Newly Certified Old Farts

[Manneca]

The only way you'll become experienced divers is to dive. Go slow, breathe, breathe, breathe. You'll make mistakes with equipment so do buddy checks. The one piece of advice I'll give is to not push yourself over your limits. If you're tired, you're tired. Don't try to be macho. As the saying goes, there are old divers and there are bold divers but there are no old bold divers.

I'm 68, been diving for 35 years and I still have things to learn. Good divers do. Good divers will understand and help you. Good divers will want you to be comfortable and enjoy the sport. Frankly, I'd rather dive with a new diver who wants to get better than "experienced" divers who think they know everything.

 

[DiversSupplyPDC]

Lol, Yea Morgan, you're really old buddy. NOT ! I was working with a guy 73 in the pool today doing his Open Water cert.

Lots of good thoughts here by others in the thread.
- Want to hire a DM to work with you guys, go for it. Remember though, the boat DMs already have their hands full. Just tipping them extra does NOT ensure you'll get extra attention underwater where you want it.
- Some have said "we were all new divers once"... Sure they are right but problem is that does not help reduce your and the wife's stress for your dive.
- Hitting the pool again Will Help, equipment muscle memory is a Good Thing.

I know the folks at our Atlanta Divers Supply will work with you.... or maybe even Sea Ventures in Roswell I think they have a nice pool too.

Some hints posted are great advice and will serve you well.

- Take Seasick meds even if you think you don't need it. Once seasick, it ain't so fun anymore.
- Relax and plan on sticking to a shorter dive plan have FUN.
- Make a good Descent, Look around TOGETHER, stay close to each other have FUN.
- Check air often and head up when 1st one hits 1000psi. Make your safety Stop and have FUN..
- Try not to over weight yourselves but on the 1st dive make sure you can get down. Maybe on your SI pull out a couple of pounds to make dive 2 easier and more FUN.

Don't worry about how old you are, it's how old you THINK. Me below in the Navy 1969 and 2014 with my son diving off West Palm.


1969 2014

 

[TMHeimer]

I've read "Age is a state of mind" and now "It's how old you think". I was in my last year playing competitive men's basketball at age 32. Came out for the team 6 years later at 38. Funny, my state of mind and thinking told me where to go on zone defense but my legs said "you won't make it in time". Jokes aside, I think as you age you have to re-evaluate what you can do on a dive. I won't be DMing a whole lot longer into my 60s and figure to ($ allowing) gravitate to more warm water diving. Not that I mind the cold water, but the 7 mil wetsuit is even more of a pain getting in & out of than when I started at 51. Assuming your mind is OK, IMO aging is all about your body.

 

[PhatD1ver]

Geez man, I wish I lived in Atlanta... life and distance all becomes relative when you live overseas... There is all kinds of diving near you.... diving being what it is as a relatively expensive hobby to take up, I am assuming you have the means to either drive or hop a 1-2 hour flight.

I wouldn't let plans at your LDS limit your options. You have the North Carolina wrecks you can dive, over 1500 sunken ships, pretty sure that's 1500 dives right there.... and ATL to North Carolina is what a five hour dive and a 1 hour hop? pretty simple to me.

Man, Delta and other airlines must have east coast hops for less than $200? you can snag those crappy rental cars at most airports to get you another 100-200 miles from any place like Miami or Ft Lauderdale.. the keys would be a simple weekend hop.

I don't know many OLD FARTS that don't have vacation days ranging at 25-30 days a year, if you do it right, you can take four day weekends on most legal holidays, or even a long weekend many others. Depending on how you do it, you can dive up to three days of a four day trip...

And don't worry about the scuba snobs, you'll make mistakes, just like they do. Since I first started this last Feb 2014, and then got certified in May, I've made six dive trips to Thailand (2), Philippines (2), Saipan, Taiwan, and out of my 50 dives in those locations, I've made a mistake or two, but so have the people who have been with me, including divemasters and instructors. It happens, and forgiveness is fast, memories relatively short.

I say get out there, enjoy yourself, and make it a priority and you'll love what you find, even on the crap dives.

 

[htatton]

My sister-in-law (age 69) and I (age 71) just completed our OW certification in October. Yes, the ocean dives were very different from the pool. Yes, we were apprehensive about the challenges. But with that said, once we were in the water it was wonderful. The only parts we found difficult was the ladder climb back into the board. Our dive operator was very gracious and let us remove our kit in the water and hand it up to the helper on the boat. Once we did that it wasn't hard. We don't have winter access to diving in Montana where we live so we are off to Bonaire in March to dive, dive, dive and practice our skills.

We will probably hire a DM guide until we are very comfortable. I hope you find diving as addicting as I have. Good luck and report back to us so we can congratulate you on your certification.

 

[Octopusprime]

Hi All –

My wife and I (old farts – 50) were PADI OW certified in Maui this past September (2014). We are now ready to start rockin’. Living in Atlanta doesn’t afford us many diving opportunities so we have to travel. Our LDS has a trip planned to the FL Keys in March that we would really like to go on. Yet we have some concerns. Mainly being new divers and it being our first real dive (and 6 months from our cert). Our concern is that we will hold back or get in the way of the rest of the group that has more experience. (ever heard of the book “Scuba Snobs” – well I read it and now I’m worried that we might do something that would end up in the next version…) What if we have some unexpected issue in the middle of the dive and everyone has to go back? Or equipment issues on the boat? Etc, etc? We have come up with a list of hundreds of things that could go wrong that could ruin the trip for everyone else. We have access to a heated pool at our LDS and have started using it to practice our skills. Our LDS helped us pick out some very nice equipment (all Scubapro) so we are getting used to it as well. But I really don’t think any measure of pool practice would get us ready for the “big dive”. So my question is, how do we really get prepared? I’ve wondered if I should call a DM in FL and try to line up a private trip or something like that beforehand. Sounds very expensive though – haven’t checked that out yet. I’m open to thoughts, ideas, suggestions, opinions, hints, plans, etc. If you got ‘em, I’m interested.

Thanks much!

there is a program that you can dive the the Atlanta aquarium. They provide all of the gear. I think you get 2 dives in and there is a safety refresher too.. I have heard it is fun and good oppertunity for you to get a refresher in a controlled environment.

 

[Colliam7]

My wife and I (old farts – 50) were PADI OW certified in Maui this past September (2014). . . . Our LDS has a trip planned to the FL Keys in March that we would really like to go on. Yet we have some concerns. Mainly being new divers and it being our first real dive (and 6 months from our cert). Our concern is that we will hold back or get in the way of the rest of the group that has more experience.

You can probably discern a consensus in the responses: a) your age is irrelevant (I was OW certified at 52); b) everyone is a 'new diver' at some point; and c) communicate actively, with the shop trip 'leader' and the dive operator.

Steve_C made some good comments about Keys diving. The reef diving can be very easy for the most part - shallow, warm water, good visibility (although that is not guaranteed). I would probably defer on dives on the deeper wrecks if they are part of the plans - the Grove, the Duane, the Bibb can be great dives, but I don't see them as ideal for newly certified divers.

Talk with the shop in advance to get an idea of what is planned for the trip, and what the level of experience of the participants might be. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on a private trip, or hire a DM, for that matter. I can't speak for your shop. But, when we do trips, we want to be sure that our customers - be they experienced salts or newer divers - have a good time, and the trip leader keeps an eye on the participants, and helps out as appropriate. You will not be 'alone'.

You will probably come back from the trip wondering why you were anxious beforehand.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Just saw this thread. I got my OW cert in the Keys with the Rainbow Reef shop. When I was 57.

The Keys is fun diving, even for beginners, if you're with a group like the folks at Rainbow Reef. Good shops will separate the experienced divers from the newbies, before you get on the boat. There were dive trips they were taking that I wasn't allowed on (wreck dives to 100 feet, and being a new OW diver, I wasn't ready for that). The only thing to be aware of is that in early March, there can be days where they won't go out as the waves and wind can get pretty busy. Later March and early April it gets better.

Have fun, and don't sweat it, you'll be fine.

 

[Charles2]

Although I was first certified at age 18, I am 67 now. I have enjoyed every dive I have ever been on, especially those that introduced someone like you guys to scuba. You will find that same attitude on most of the boats you get on. Just be honest with everyone about your concerns and they will be more than glad to help.

My hair has been white for quite some time now and as a result, a lot of the divers on the boat with me, especially the deck hands, want to provide 'extra help' when I climb the ladder. I don't complain, one of these days I may really need it. But this kind of help serves as an example of how much everyone seems to want you to enjoy diving.

 

[MarkinMO]

Hi Cap'n,

Gee, when I read your post, I almost thought you had been reading my mind! My wife and I were certified in June 2014, but have done only fresh water lake dives since then. But...we are heading to the Caribbean soon for two weeks. This will be on a cruise, but we have several scuba trips scheduled. Our first ocean dive, though, will be a shore dive in St. Thomas. We hooked up with a LDS there and arranged a guided dive from the shore. We can then do additional shore dives on our own. We figured this would give us some low-pressure time to practice our skills and get comfortable with our equipment before we set out on some boat dives. We are also in the "old fart" category, since we're both closer to 60 than 50! But, age is a mind over matter thing...if you don't mind, it don't matter. We do everything together, and scuba diving has opened up a whole new chapter of adventures for us...and hopefully for you too!

We do plan to head down to our LDS and spend some pool time before heading out to sea. That is really our only option at this time of year. Local lakes are just too darn cold now. The way I figure it though, any time in the water with your equipment is time well spent (and certainly more fun than shoveling snow). Good Luck on your adventures!

Mark