Posted by Jim Hoffmann on January 03, 2002 at 10:40:12:
Last weekend I had a class at my favorite dive beach. Like most divers I was watching other divers (looking at their equipment, watching their entry and exits… I always like watching entry and exits, it’s almost as fun as watching people at a boat launch ramp on a Sunday afternoon).
We didn’t have any surf at Divers last weekend so there were only a few problems in the surf line. I was watching a father and son team come down the stairway. Dad was about 6ft. and 230lb. the boy was maybe 4 ft. and all of 60lb.(the boy looked very young). Both were in full scuba, ¼ suits, hoods, gloves, the boy with a 50 Al tank and dad with a steel 100. They survived the entry and started their surface swim, I watched as the alongshore pulled them down the beach away from the dive areas. And then I watched as the father started to tow the boy, back to the beach. I helped them out of the surf line. The boy had called the dive because he said he was to cold (he looked relieved to be back on shore, they were only out a few minutes).
I found out that the boy was 10 years old and had just finished his dive class (PADI or SSI?).
Did the boy call the dive because he was to cold? I don’t think so; people find all kinds of reasons to call dives (to save face). The boy was scared, he was wearing scuba equipment that weighed more then he did (he could barely stand). He was going into the surf line that was blowing him around like a leaf in a wind storm. He was not strong enough to swim against the current. The boy, at lest was smart enough to call the dive, dad should have known better.
PADI and SSI should be ashamed for having standards that let 8,9,10, 11, year old children dive. These are little kids, they should be playing with their army men, or their Barbie dolls not going into a Hazardous Environment.
Jim Hoffmann
Scuba Toys
NAUI 5888
PADI 6301