How old were you?

[Goose75]

When I started this thread, I thought some would give me heat about putting a tank on an 8 year old. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

There are no laws on age (in the US at least) unless your local authorities have one. The agencies chose the age limitations for their own instructional and liability concerns.

 

[creamofwheat]

I discovered the joys of snorkelling when i was visiting Hawaii when i was about 8 years old. from then on, i always *wanted* to dive but i never got around to it until just this past november at the age of 21.

 

[jeckyll]

34

 

[narcT]

NAUI cert at 14.

 

[Nemrod]

I was 12, have been involved in diving all my life, sometimes some dry spells but never far from my mind. Unfortunately I have other non diving interests (like airplanes, fast motorcycles and my wife and dogs) so sometimes diving is not priority number one. N

 

[Green_Manelishi]

my first mask http://www.green-manelishi.com/main/diving/images/mask.jpg
It's an old, very tiny, very scratched, "Calypso".

 

[friscuba]

Literally my 2nd memory (first one was playing with clay) in my life was seeing a kid in a wading pool wearing a frogman suit - I wanted to be one ever since. That was back in Columbus Ohio and we moved out of there when I was 2.

I can't recall when I first put on a mask and fins, but I suspect it was about the 4th or 5th grade in a swimming pool. My first actual snorkeling was on a trip to Hawaii following the 7th grade.

Did a bunch of snorkeling and an "intro" dive (involved whatching a set of twins from New Jersey, who had no business being in the water, cough hack and spit) in Hawaii when I was 24, They pretty much ran through thier air without ever getting down so I got maybe a 3 minute dive to 18 feet. Got busy after that and never went anywher for several years and later was certified in my late thirties. Been diving like mad ever since.

 

[RumBum]

Never wore a snorkle or fins till my OW class at age 26.

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

I was taught how to swim at 18 months old. I received my first set of snorkeling equipment when I was four and swam around with my mom on a trip to the Florida Keys while my (step) dad and older siblings caught lobster. Ever since I was 18 months old, I was hooked on being in the water. Thankfully, my (biological) dad had a house on the beach so I grew up swimming against a current and was never afraid of sharks (although I maintain a healthy respect for them). I finally earned my certification this past September while on R&R back home. It was the best two weeks I have had in the past 4+ years of active duty. Currently, I am reduced to only reading about diving and making posts here on the boards but that will all change soon when I get back to the good ol' U.S. of A.

 

[BurBunny]

Let's see, grew up listening to my mother's stories about diving off Wake Island in the 60s, started snorkeling at 7, used a regulator for the first time at 10 (we were living in Hawaii at the time and a couple avid divers in my complex thought it would be fun to put scuba gear on me and take me out - they were right!). Dove on and off with friends through my early 20s (bumming tanks and rigs), took a few years off for health issues, then officially certified at 36.