50+ year old divers

[rainmaker]

I'm 62, been diving about 5 years. Got my Rescue cert a few days before my 60th birthday, and just got my Solo cert from SDI a few weeks ago.

I'm building my retirement around diving, and in the future I hope to spend a good part of my winters in the Caribbean. This year, it looks like Cozumel.

May - October will usually find me at the diver's ramp at Lake Jocassee, SC at least one day per week. Lake Jocassee is not where I got certified, but it's where I learned to dive.

 

[protohuman]

I am 62. One of my local dive buddies is 73 and one is 75. We dive together for lobster off Delaware.
I live in Northern Virginia. Retired. I dive about once a week until the quarries close for the winter, then about once a month or a little more counting the Chilie Willie and New Years Day dives.
Woodbridge Scuba in Woodbridge, VA is great. I also dive the cenotes with Manuelo's dive shop at the Grand Mayan, Riviera Maya.

 

[amytross]

51 & Single... life begins in your 50's
Minneapolis, MN
Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cozumel for drift diving
SMB, Little Cayman Beach Resort, Adventure Watersports
AOW

 

[kitcarson]

Ha! 51 but who's counting! I was certified at Fantasy Lake Scuba Park in Rolesville, North Carolina. Looks like I'll be doing some diving in Florida Springs and further south in Florida later this year and early next year plus planning a two week trip to Aruba in April 2010. Currently working on Master Diver certifications going into Dive Master/Assistant Instructor soon.

 

[Colorado Fred]

My wife and I are staying over after a tour of Oz for a dive trip aboard the Spirit of Freedom through the Barrier Reef to the Coral Sea islands in January. I'm 70, been diving for twenty years, mostly in the Caribbean, but also New Zealand (Poor Knights Island), Bora Bora, Moorea, Kauai, and Big Island - Hawaii.
Any comments re. the Spirit and the dives there? How is snorkeling for my non-diving wife?
Fred Whitaker
fcwhitaker@comcast.net

 

[richadx]

OK, I am and wanted to see how many more of us are out there.
Where do you live?
Where do you dive?
Favorite dive shop?
Current certification?

65
Live in upstate New York
Dive - Dutch Springs, St. Lawrence, Local lakes
Marsh Scuba & Dutchess Dive
OW, AOW, Nitrox, Wreck, finishing up Rescue, going for divemaster/master diver.

 

[jbrannan]

Hi Rainmaker, I am a certified open water diver (66yrs young) who wants to learn to learn to dive also, how did you do it?

 

[clucero]

I'm 57 from Miami star two years ago I'm recently came Rescue Diver I luke to know wich iis my next step:
Divemaster o Master scuba Diver ?

 

[rainmaker]

Hi Rainmaker, I am a certified open water diver (66yrs young) who wants to learn to learn to dive also, how did you do it?

There's a large resavoir (Lake Jocassee, SC) not far from my house. Being retired, I have far more opportunities to dive than most of the other divers I know. Basically, I started solo diving because I couldn't always find a dive partner when I wanted to go to the lake.

I kept adding redundant gear and gaining experience until I felt that I had enough skills to pass the Scuba Diving International (SDI) Solo Diver course. I took the course in September 2009 and passed without any problems.

Since I passed the Solo course, I'm starting to think about Dive Master again

 

[rainmaker]

I'm 57 from Miami star two years ago I'm recently came Rescue Diver I luke to know wich iis my next step:
Divemaster o Master scuba Diver ?

A Master Scuba Diver is basically a Rescue Diver who has completed 4 or 5 specialty courses (such as Nitrox, Night Diver, Underwater Navigation, Computer Diver, etc.), and who has made a specified number of dives. The requirements vary a bit between certification agencies.

A Dive Master is a dive professional, and the course is much more involved. It requires a lot more time, money and effort, in addition to a medical clearance (your doctor has to sign-off on a form before you can get started).