Taking My Grandson on his First Dive

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Peter Guy

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Scuba Instructor
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Location
Olympia, WA
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Almost my whole family is here on Maui to help my Dad celebrate his 95th Birthday. There are 4 generations including my two grandsons -- one of whom is 10 and has wanted to try scuba diving. My wife is a DM and I'm an Instructor (PADI) so we thought we'd give it a shot -- and that would mean that all 4 generations have done some Scuba. (I started the trend in 1967, my dad followed a month or two later and others joined in over the years.)

Friday was the Pool Discover Scuba Experience -- there we were in a pool with a max depth of 5 feet -- getting him exposed to blowing bubbles. After 30+ minutes he was feeling pretty comfortable and ready to go across the street into the Pacific Ocean.

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Saturday he woke up early (or so his mother said) and was bouncing around their condo -- finally at 7:45 she called and begged me to get going. He came over and helped get the gear to the car and off we went to Polo Beach (my first choice of beaches is closed) where we got a close parking spot (good omen).

Lynne and I got the gear together and took his down to the beach. We went back to the car and then geared up ourselves, grabbed the camera and headed back down. OMG, there were WAVES -- at least 100 feet or more crashing onto the sand (OK, hey, we are from Seattle and the only waves we get are from the Ferries so maybe they weren't any bigger than 24 inches top to bottom -- but they looked huge). We get Matt geared up and watch as Lynne struggles through the massive surf. Matt and I look at each other and walk in.

He gets his fins on and starts floating out to join Grandma -- I'm right after him. (Note, a wonderful stranger helps Matt by carrying his fins into the water for him and gives him lots of encouragement -- Thank you Robin wherever you might be.)

We do a buddy check and swim off to where I think we might find some reef -- then we drop.

OK -- this is a DSD experience dive and the one thing Matt wants to see is a turtle -- and no, we didn't drop on one.

But we did drop on a Moray wrapped in a coral head which Matt gets to see as his almost very first underwater critter. We then wander around looking at critters, looking at shells, having him point out this, that and the other thing. The dive is going great.

We turn the dive when he hits 1500 psi and head back -- no turtles but a fair amount of critters and things for him to see. Lynne has been busy taking pictures and video -- Matt tries to match my "DIR ATP" (DIR Assume the Position -- knees bent, butt clenched, arms out and crossed!) and does a pretty good job of it.

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We are back to about 14 feet and he is approaching 800 psi, the dive is about over -- and then he sees the TURTLE. He squeals, taps me and shows me the Turtle as it slowly swims around about 3 feet in front of us, and then heads off to where we've been. I'd like to say Matt just stayed right there but, truth be told, his breathing got the better of him and up he want a foot or two while he watched his beloved turtle swim by. Not even Disney would have scripted the dive with that ending.

What could I do to top that? We slowly went to the surface and then casually swam back to shore.

This really was a dive too trite for Hollywood -- and one I'll cherish the rest of my life.

[Note -- Matt's mother "invited" him to come over to our condo so that his little brother could have some peace and quiet. He has been sitting on the sofa with me while I write this -- but now he's crashed and sound asleep. Being a grandparent isn't a bad gig.]
 

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Your grandson looks to be comfortable and have pretty good buoyancy for the first dive in the open water. I remember my "discover" scuba in Cuba, where they didn't even teach us to look at our pressure gauges and all that safety stuff. Good thing that your grandson has a great teacher. Seems like he'll want to continue diving, especially after seeing that turtle.
 
Wonderful experience for you, I'm sure. Look forward to diving with my granddaughter in 8 more years!
 
Really looking forward to taking my 10-year old granddaughter diving this October in the Bahamas. Mild trepidation as a former instructor that would not teach kids under 14, but we are bringing along her current instructor. Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, 2 Great Uncles and a Great Aunt will be there to be part of the dive experience. Can't wait. Thanks for the great story and looking forward to posting an equally exciting adventure later this year.
 
Great job on getting him hooked!
 
Great story, thanks for sharing. My wife and I dive Maui often, and there are some great locations for DSD experiences. I enjoyed a similar experience taking a friend's daughter ( then age 14) on a DSD experience at Black Rock. What a wonderful family time you had. It's great to read a family centered, scuba focused, totally positive report!
DivemasterDennis
 
Nice story. He does look to have good form for a first dive. Actually it looks like better form than 90% of most newly certified divers. Glad he had fun and got to see a turtle and glad the two of you had such of good time bringing him that experience.
 
My grandson turns 10 in November. I am looking forward to the chance to work with him. He has already had a Bubblemaker experience and did well. Your report makes me anxious to start.
 
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