Is certification necessary for shallow water diving?

[NW Dive Dawg]

Just pull up to any dive shop with tanks that need filling and when you walk in just say...... "hey....need some fills and can pick these up tomorrow......but while I'm here I'd like to look at a new regulator, computer and drysuit.....

In most cases, the only C-Card they will ask for begins with the word "Credit".

 

[Cthippo]

In the modern era it certainly doesn't behoove a LDS to be too picky about who they sell to. Amazon and Craigslist certainly won't ask for a card.

 

[Belzelbub]

In the modern era it certainly doesn't behoove a LDS to be too picky about who they sell to. Amazon and Craigslist certainly won't ask for a card.

I don't know of any dive shop that will ask for a card to sell any gear that you could also get on Amazon. The only time I've ever been asked for a cert card at a dive shop is when getting a fill, and that was only when out of town at a shop that doesn't know me well.

Amazon does sell scuba tanks, but they are empty. You can get a filled tank off of CL, but pretty sure that you aren't going to get it refilled on CL.

 

[Centrals]

This thread is about whether it is necessary to have a CERTICIFATION CARD for shallow diving. It has nothing to do with purchasing or filling.
If you have your own gear + compressor etc etc then you probably do not need any training.
If you local operator do not check your Certification it does not mean it will apply aboard. Check your travel insurance to see if non-certified person is being covered!

Is this Advanced scuba?

 

[Waterwulf]

This thread is about whether it is necessary to have a CERTICIFATION CARD for shallow diving. It has nothing to do with purchasing or filling.
If you have your own gear + compressor etc etc then you probably do not need any training.
If you local operator do not check your Certification it does not mean it will apply aboard. Check your travel insurance to see if non-certified person is being covered!

Is this Advanced scuba?

No, a Cert Card is not required for shallow water diving. After all, it's just a piece of plastic and could have been forged. However, training is required and to say otherwise is silly. People need training to use a spoon! Just because you have the gear and compressors, does not make you a diver, shallow water or otherwise.

People engage in lots of dangerous activities in the name of fun. Most of them require some type of training. The activities that usually don't allow many second chances require the most training. Sky Diving, SCUBA, driving a race car or motorcycle, etc. all require lot's of training to do it safely. When something goes wrong, it usually happens really fast and doesn't allow you to say "Time out". That's when you fall back on your training. The Darwin Theory of Evolution usually takes care of it. The dumb and the untrained die. Unfortunately, they often take somebody else along.

Mid seventies North Florida. I think it was Vortex Springs. (The one with the corkscrew tunnel and the stop sign at the end) You had to drive down a long dirt trail to get there. My first cave dive. I was driving along the trail to the lake when I had to pull on to the bank to let an ambulance go by coming out. Hmmm. We got to the lake and a guy was there putting his dive gear away. "If you see any loose gear in the cave, please bring it out with you". Double Hmmm!

Skin Diver magazine wrote that one up. Three guys went into the cave. Only one was certified and it was a quicky vacation course but they all three signed the paperwork stating they were certified. A guideline isn't required for that cave but they used one anyway. A light weight plastic ski rope.

They think what happened was that the first one to die, got tangled up in the ski rope and strangled himself. The second one panicked, dropped his regulator and went after the third one for his air who stabbed him to death to save himself. The third one dropped his regulator and drowned. All three had plenty of air but panic killed all three of them. They panicked because they had no training to know how to handle the problems. Proper training can save your life but a lack of it can certainly kill.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

The Darwin Theory of Evolution usually takes care of it. The dumb and the untrained die. Unfortunately, they often take somebody else along.

Or have already left a grungy ring around the sides of the gene pool.

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

Some seriously different responses to the original post, I think it truly depends on what your doing / intending to do realistically, in some places you can’t get taught anyway, however if you have access to decent education then really one should plumb for it, that said,,,,
Who taught / certified Cousteau, Falco, the Haas’s, buster crabbe etc,,,
And I have to be honest here I have a friend that has done 100m dives on a homemade rebreather who’s sole certification is Open water (padi thingy) I’m going to expand on this particular character, he’s an engineer that understands gas theory, physics, blood flow etc far better than me, and I’m one of the few that knows of his lack of certification if you saw him in the water you wouldn’t know, (better than many instructors) of course in the uk he isnt really in any dire straights as a chamber visit wouldn’t result in a bill or proof of cert, and as he mainly solo,s he isn’t really liable to anyone else,
I’m not necessarily condoning his habits or rationale but just wanted to demonstrate that someone with full understanding isn’t necessarily going to die immediately upon entering the water..

 

[Centrals]

No, a Cert Card is not required for shallow water diving. After all, it's just a piece of plastic and could have been forged. However, training is required and to say otherwise is silly. People need training to use a spoon! Just because you have the gear and compressors, does not make you a diver, shallow water or otherwise.

Do you know any operator in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand will let you do that ie. without certification card?
Deep or shallow makes no differences.

 

[Belzelbub]

Do you know any operator in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand will let you do that ie. without certification card?
Deep or shallow makes no differences.

There are ways to dive that don’t involve operators in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

 

[OhioDivingDude]

In the modern era it certainly doesn't behoove a LDS to be too picky about who they sell to. Amazon and Craigslist certainly won't ask for a card.

Working at a dive shop I can sell you anything without a card. Full kit no problem. Now rentals and fills are where you need the card.