# Any scuba divers here?



## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

wonder how many of you are scuba certified. I got certified when I was 10 and when on my first open water dive for my 11th birthday. now I am going in 3 weeks and just turned 13. Hope to see some more spider crabs and eels. also saw a couple of barracuda, they were looking at me funny. And lots of nurse sharks and lobsters.


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## ddillman (Mar 11, 2021)

I am not scuba certified but went once in Hawaii with an instructor. It was an awesome experience. I think it is great you can do it at your age. Keep it up


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

ddillman said:


> I am not scuba certified but went once in Hawaii with an instructor. It was an awesome experience. I think it is great you can do it at your age. Keep it up


getting certified in 50-degree water was not fun. still cold in a 7 mill wet suit. the tank and suit weigh as much as mine, so it is even better


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## Steve-F (Mar 11, 2021)

I was certified in 1970 and did my certification dive at Catalina island  Good for you getting yours!!!


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## savarin (Mar 11, 2021)

Congratulations you are one lucky lad.
I was for many years and many years ago and still miss it intensly .
Most of my diving was out in the Med and when we came to Oz obviously did a fair bit on the barrier reef.
Diving is fantastic and will leave heaps of memories.
When I started it was twin hose regs, deep dives required a bit of math,  fenzies were just starting to show up here and there but most of us never had one so that shows how long ago.
I am so jealous and wish you all the best.
If you ever get the chance to do some serious snorkeling try to get a solid week in around 2 to 3 hours a day.
By the end of the week you should be able to hit 80 feet with no effort for at least 2 mins. 
Have fun and stay safe.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

savarin said:


> Congratulations you are one lucky lad.
> I was for many years and many years ago and still miss it intensly .
> Most of my diving was out in the Med and when we came to Oz obviously did a fair bit on the barrier reef.
> Diving is fantastic and will leave heaps of memories.
> ...


we normally do snorkeling for 1 to 2 hours on a shallow reef, 4 to 10 feet, and look for fish. this year we will go to ¨fairy land¨, it is one of the best scuba diving spots there.


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## Nogoingback (Mar 11, 2021)

I was certified in 1971 though I stopped a few years later I enjoyed every minute of it.  Have fun diving, but remember
that the most important thing is your safety and the safety of the people you dive with.


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## JPMacG (Mar 11, 2021)

Certified in 1975 in a quarry near Allentown, PA.  Have a few hundred dives, mainly in warm water.  I highly recommend you do some warm water diving - much more enjoyable.  John Pennecamp coral reef state park in Key Largo is really nice and not too expensive to get to.

Now at my age I am reluctant to continue diving.  My last dive was a few years ago in Grand Cayman and another old guy on the boat had a heart attack.  They managed to get him to the surface and air ambulanced him to Florida.  He survived, but just barely.  I can't imagine his medical bill.


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## DavidR8 (Mar 11, 2021)

I missed out on getting certified for free when I was working in Atlanta. A super on the job was a PADI instructor and would do the pool work in his pool and then go to Savannah to do the open water. Still kicking myself...


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

JPMacG said:


> Certified in 1975 in a quarry near Allentown, PA.  Have a few hundred dives, mainly in warm water.  I highly recommend you do some warm water diving - much more enjoyable.  John Pennecamp coral reef state park in Key Largo is really nice and not too expensive to get to.
> 
> Now at my age I am reluctant to continue diving.  My last dive was a few years ago in Grand Cayman and another old guy on the boat had a heart attack.  They managed to get him to the surface and air ambulanced him to Florida.  He survived, but just barely.  I can't imagine his medical bill.


I think you mean dutch springs. visibility was 3 feet and cold. warm water is much better


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## dirty tools (Mar 11, 2021)

NAUI SCUBA diver certification October 1968
commercial diver certified November 1972
i have dove to many places to list.


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## JPMacG (Mar 11, 2021)

I think it was Dutch Springs.  The dive shop was out of Allentown - Sea Lion dive shop - probably long out of business.   Visibility was not good, but there was nothing to see anyway.   There might have been a sunken car or something.  Things have changed quite a bit since then.  You would laugh if you saw the equipment we used.  Horse collar BCs that you had to fill by mouth, etc.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

JPMacG said:


> I think it was Dutch Springs.  The dive shop was out of Allentown - Sea Lion dive shop - probably long out of business.   Visibility was not good, but there was nothing to see anyway.   There might have been a sunken car or something.  Things have changed quite a bit since then.  You would laugh if you saw the equipment we used.  Horse collar BCs that you had to fill by mouth, etc.


now there is Indian valley scuba. there are a helicopter and planes and a fire truck. for the BCD we would always fill them with your mouths for practice.


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## JPMacG (Mar 11, 2021)

I have been in the Indian Valley shop in Harleysville.  Nice people.  I used to work just a mile or two from there.


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## kvt (Mar 11, 2021)

Open water certified in early 80,  did a bunch in the Gulf of Mex,   Then HI,  Miss it much, but would have a hard time lifting the gear anymore.   Almost all of mine was from the beach, so had to carry everything down to the water.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 11, 2021)

JPMacG said:


> I have been in the Indian Valley shop in Harleysville.  Nice people.  I used to work just a mile or two from there.


it is the place I got certified. some of the nicest people I know.


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## Daffy (Mar 11, 2021)

Have snorkeled many places in the Caribbean, several resorts I've stayed at offered free training and diving, I would really like to do it but my conscience keeps telling me I already have too many expensive hobbies..


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## Aukai (Mar 11, 2021)

Yes, and also remember, no scuba before flying.


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## aliva (Mar 11, 2021)

I was certified over 40 years ago, dove for a few years until i could find a partner. Finally gave it up just after I was chased out of the water by a couple of sharks in Acapulco. Wasn't sure who was more afraid me or the sharks, I didn't ask


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## eugene13 (Mar 11, 2021)

Something I've always wanted to do, I snorkeled a bit when I was a kid living in Costa Mesa CA, and I never missed and episode of "Sea Hunt".  I did get to try an Aquanaut, the compressor floated on an inner tube and it had two masks and hoses.  I couldn't go very deep because the pressure hurt my ears.


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## mksj (Mar 11, 2021)

Certified in 1970 in the bay area, PADI, NAUI and more recently Nitrox. Was 120 lbs on my certification dives, would come out of the water blue most of time and the dives had minimal visibility quite often up off of Fort Bragg. Know a few friends that lost family member's, and I almost bit the dust diving in Fiji.  First time we went to Palau, they started to implement stricter head count measures and requiring individuals to have sausages, strobes and air horns, they had just lost a party of 6 Japanese divers when they went out in rough sea's and the boat motor went out. They subsequently required twin engine dive boats and often a second boat. Palau and Yap is mostly drift diving, so if you do not get picked up you just continue out to sea. Recent diving on the Great Barrier Reef they have strict head counts and everyone is outfitted with a GPS transponder.

Wife has also been diving for 50+ years and we each probably have 300+ dives, mostly warm water diving and have dived most of the tropical regions in the world but haven't been to the Red Sea or Indian Ocean. Done a number of live aboard 's for 1-2 weeks when we could get away, but these days prefer diving day trips. Through the years we have seen almost all the large sea life disappear, and a lot of crazy divers (and dive trips), I think we have maybe one last dive trip left in us before we bite the dust, maybe try to get out to the Seychelles. I like diving Nitrox, I have noticed a lot less cumulative fatigue when your diving over multiple days. Lots of new fancy gear, but one still needs to know the basics, have common sense and know how to navigate underwater.

Lots of good memories and always met nice people, both divers and locals.


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## Janderso (Mar 11, 2021)

PADI certified Open Water back in 1983.
Certified at Love Point in Monterey, CA.
Yes, cold water ain’t the best.I got spoiled diving warm water in Florida and the Caribbean.
Did some night dives and cliff dives off of the Dominican.
Haven’t dove since.


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## bill70j (Mar 12, 2021)

Peyton Price 17 said:


> wonder how many of you are scuba certified. I got certified when I was 10 and when on my first open water dive for my 11th birthday. now I am going in 3 weeks and just turned 13. Hope to see some more spider crabs and eels. also saw a couple of barracuda, they were looking at me funny. And lots of nurse sharks and lobsters.


Peyton:

Congratulations on your certification and for all the experience you have since gained.  I hope you will stay with diving for many years to come.

I wish I had been certified at a younger age like you.  I waited until 1975, when I got YMCA certified.

Our favorite spot is off the Northern California coast at Fort Ross.  It is cold and many times visibility is limited.  But when conditions are right it offers spectacular marine life and seascape viewing and photography.  I have seen barracuda - and they do kind of stare at you.

We also like to make a sport out of diving.  At Fort Ross we used to free dive for abalone and scuba dive for ling cod.  Nothing better than fresh caught seafood.

Good luck on all your future diving experiences, including the one you have coming up in three weeks.

Bill


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## ACHiPo (Mar 15, 2021)

I got certified (YMCA "gold" lifetime certification is still valid even though the program no longer exists) when I was 16 (I think the youngest back then).  My open water dives were in Indiana rock quarries in a 1/4" wet suit--the "warm" water at the surface was about 70F, but by 10' deep it had dropped to 55 and at the bottom it was below 40F.  Oh and visibility was about 10' if you're lucky.  That's back when I was skinny, so not much natural insulation, either.  I've only dived a few times since college, but made 4 dives in Tahiti in 2019 and it was spectacular.  I look forward to do it again.


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## Janderso (Mar 16, 2021)

ACHiPo said:


> I got certified (YMCA "gold" lifetime certification is still valid even though the program no longer exists) when I was 16 (I think the youngest back then).  My open water dives were in Indiana rock quarries in a 1/4" wet suit--the "warm" water at the surface was about 70F, but by 10' deep it had dropped to 55 and at the bottom it was below 40F.  Oh and visibility was about 10' if you're lucky.  That's back when I was skinny, so not much natural insulation, either.  I've only dived a few times since college, but made 4 dives in Tahiti in 2019 and it was spectacular.  I look forward to do it again.


Evan,
I forgot about the cliff dives and the trip to Cozumel.
In the early 80's much of the reef was dying in the Caribbean that I was exposed to. So sad.
I don't know what it's like today.
I bet Tahiti was spectacular. Warm water and crystal clear.
I dove off Cape Haitian, my first deep dive. I believe we went to 125'. I had a bit of nitrogen narcosis but was able to get the hell out before I did anything stupid. I think I was in the water for less than 10 minutes.


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## ACHiPo (Mar 16, 2021)

Jeff,
My first certified dives in warm water were in Pennekamp State Park in the Florida Keys in 1981.  I remember being awestruck by "frightening" barracuda (who were likely much more frightened of us), hitching a ride on a sea turtle (a definite no-no now), petting a toothless nurse shark, and freaking out when I saw my first moray eel.

I made a few cold water dives during college which were nothing special.

Over the past 40 years I dove (dived?) a few time with divemasters on vacation in Mexico and Hawaii.  Fun dives, but nothing like Tahiti.  What made Tahiti particularly special was when we planned to go diving was not even a consideration.  It was only as I was researching things to do did I discover what a great dive spot it is (and those beautiful pictures in Skindiver magazine came back to me).  Visibility was decent at maybe 70 feet--the winds were high and there was a rainstorm our first night which stirred things up a bit.  One thing that was definitely different was the deeper coral--our average dive depth was about 60' with some forays down to 90+.

I've heard stories of coral bleaching, etc.  I can't really comment.  I know the colors in Tahiti were not as vibrant as I remember in FL, but Pennekamp was at 15-25'.


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## Janderso (Mar 16, 2021)

ACHiPo said:


> I remember being awestruck by "frightening" barracuda


That would make one pucker. Ever done a night dive?
Lots of eye balls staring back at you.
I got into some small jelly fish one time on a night dive. Not fun.


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## ACHiPo (Mar 16, 2021)

mksj said:


> Certified in 1970 in the bay area, PADI, NAUI and more recently Nitrox. Was 120 lbs on my certification dives, would come out of the water blue most of time and the dives had minimal visibility quite often up off of Fort Bragg. Know a few friends that lost family member's, and I almost bit the dust diving in Fiji.  First time we went to Palau, they started to implement stricter head count measures and requiring individuals to have sausages, strobes and air horns, they had just lost a party of 6 Japanese divers when they went out in rough sea's and the boat motor went out. They subsequently required twin engine dive boats and often a second boat. Palau and Yap is mostly drift diving, so if you do not get picked up you just continue out to sea. Recent diving on the Great Barrier Reef they have strict head counts and everyone is outfitted with a GPS transponder.
> 
> Wife has also been diving for 50+ years and we each probably have 300+ dives, mostly warm water diving and have dived most of the tropical regions in the world but haven't been to the Red Sea or Indian Ocean. Done a number of live aboard 's for 1-2 weeks when we could get away, but these days prefer diving day trips. Through the years we have seen almost all the large sea life disappear, and a lot of crazy divers (and dive trips), I think we have maybe one last dive trip left in us before we bite the dust, maybe try to get out to the Seychelles. I like diving Nitrox, I have noticed a lot less cumulative fatigue when your diving over multiple days. Lots of new fancy gear, but one still needs to know the basics, have common sense and know how to navigate underwater.
> 
> ...


Great photos!


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## ACHiPo (Mar 16, 2021)

Janderso said:


> That would make one pucker. Ever done a night dive?
> Lots of eye balls staring back at you.
> I got into some small jelly fish one time on a night dive. Not fun.


I had to do at least one night dive to get my advanced certification, but it was in a quarry so not that scary or interesting.  I've never done a night dive in warm water.  I did a late afternoon dive in FL--late enough that I could see the spiny lobsters start to come out.  I asked about a night dive in Tahiti but got nowhere.  Evidently the lemon sharks (not nice little reef sharks like the black tips) and tiger sharks come in to the lagoons at dark to feed.  Not a good idea unless you know what you're doing (i.e. have chainmail and an shark cage)


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## JPMacG (Mar 19, 2021)

I did a few night dives many years ago in Bonaire.  Octopus come out at night - they are quite cute and playful really.  But it is spooky to see only the beam of your flashlight.  

It is fun to see a new diver's reaction to a school of barracuda.  They kind of grind their teeth as they swim.   Makes them look really ferocious.  But they are harmless AFAIK.


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## Aukai (Mar 19, 2021)

I had a barracuda in the 30-40lb range take a big interest in me snorkeling once. The sun was behind it, and every time I turned my head to keep an eye on him, he charged. The mask lens was glinting from the sun, it must have looked like a bait fish.


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## dirty tools (Mar 19, 2021)

the deep commercial dive I have made was 780 feet off Hawaii
 more o a bounce dive.
support diver for Makai Undersea Research 
lots of fun with that outfit


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## Aukai (Mar 19, 2021)

Robot suit, what mix are they using now?


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 24, 2021)

I going diving in st.Lucia next week. Ready to go diving and have almost everything packed now.


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## Cadillac STS (Mar 25, 2021)

PADI certified in 1980. All in fresh water. Did most diving in the St. Claire river near Port Huron Michigan. In fresh water there is lots of silt near the bottom and water is not that clear. But with fast moving rivers pointing upstream the silt all washes past and the look upstream is clear. Lot of large fish come along side because we stir up lot of food like crayfish for them to eat.  Came upon many large rocks covered in fishing lures.  Dove just under the Blue Water Bridge where Lake Huron empties into the river. There is a shipwreck at the bottom there. Current so strong it can push your mask off if you are not careful.

No diving in many years now though.


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## yendor (Mar 25, 2021)

Rutgers required a GYM CLASS elective when I was there in the early 80's. Scuba was an option.
I only had to pay for the certification dives and 1st was at Dutch Valley.
The 2nd was off Atlantic City, NJ on wrecks.
Lot of FUN since then.


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## Papa Charlie (Mar 25, 2021)

Certified PADI Open Water Diver 1979, VI Divers, St Croix, US Virgin Islands. I was living there for a couple of years rebuilding two 6000bhp Enterprise diesel engines in the islands power plant. 

That was some of the most beautiful water I have ever been in. Visaility was between 80-150 feet. Surface temp 80 degrees. Water was so clear it was nearly impossible to gauge depth from the deck of a boat. You could see the bottom at 50 plus feet as clearly as you can see the bottom at 1 foot. Did a lot of night dives with my crew. Maybe 3-4 times a week. Beach dives were awesome, waves are only 1 foot tall. After all, you are on the top of a mountain in the middle of the ocean. Water was only 60 feet deep up to 300 yards off the beach, then straight down to a couple of thousand fathoms. 

Somehow, when I returned to the states, the thought of getting into the cold ocean around Monterey California just didn't appeal to me.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 25, 2021)

Papa Charlie said:


> Certified PADI Open Water Diver 1979, VI Divers, St Croix, US Virgin Islands. I was living there for a couple of years rebuilding two 6000bhp Enterprise diesel engines in the islands power plant.
> 
> That was some of the most beautiful water I have ever been in. Visaility was between 80-150 feet. Surface temp 80 degrees. Water was so clear it was nearly impossible to gauge depth from the deck of a boat. You could see the bottom at 50 plus feet as clearly as you can see the bottom at 1 foot. Did a lot of night dives with my crew. Maybe 3-4 times a week. Beach dives were awesome, waves are only 1 foot tall. After all, you are on the top of a mountain in the middle of the ocean. Water was only 60 feet deep up to 300 yards off the beach, then straight down to a couple of thousand fathoms.
> 
> Somehow, when I returned to the states, the thought of getting into the cold ocean around Monterey California just didn't appeal to me.


going from 5 feet to 150+ feet visibility is awesome. you could see the whole reef going down the beach and all of the fish.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Mar 28, 2021)

Saw a puffer fish in 4 feet of water. He is a foot long and 8 inches wide, without his spikes being puffed up. Only did snorkeling  so far. Want to catch it but don’t know how poisonous they are and if any one here knows how to cook one.


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## Papa Charlie (Mar 28, 2021)

Puffer fish ("Fugo" in Japan) are a delicacy in Japan but because some parts of their internals carry a very strong poison, only certified handlers are allowed to process them to prevent contaminating the meat. The facilities and the chefs are highly controlled by law. Only chefs that have who have qualified after three or more years of rigorous training are allowed to prepare the fish.

Better to enjoy watching them. I have spend a lot of time in Japan for work. Love Sashimi but have never had he desire to try puffer fish.


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## ptrotter (Mar 28, 2021)

NASDS certified in 1972 in Ithaca NY.  Open water dive in Cayuga Lake, very cold.  Then no diving for almost 30 years. Then did NAUI master, rescue and dry suit diver. Also nitrox, advanced nitrox, and gas blender certified, but now haven’t dived for a few years.


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## Peyton Price 17 (Apr 2, 2021)

a guy on Tuesday came up with 0PSI! twice! he darts around and thinks it is cool to come up with no air. he didn't do the 3 minute wait at 15 feet. he got 5 spines from a sea urchin in his leg and let them snap off! he's keeping them in his leg as a tattoo! he also forgot about his weight belt. his daughter just got certified and he says she won't dive with him, I wouldn't either. he was my dive buddy for a minute and he saw a fish. went over with my dad and had issues with my ear. yesterday we did a drift dive called superman flight. I did go in the superman pose so don't worry. I got down to 60 feet with a divemaster and had more problems. I could equalize but my ear hurt. we went back up and I did some snorkeling instead. saw a barracuda and some Flanders. my brother pet some morays with a stick with a divemaster and 5 more came out of the hole. my dad also saw a 1 1/2 foot long lion fish. they got one that was a foot long but I saw my first loin fish here in st. lucia.


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## Papa Charlie (Apr 2, 2021)

When I lived in St Croix, our crew became good friends with the guy that owned VI Divers. When he would get large parties of divers to take out, if it was on the weekends, several of us would go along to keep an eye on the tourists. The worst were the certified instructors from Florida. They are use to shallow water divers in comparison to the islands which are nothing more than the peak of an undersea mountain. They would go down three times the depth they are use to and then forget to decompress.

The easiest tourists to manage seemed to be the newcomers. They were always double checking their gear, dive tables, etc. The more experienced they were the more comfort they had and would take more changes.

Deepest dive I have made was to 205 feet. Went through a 80cuft tank in less than 10 minutes trying to watch my breathing (2500psi to 250psi). As I said before I got my certification on the island. My instructor had worked one season with Cousteau and could stretch her tank out by controlling her breathing. We use to see who could make a tank last longer. We had placed tanks at 30 & 15 feet for decompression. I accessed both. We had a certified dive doctor on board and everything was planned as a recovery for lost equipment. Not a dive you do on a whim.

They use to have drops that you could put in your ears to help clear them and make it easier to neutralize the pressure. A buddy of mine also had trouble and use to use hot water in a cup, he would lay on his side and place his ear in the cup, not in the water, and let the steam help clear his ears before we dove. Just be careful not to tip the cup over.


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