Went out with my 15yo daughter this weekend

[chvyhs]

It was a great father's day. Got to spend it on the Crystal Cove beach with the family and took my daughter out on our first dive together since she got certified. She was a little bit nervous so she burned through her first 800psi just getting past the breaking waves. Once we got out and went under she was fine. I love watching her explore underwater then talking about what she saw later. I think that the best part is that she holds my hand while we're cruising underwater.

Once she gets a little more comfortable I'm sure she won't be dropping so much air so fast. My 12yo son is a little jealous that he's not in the water too. He told me how much money he has saved up so he can help pay for his dive lessons this year.

I also have a question,
Is it wrong that she can bearly stand in the waist high breaking waves with all of her gear on? She was wearing 24lbs of lead, and 40lbs of steel tank. I literally had to drag her past the breaking waves and drag her a portion on the way back in. Up to this point I have only been diving with able bodied men (other Marines) that could handle themselves. Is it normal to have to do this with kids/women?

 

[dive_gorilla]

I also have a question,
Is it wrong that she can bearly stand in the waist high breaking waves with all of her gear on? She was wearing 24lbs of lead, and 40lbs of steel tank. I literally had to drag her past the breaking waves and drag her a portion on the way back in. Up to this point I have only been diving with able bodied men (other Marines) that could handle themselves. Is it normal to have to do this with kids/women?

I'll start with this first. She's 15? Probably about 5'2" and 90 lbs too right? First dives? Of course she'll get knocked around. Think about your first open water or maybe even confined water dives. Weren't you unstable with just a little bit of current or surge? I'm sure that after abot 15 or 20 dives with dad she'll get better. But remember, she's just a kid. The weight does sound a little excessive though. I don't know what kind of exposure suit she was wearing, but you might want to check that in a cove or bay.

Otherwise, it sounds like you both had a good time. I'm sure your son will enjoy it too when he gets certified. Sounds like one hell of a fathers day

 

[fnfalman]

Heck, I get knocked around now and then still by the waves. Granted I'm not a lean, mean fighting machine any more. Twenty four pounds of lead seem to be a lot for that girl.

 

[FrankPro1]

The weight does sound a little excessive though.

A little excessive! That's an insane amount for a 15 year old "unless shes a very big 15 year old". I dive with 16-18lbs of lead with a steel 100 and I'm 6ft 190lbs. That's way to much for a little girl.

I know many training agencies will pack on the lead for beginner divers, but after certification you should really find her proper weighting.

 

[dive_gorilla]

A little excessive! That's an insane amount for a 15 year old "unless shes a very big 15 year old".

That was a euphamism. I didn't want to sound over-the-top. I dive with that much in my 7mm and I'm 6'6" and 245 lbs. Did her back hurt afterward? Like I said, find some still water (salt though) and get her buoyancy tuned.

And have fun

 

[DwayneJ]

+1 on the weight too. I'm 6' 220lbs with a Fusion dry suit and a steel 100/120CF tank and use 24lbs of lead. 20lbs with my 8/7mm wetsuit.

 

[chvyhs]

She used a lot of weight durring certification also. Even with that much weight it was difficult to get her under. Maybe we're using too thick of a suit on her. She's about 4" shorter than me and 40lbs lighter. We were both using 24lbs. I think part of her problem is that she's flat footed and has a difficult time carrying a lot of weight.

 

[Teamcasa]

Don't fret the weight part, she will improve as she dives more and the lead requirement will drop. Good for you for taking her and getting her into diving, she will thank you forever.

I would take her over to Catalina and dive the dive park. The entry is much easier and she can spend more time diving and less time being bashed in the surf! Several of us will be there Saturday and would love to congratulate her in person!

My wife loves to hold my hand when we dive, secretly, I like as well!

 

[ScottBuck]

Don't fret the weight part, she will improve as she dives more and the lead requirement will drop. Good for you for taking her and getting her into diving, she will thank you forever.

MAN, I can't wait till my kids are old enough to go diving with me! Just remember when you are properly wieghted you should have to give a little aid to get under! Im 6'1" and 235 lbs I dive a HP steel 80 and use 20 lbs of wieght.

 

[fnfalman]

You need to get that girl properly weighted. I've only known one woman who dives with 28-lbs and she's...well...healthy. Very healthy, if you know what I mean and she also dives in a drysuit.

I'm 5ft6, 205-lbs (alas a lot of it is fat). In my well broken in wetsuit and a Faber HP100 tank (-6.5lbs empty), I dive with 8-lbs of lead. When the suit was a lot newer and a lot more buoyant, coupled with my inexperience, I dived with 22-lbs then reduced to 18-lbs of lead, and twenty dives later I went down to 14lbs, then 12lbs...you get the idea.

But 24-lbs is way too heavy for her. She's not small, but she's not that big either.

And Teamcasa has the right idea about taking her to Casino Point in Catalina where the water condition is nice so that she doesn't get all exhausted and flustered getting out into deep water not to mention that you can stage somebody by the step to either hand you more weight or take the weight off your hand.

Beach diving in California is rough, coupled with the fact that she's brand new at this game not to mention don't have the strength and stamina to lug 70-lbs worth of gears while fighting the wave and the sucking sand. Yeah, I'd say that it's normal for her to struggle.

I applaude the young lady for having the gumption to do that.

As far as her having a difficult time getting under even with 24lbs worth of weight, take a look at the way she deflated the BC. Was there any air trapped in the BC? Was she unconsciously kicking her fins and thus keeping herself on the surface? These two were what happened to me during OW cert dives even though I wore 28lbs worth of weight.