Back to diving after 15 years

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Mike126

Contributor
Messages
401
Reaction score
46
Location
Herndon VA
I'm thinking about getting back into diving after a 15 year hiatus. After lerking here for a while and looking at all of the good information I thought I'd officially register.

The reason I'm getting back into diving is that I miss the sport. My wife never liked to dive so going on dive vacations became a little difficult. Also, we have twin boys that just turned 7. Which is also one of the reasons why I want to get back into the sport. They seem to have a love of the ocean and have expressed interest in diving. I know they are a few years off before that can happen but snorkling is definately an option now.

I have equipment that dates back to 1986, last dove in 1991. I took very good care of it. It includes: Sherwood Freedom BC, Dacor 960 XLE, Sherwood analog gauges, Tusa mask, Mares fins.

The fins are in great shape. The mask's silicon has discolored but otherwise in great shape. The BC is also in great shape and does not appear to have any leaks. The Dacor is discontinued so I guess new parts are not an option and therefore is a nice paper weight. I'm not sure about the guages. They look to be in good shape.

I was going to have the BC and guages checked at a local shop. Is it unreasonable to think that they would be usable after being stored and not used for so long? How about the mask and fins?

Also for a replacement regulator, any recommendations without blowing the budget? I'm assuming the industry has made some significant improvements over the years.

Finally, any advice for getting kids into the sport? When is a good age?

And yes, I WILL be taking a refresher course to get me back into safe diving.

Thanks for all your help. I can't wait to get into the water....

Mike
 
I would recommend getting a dive computer. I also got certified in 1985. I dove from 85-89 and took a hiatus until 99. The biggest change is that dive computers are now relatively inexpensive, common place and not exotic like they used to be. I have a suunto cobra air integrated with the optional download interface for my PC. I love logging my dives on the computer that way.

Good Luck!
 
Welcome back. Always good to welcome someone back to the fold.

Equipment - Yes changes have been made since '86 but nothing earth shattering. In my estimation the biggest changes have been to quality and reliability. Although weight integrated BC's are something new since then.

As to brands, I am an Aqualung (US Divers) fan. That said to show my bias, I think there are any number of good manufactureres available.

My advice would be to find an LDS that feels comfortable to you. Interview them as if you are hiring them as an employee, which you are. Talk with them about your desires and needs, types of diving, certification requirements/schedules. Don't allow them to pressure you into anything, training or equipment. Ensure they have some sort of 'try before you buy' option. If you rent gear will the rental fee or a potion of it apply to purchases. Try to find an LDS that carries more than one manufacturer and try as many models from each that you can that fit the type of diving you will be doing and see yourself/family doing in the future.

I believe it is more important that you and your family be safe, comfortable, confident and happy with the training and gear you choose rather than push you into something just because I like it or sell it. A good instructor is your best 'purchase' you can make for feeling good about diving.

Getting your kids into diving. I have twin daughters, 11 years old. They have been snorkeling since about 5 and some plying around on snuba/scuba since 9. Nothing over 12' deep.

PADI has the SEAL Team and Bubblemaker programs that starts at age 8. This gets the kids into a pool, learning the equipment, skills, practicing buoyancy and creative "Aqua Missions" in a controlled environment.

HOWEVER!!!!! There is still much controversy as to the effects of pressure, nitrogen absorbtion and general effect on diving as it pertains to growing children! I personally have opted for extremely limited exposure for my kids to the scuba/snuba experiences. Their total bottom time is about 1 1/2 hours over the course of 2 1/2 years.

Snorkeling is a non issue as long as they are instructed properly, continually supervised and don't go pushing the limits. If you can figure on not providing weights and inflate their BC's to keep them on the surface, then scuba/snuba may be acceptable.

You, as the parent, must make the final decision as to when your kids start diving. Don't forget the emotional maturity aspect either. Some kids may be responsible at age 10, other not until 16, 18, 21 or never.

I choose to err on the side of caution.

Where are you located?

I hope this helps.

P.S. Dive computers - I would recommend holding off on this purchase. I do like them, but always recommend that new/returning divers get familiar and competant with tables and calculating their dive plans/profiles before getting a computer. Even after buying a computer, DO NOT GIVE UP ON TABLES! If your computer dies during a dive, you still need to know your profile!
 
Jerry - Thanks for all of the advice. I agree that tables are far more conservative and for me I feel safer. I'm not or never was an aggressive diver. I never felt comfortable or a need to go deeper than 60 - 70 feet.

I'll look into the PADI programs for the kids and keep them into snorkeling. Even if they do get into scuba I'd likely not start until at least 11 or 12 and very shallow dives (20 foot range).

In the mean time I'll take the refresher class and read up on equipment and safety.

I'm in the Northern VA area (Herndon / Reston) and would likely dive down at VA Beach or if I can in the Carribean.

Thanks, Mike
 
I had a similiar experience last year after starting to dive in 1987 and only making about 10 dives between 1991 and 2005. I took an equipment specialty class and Nitrox class to get up to speed on some of the more recent changes to the sport.
Biggest differences that I could see were the addition of computers as almost standard gear and the improvments in the technical diving areas. Technical diving was also a new term to me.
I think wet suit materials have improved since the 80's. Steel tanks seem to be more common now then when I started and backplate w. straps (BP/W) have also become popular.
I would check out some the new manufactuers in the field that also sell Technical gear. There is some neat stuff out now.
Good luck and welcome back.
 
My 6 and 5 year olds are learning to snorkel. They are quite comfortable floating on the surface with a snorkel, and I've begun explaining the mechanics of diving down while snorkeling. I also picked up a set of double 10ft3 tanks, to make a nice, stable SASY unit for them. This gives them the feeling of using scuba equipment without allowing them to descend, and thus chance pressure related issues.
In addition to a refresher course, find a pool to start practising in. A lot of colleges will allow the public to use their pool. If your regulator is still functional, you can rent(or buy) a tank, and practice in the pool in safety.
 
Welcome back to Diving,
I to took some time off as my kids were growing and am now getting them involed in it son certified last year at 16 and my daughter is 13 and right now going through the class. I just dove today with my son and it is a great experiance to enjoy!
As with the new equipment the computers are great and are more consrevite than the tables, but you are not required to dive a square profile that the tables are set up to do. The weight intergrated BC's are fantastic and will never go back to a weight belt love steel tanks but always have and I recommend regs from LDS for the warranty as you will likely spend as much in service for the in the next couple of years as you would on a good set of regs. I think that the largest thing that has changed though is the internet and the ability to converse with other divers as to equipment, dive sites and safety. Hope you will find that education is the best thing you can do for yourself and your kids when they start diving. Have Fun
 
I dropped out of instructing from about 1988 to 1998 when my kids were little. It's so hard to do other things when they are young. At one point in that 10 year hiattus, I only did 2 dives in an entire year...That's when I said wait a minute....gotta change my priorities...mowing the lawn on the weekend was no longer a priority. Bought a bought and resumed my active diving.
 
Hello: I was certified in 1984, dove a bit and then quit. The bug hit again a few months ago and I decided to take the course again. My original certification was PADI and I just finished going through the classes and OW dives again, this time SSI. There were a couple of new ideas, but like many before me have mentioned, the dive computer is the biggest change since my original class. I have decided to get new gear and am buying new stuff a bit at a time. You might be interested in trying some of the split fins. They really do make a difference, especially for this older guy. Good luck and welcome back.

Mike
 
Welcome back to diving Mike!

I also found myself diving less and less due to job schedules (not just mine, but my dive buddies as well) and money issues, plus after diving Travis and local sites for years, then diving blue water frequently for a while I found myself unable to get to blue water for diving and unwilling to dive 'just because' in local centex dive spots. Over past five or six years I was lucky to average a dive every nine or ten months, usually because a friend was re-anchoring docks in travis, or had dropped something overboard.

But dad took me and bro to Coz' for last Christmas, and we all had a great dive trip, all were previously certified, but I was only one actually diving in last decade, limited as mine was. Inspired me to update equipment and actually to find new job to support my renewed 'addiction' :D

And my renewed interest has inspired 4 other friends, one a long time dive buddy from way back, the others good friends who had learned and certified(apparently scuba course was good way to bump GPA up and still have fun, kinda college credit for going to lake :) )but had not done much diving past that, or vacation diving only , to get back into diving also. Of course, so far we have all done our new diving separately because of schedules, but hope to get together at lake with several of them before end of summer.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom