11 yr old diving in Grand Cayman????

[jac21760]

Our son is certified to dive and wants to in Grand Cayman but the excursiions say he must be 12 yrs old......does anyone know if this is really true.....do they check their age???

[cmdchiefthom]

The first question is simple. Who is diving with him? He is a certified Junior diver with what agency? An adult has to dive with him, no matter what. How many dives does he have and where has he dived.

 

Now please don't get me wrong, most kids take to diving like fleas to a hound. What you must understand is the liability issue. As good a diver as you son may be, the adult with diving with him is responsible.

 

As bad as this might seem for his ego, I'd contact a dive operator such as Eden Rock and pre arrange with them. Their shop is just three blocks to the left of the tender dock. Tell them about your situation. I'm sure they can work something out.

[Gonz]

It might be a better bet to go with one of the operators on the island that are not with the ship. Do a google search for grand cayman dive shops, or visit scubaboard.com for info on some local operators. If you email them and ask I'm sure they can accomodate you.

[ebedore]

I took my two kids in diving Grand Cayman August 2004. We used Neptunes Divers. Casey was terrrific for us. With little experience, my kids were guided and well supervised. Casey guided us and we thoroughly enjoyed her professionalism. The kids had little experience and she was PERFECT for us. The son was 11 1/2 and the daughter was 15 at the time. It was great.

 

You take a taxi to 7 mile beach, meet up in one of the shelters with other divers and they pull the boat up to beach and brief you. You'll have the waivers to sign and then you head out for the dive. Come up for surface time and dive again. We brought our own equipment and they brought the air and weights. You can have them bring full gear if you rent it and tell them your sizes.

 

Have fun!!!

[infopaul]

If your child is a Padi Diver:

 

If in fact that your child is a Junior Open Water Diver age 10 or 11 after certification he must dive with a parent, guardian or a Padi Professional. Dives must not exceed 12 metres/ 40 feet.

 

If he is a Junior Scuba Diver age 10 or 11 after certification he must dive with a Padi Professional. Dives must not exceed 12 metres/ 40 feet.

 

Yes, the dive excursion can set any requirements they deem fit for their own liability. A dive operator may also envoke this same priviledge.

 

Do not circumvent his age restriction or the requirement for his needed supervision. It's not worth the risk, and you would be taking a BIG risk.

 

If you must:

 

My suggestion to you is find a REPUTABLE DIVE OPERATOR who has under Padi guidelines minimally a Divemaster/ Certified Assistant who is willing to make a "discover local diving" tour with your son with his experience level.

 

IMO:

 

Grand Cayman is'nt the place to let your child go on a ship dive excursion. Current can be swift and the Wall Dive can be deceiving when it comes to watching your depth. A dive here is typically 90 feet. As a Padi Inst. and having dove here many times, I've seen strong swimmers with more experience and skill need assistance...Paul:)