunchtime and also had our log books stamped. While there, we both signed up for the Advanced Class and well as the Nitrox class. I figured this would give us another half dozen plus dives under the careful eye of the instructors and further advance our scuba education.

A very good idea - as many people here like to point out, the AOW and probably nitrox classes should really be part of a basic OW course anyway.

 

[louisianadiver]

Cool stuff, Chris. You're in for some great times. -Clay

 

[plot]

Were they all instructors, or were a few dive masters? Sounds like you got some great training. Congrats.