My teen daughter is going to Cay Sal Bank Bahamas

Hi All or anyone,

My daughter just got certified in Northern California with her father. It's the first level of certification. Anyway, they signed up with Nekton for a Bahama trip. They are going to Cay Sal Bank for "wall/hole diving". Needless to say, the only diving my daughter (just turned 14) and her father have done is the certification dives.

During this trip, they are going to take advanced diving training so they can do a deep water dive. This is what worries me. I think beginners, (especially my daughter) have no business jumping into this type of advanced diving. I picture her doing dives no deeper than 60 feet in a sheltered reef. I am getting mixed messages. I have a friend that dives in San Diego and he says there is no way he would ever let his kids dive in that kind of environment. He says its too risky and there is no purpose. My daughter's father says they will go slow and take no risks. The father says he told the Nekton people of their beginner status and our daughters age, and the response from Nekton is "no worries. We will take care of you. "

Am I being over-protective? I know very little about diving, but i do know if requires loads of common sense and a cool head; something teens don't necessarily possess. Or is my friend my San Diego giving me good advice?
Thanks to anyone that can advise.

inform yourself.

Your daughter should be limited to no deeper than 60ft for now. She is a beginner and a junior diver.

Upon completion of "advanced" training, a junior diver should still be limited to a maximum depth of 70ft.

Trust your daughter to dive within the limitations of her training, and be sure to tell her that she has every right to call any dive at any for any reasons with no second guessing.

From another Instructor, I second Drews answer. Very well put Drew.

Scott

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...
inform yourself.


Upon completion of "advanced" training, a junior diver should still be limited to a maximum depth of 70ft.

Click to expand...

Where did the 70ft depth come from? Is it a PADI thing?

A Junior diver is one who is under 15, according to PADI. My son is 14.9 yrs old, and I can't see his maturity level changing much between 14.9 and 15 (he is eligible for regular OW, not Junior, at 15). At that time, it is my understanding that 130 is the depth limit. (in my fuzzy brain, that is...heh)



Just curious...

Where did the 70ft depth come from? Is it a PADI thing?

Click to expand...

Yes, this is the depth limit after PADI AOW certification for junior divers. Adult AOW:s can dive to 100 feet. PADI Deep Divers to 130 feet.

Other agencies have similar recreational depth limits. PADI:s is a bit more liberal re. junior diving than many other agencies.

ppark001, there's a related recent thread on the Dr Deco section of this board which might be of use:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t31887/s.html

Be sure to check out DocIntrepid's reply which is much the same as Drew's excellent response above.

EDIT: typo

The crew of the Nekton is extremely safety oriented and they check everyone's computers to ensure no one is violating the recreational diving limits.

The "holes" are just great big huge round walls that are very easy to dive. I thought the best dives on that itinerary were the shallow reefs, not the walls per se.

We had a 16 yr old with us on that itinerary and he had the time of his life!

I'm sure she will have an excellent dive vacation and will come home a very seasoned young diver.

I'm currently 14 and will be 15 in a month.

The max depth for a Jr Adv Open Water Diver is 70 ft. If I'm right though..once you turn 15 you are consider a Adv open Water Diver and can dive to 100 ft.

I hope this helps.

Thanks All who replied to my Mom anxiety. I sent all these responses to my daughter's dad and it started him really thinking about the subject. He and I are both much more informed and feel better about my daughter diving.

He is going to stick to no deeper than 60 feet and ask the dive masters to arrange safe beginner level dives for them. I think that will, in the long run, give my daughter more confidence so one day she can call herself an expert.

Thanks again!

Paula

Stingray81888 once bubbled...
I'm currently 14 and will be 15 in a month.

The max depth for a Jr Adv Open Water Diver is 70 ft. If I'm right though..once you turn 15 you are consider a Adv open Water Diver and can dive to 100 ft.

I hope this helps.

Click to expand...

The depth restriction is based upon age. Upon reaching age 15, junior certifications through PADI automatically "become" regular adult certifications. If the junior diver really wants new c-card without the "JR" designation, they can either take another class, or get a dive shop to help them get an updated c-card.

Thanks for the info Drew