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GORDON wrote:

TheCatt wrote:

GORDON wrote: Two days of Key Largo, including Easter, and one day off Key West.

So I guess we aren't going to the Bahamas or anything?

Airfare during Spring Break didn't work in the budget.

I thought I was paying airfare?

oh, was that serious? heh. didnt realize

Taking the kid out of the country right now is problematic, anyway. This is fine, we can look again next trip, if you want.

GORDON wrote: oh, was that serious? heh. didnt realize

Yeah, I miss diving. I'm not 100% sure I could get permission, but, hell, why not.

Taking the kid out of the country right now is problematic, anyway. This is fine, we can look again next trip, if you want.

Sure. How old do you have to be to get certified anyway? (Google says 10) I might could bring my daughter, she's old enough. Sadly the other kid is just now 7, so it'd be 3 years before i get automatic approval (me taking both kids = easy win)

10 years old to get certified, but there are official "restrictions" until the kid is 15. Technically my kid can't go below 40 feet, until then... and dive charters could technically enforce that (they don't want to lose their insurance if a kid under 15 goes too deep on a charter and gets hurt)... but the only rule I've ever seen (casually) enforced is 60 feet for "Open Water" divers. I always make it a point to tell them my kid is (10/11/12) before we get on the boat, to make sure there are no misunderstandings before we go out to the reef/wreck. SO far no issues, we just keep it shallower than 60.

My kid went to 70 last year, in a FLorida spring. There aren't any scuba police down there.

The only issue I had with him when he was 10 is that he had very little body mass, and couldn't hold heat. He got blue lips very fast, even in a 75 degree pool. Other than that, it was a child working up the courage to go against instinct and to put his face in the water and pull himself down the chain to the 20' platform. That took him about 10 minutes, learning to clear his ears, deal with the cold (I want to say the water was about 65 degrees that day), etc. AFter that first time, though, no problems.

And, kids under 15 need the parent or official guardian as a dive partner. No idea what happens if one parent is diving with 2 kids under 15. Something to consider.

GORDON wrote: And, kids under 15 need the parent or official guardian as a dive partner. No idea what happens if one parent is diving with 2 kids under 15. Something to consider.

Ah, good point. Well, I could always pitch it as a beach trip for them, and a diving trip for me and the oldest.

Third year of diving, and I just ordered his 3rd wetsuit, he keeps growing out of them. $120 every time. Another 3mm suit for FLorida, but this year I also got him a cheap "shark skin" which is basically a <1mm suit, that he can wear under the 3mm.

1. It helps the 3mm suit slide on easier.
2. It's an extra thin layer, for warmth. He still gets cold in the 72 degree springs, which we are hitting before and after the Keys.

The oldest is skin + bones, so she'll probably need something like that as well. Thanks for the heads up

And I've only ever found one company selling child-size wetsuts in 3/5/7mm.... baresports.com.

So far, the Bare sizing charts have been accurate, unlike the shark skin from a chinese company in which I had to send the first one back, and get one 2 sizes larger than their chart suggested.

If I had to do it over again, and if money were less of an object, I'd probably have gotten my kid a 5mm suit, when he was 10. It's more expensive and he'd still have outgrown it within 6 months, but he'd have been more comfortable in a 72 degree Spring.

I'd even suggest some 5mm gloves, for a 10yo in 72 degrees.

GORDON wrote: If I had to do it over again, and if money were less of an object, I'd probably have gotten my kid a 5mm suit, when he was 10. It's more expensive and he'd still have outgrown it within 6 months, but he'd have been more comfortable in a 72 degree Spring.

I'd even suggest some 5mm gloves, for a 10yo in 72 degrees.

My wife says I have to wait until the oldest is 12. Which is 14 months away.

Which isn't unreasonable.

GORDON wrote: Which isn't unreasonable.

Yeah, I didn't argue. The 10 year old does get skittish, she's got some anxiety/ADD stuff going on, so it can take her a while to overcome fears, and get used to new situations/routines. She has to do something over + over again to get comfortable with it, etc.

10 is pretty young. As a parent you have a lot more anxiety than you would starting at 12. Also the kid is a little stronger, and the scuba gear is less of a percentage of the kid's total body weight.

Diving at the zoo today, I forced myself to get back on the schedule.

Glad I did. Sharks put things in perspective. I made some kids smile. Feeling more centered.

Good for you!

I'm struggling lately. Wife has been sick lately, makes life hard.

I didn't want to do both dives. Wanted to ease back into it, do an easy tend for the first dive, grab a light lunch, chill a bit... but they were short another diver, and they asked me to fill in. So of course.

Was a good thing. Sometimes you have to force yourself out of a rut.

Sick, or SICK?

SIck, maybe? She's had an autoimmune thing for years, and it recently started attacking her liver, and she's tired a lot, so I'm having to do more on top of work, etc. She's probably not dying, according to doctors. But they also dont know what's going on.

That is really shitty. My thing was autoimmune, too, and that sucks. It's bullshit. Hope it goes ok.