Unfair if we lower dive age

THERE is a very good reason why the minimum age for diving in Queensland should not be lowered from 12 to 10 years of age, other than safety concerns. It is unfair to older divers. A few weeks ago, I paid nearly $200 to go diving on the outer Reef with a Cairns dive operator.

Certified divers are usually paired with a diving buddy, but as I was on my own, I was asked to join a group of four, including an instructor and a British family of three.

The family had a 10-12 year-old boy with them, who had been certified overseas. But, just as a precaution, the instructor insisted on all four of us go through all the basics of diving.

Now, that was fair enough, particularly after the spate of diving and snorkelling deaths we’ve had on the Great Barrier Reef in the past 12 months.

However, it became annoying that 40 minutes out of my 50-minute dive on the Great Barrier Reef was taken up by having to relearn how to dive again, even though I have been diving for more than 20 years.

Adding insult to injury, the child had all kinds of issues with his buoyancy and equalising.

I didn’t get to actually swim anywhere, as a majority of the time was spent alternating between hovering underwater and resurfacing, waiting for the instructor to sort the child out.

If the minimum diving age is lowered, you can see this sort of thing happening to others.

For tourists who spend thousands of dollars to visit the Reef, losing valuable diving time just because a member of your group is too inexperienced, can leave a sour taste. Daniel Bateman daniel.bateman@news.com.au