Good place for 75 YO diver to refresh skills?

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JohnCollins

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #1

My dad was certified in the mid-70's, but his last dive trip was with me in Grand Cayman in 1989, I think. Now Dad is in his mid-70's, although still in good shape. He is not overweight, he jogs 3-4 days per week and does some moderate strength training. Other than normal "old age creakiness" (to which I am increasingly subject my own self ), he's in fine condition.

I'd like to talk him into a nice easy place to dive mostly 30-60 feet with good vis and little or no currents so he can brush up his skills, but which also has a decent wall nearby, again with little or no current so we can do a 60-80 or 90 type wall dive on the third or fourth day.

Good location suggestions? Thanks.

 

Lead_carrier

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #2

Personally, I think he needs to go to a local dive shop and take a refresher course with some pool time before he tries doing a "refresher" dive at 30-60 feet. If he hasn't been in the water in over 12 years then I'm sure a few of his basic skills are a bit rusty. It would be better to find this out in a pool rather than at depth.

 

saltwater taffy

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #3

Hi there,
I think that it is great that your Dad is wanting to update his skills. I would give the Florida Keys a thumbs up for easy diving.

 

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #4

My favorite has always been Grand Cayman.
From your description, its pretty much is what you're looking for. Wall diving, some shallower stuff, and you can hit alot of it from shore.
I went to Freeport a few months ago, they have some shallow dives that they take the discover scuba students, it's < 20' and some deeper dives 40-90', but no walls. It might be a good choice for a warm up dive and it doesn't take too long to get there from PHL. It's all boat diving there.
GL getting the creaky old guy back in the water.
Cjh

 

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JohnCollins

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #5

I just did it and I'm a big believer in it. But after that, I'd like some easy, no-stress diving. Florida Keys sound pretty good and do remember GC being good, too. I've not been to Florida, I learned to dive in Asia. Any Florida specific suggestions, or is it all good?

Dumb question -- where's Freeport?

Thanks.

 

The Chairman

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #6

Have them take you to Molasses Reef. Gorgeous stuff, shallow and most importantly it's INTERESTING & FUN. Then do the Christ of the abyss (don't hug the statue) at the only marine National Park in the continental US.

The best part? Most of the dive operators down there have lost the "DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!" mentality and have replaced it with "the pool's open" one. That is worth it's weight in gold for fun, leisurely diving.

 

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #7

NetDoc once bubbled...
Have them take you to Molasses Reef. Gorgeous stuff, shallow and most importantly it's INTERESTING & FUN. Then do the Christ of the abyss (don't hug the statue) at the only marine National Park in the continental US.

I think the waters of the keys have a Marine Sanctuary designation and are administered by NOAA, not Interior Dept-Nat'l Parks. Biscayne and Tortugas are National Parks administered by Interior Department.

Click to expand...

 

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Clutchcargo

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• Aug 7, 2003

• #8

Dumb question -- where's Freeport?

Click to expand...

,
Doh, I guess there's a few Freeports, Freeport is in Grand Bahama Island.