Long gone are the days when diving was considered a man’s sport. Today, young open water divers like Ryleigh, Julia and Flynn are breaking stereotypes.
Heavy gear and cold water have proved no deterrent for these three young Open Water certified divers – Ryleigh and Julia (both aged 13), and Flynn (aged 16) – who chatted to PT Hirschfield.
Photography individually credited
Ryleigh
Ryleigh was gifted a Junior Open Water Course for her 11th birthday: ‘I’ve always been a water baby. The water is my happy place.’ As one of the most enthusiastic young open water divers (and the only one in her family), Ryleigh completed her certification two days after her 12th birthday in May 2022, unphased by a raft of delays caused by pandemic lockdowns and wintery weather.
‘The staff at Diveline Scuba Centre Frankston were so supportive, especially when I got quite scared by the swell on a training dive. They arranged for one of the instructors to take me for a one-to-one dive to get my confidence back. After this, I locked in dates to finish the dive component of the course’.
Nicknamed ‘Dangermouse’ by her parents since she was little, Ryleigh confesses that initially ‘I was slightly worried about what could happen to me in the water, that I would forget what to do or I would lose the group.’ Nevertheless, she completed her course, to date having logged over 35 dives.
Ryleigh enjoys shore diving beneath piers and boat diving on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula at every opportunity: ‘With boat diving, I find it’s a bit long on the boat getting to locations, but it’s still worth it.
Night dives have to be my favourite. Seeing all the marine life at night is just magical. I’ve joined social club dives and youth dives, and I noticed with diving that age doesn’t matter. We all have the same passion.’
Ryleigh is particularly excited about observing and photographing marine life: ‘My most memorable dives would have to be seeing octopuses at Rye and nudibranchs at Blairgowrie. The thing I find most exciting is that the marine life is almost always changing. You never know what you’re going to see.’
‘I started taking photos with a really basic Nikon Coolpix camera. I wanted to be able to capture what I see underwater and share it with others, particularly with my parents. I’ve recently upgraded my camera and am so proud of some of the photos I’ve taken.’
Ryleigh believes her Junior Open Water experience is laying a foundation for her future: ‘I see diving being a career as well as a hobby.
I want to be a marine biologist when I’m older.’ She’s already started to make a contribution to citizen science: ‘During a dive at Flinders in April 2023, I photographed a number of weedy seadragons and shared my photos with Seadragon Search.
One of the dragons hadn’t been previously identified. This meant I was lucky enough to be able to name him, so of course I chose the name Ryleigh. I’m looking forward to receiving updates when other divers encounter him during their dives.’
To support her dive hobby financially, Ryleigh produces and sells high-quality scuba and ocean-themed stickers: ‘I don’t want to rely on my parents to pay for my dive hobby. So I also have a sticker-making hobby, selling stickers to other divers for their dive gear, cars, etc.
Diveline allow me to sell them through their shop, but I also take custom orders.’ You can order pre-made and custom stickers from Ryleigh’s Instagram: @stickers_by_ryleigh
Flynn
16-year-old Flynn is another remarkable example of young open water divers excelling in challenging conditions, completing his Open Water certification at Tweed Heads on the QLD / NSW border in June 2022: ‘I’d completed three trydives, beginning with Heron Island, before I did my OW. So when I started the training, I was comfortable in the water and glad to be doing my qualification’.
She’s now logged over 32 dives, mostly around the piers of Port Phillip Bay and Westernport. She’s also done several boat dives in NSW and QLD, including a liveaboard with two night dives in the Cairns outer reefs, where she got to dive with sharks for the first time.
Flynn ‘really loves sharks’ and seeing things that most people don’t get to experience. While she lists controlling air consumption as her greatest challenge underwater, her buddies (her mum Joel and friend Ruth) describe her as a ‘natural’ underwater.
This makes her a great underwater subject for their cameras, though Flynn occasionally takes photos too.
Flynn describes diving as a ‘key motivation for travel’ and ‘an important part of my everyday life’. She says she might pursue higher diving qualifications in the future and believes that ‘Melbourne’s waterways are an important part of our ecosystem and need constant care.’
Julia
Of the three young open water divers, 13-year-old Julia (who recently relocated to Queensland) is the most recently certified, completing her training with Academy of Scuba in May 2023: ‘I chose to become a scuba diver because I love the underwater world.
I have ever since my mum (Adrianna) showed me some of her dive photos when I was seven or eight. Mum’s been my biggest inspiration and supporter throughout my diving journey so far.’
As might be expected, dive gear has been the greatest challenge Julia has faced: ‘The amount of equipment I had to learn to use was intimidating to start with, though it didn’t turn out to be as hard as I’d thought. I find the most challenging part of diving is carrying all that heavy equipment around on land.’
Reflecting on her handful of post-certification dives, Julia says: ‘I like boat dives because there’s usually a bit more to see. That said, shore dives are easier to do, and I did see a pufferfish at Rye Pier.
They’re probably the sweetest thing in existence, bobbing along in the current with their big eyes.’ Her most-memorable dive to date was at Pope’s Eye in Port Phillip Bay: ‘The visibility was really good, and we saw some stunning sea creatures, including a sleeping Port Jackson Shark.’
So far, Julia’s experience of underwater photography has been limited to snorkelling: ‘But it was nice to be able to look back at what I’d seen and show others. It’s something I’d love to try while scuba diving as I gain confidence.
’Already she’s dreaming of diving into her future: ‘Diving is definitely something that I’d love to pursue on a professional level when I’m older. It’s a big goal, but I’d love to be a Divemaster one day.’
FAQs
What is a Junior Open Water Diver certification?
It’s a scuba diving qualification for young divers (typically aged 10–14) allowing them to dive under supervision at limited depths.
How young can you be to become an Open Water diver?
Most agencies allow children from age 10 to begin Junior Open Water training with depth restrictions and supervision.
What challenges do young Open Water divers face?
Heavy dive gear, cold water and building confidence are common challenges, but supportive instructors make a huge difference.
Can young Open Water divers participate in night dives?
Yes, with proper training and supervision, many junior divers enjoy night dives to see unique marine life.
How can young divers contribute to marine conservation?
By photographing marine life for citizen science, collecting data, and advocating for ocean health like Ryleigh’s Seadragon Search contributions.
This article was originally published in Scuba Diver ANZ #62
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