Roll call: Any old NASDS divers out there?

[Stu S.]

Welcome to NASDS

NASDS - Germany: The National Association of Scuba Diving Schools

NASDS - Associazione Nazionale Scuba Diving Sub

Still going in Japan, Germany and Italy. There is a picture of John Gaffney in one of these.

 

[TimAZ]

Absolutely true. I did it a few years back. But not wanting to surrender my original, I filled out the "Lost Card Replacement" form from the SSI website. You just check the box the says "NASDS lost card" and bring it, along with about $50.00 to your local SSI shop.

Sure enough, but anything over $25 & they're gouging you.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Me too.
Certified in 1991 in Anaheim, CA by Harold Buchannan at International School of SCUBA Instruction. Long since closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember the facility very well--there were about three different people who established a dive shop there in rapid succession. The last owner had some reall problems with the city. Apparently sepage from the pool had done considerable damage to the foundation of the building--as I recall and this is a long time ago, the pool was filled in and there was considerabe retro fitting to the remaining shops. That was probably the last time I visted the facility

Do you know where Harold is now? Last time I saw him he was empoyed at a dive shop in HB which has also closed perhaps ten or more years ago.

sdm

 

[CC1020]

Yep... certified in 1974 at the Dive Shop in Memphis

 

[caymaniac]

Here's my card:

Now you know why dive-ops usaully do a double-take

 

[garyfotodiver]

WOW! How did I miss this thread!

April 1970 - Card number K1600 now encased in a plastic overlay. Denny Shelt, Instructor from the Harbor Diving School in NJ. I finally obtained a replacement SSI card.

I show the old card when I want to PO someone...

 

[john56]

October 1988 - My OW card has lived in a little sleeve at the back of my logbook, so it is still in fairly good condition. I also received their "Expert Diver" certification back when I thought stuff like that was important. I tried to present it to gain entry to a local quarry last summer and the young lady behind the counter informed me that I had to have a "real" C-card...

I remember the Instructor bragging that NASDS was the only agency still requiring the students to know the symptoms of lung overexpansion injuries. They called that night's lecture "Blood & Guts". My personal favorite was Pneumothorax!

 

[Captain12Pk]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember the facility very well--there were about three different people who established a dive shop there in rapid succession. The last owner had some reall problems with the city. Apparently sepage from the pool had done considerable damage to the foundation of the building--as I recall and this is a long time ago, the pool was filled in and there was considerabe retro fitting to the remaining shops. That was probably the last time I visted the facility

Do you know where Harold is now? Last time I saw him he was empoyed at a dive shop in HB which has also closed perhaps ten or more years ago.

sdm

I hear tell from Mike & Gary @ Openwater Habitat that he's still in OC ... somewhere in south county. Apparently he was quite the SCUBA Pirate. Everytime his name comes up, there's someone in the room he wronged at some point. Most of them it seems, still holding a grudge.

Do you remember the Atlantis? Out of 22nd Street, San Pedro.

 

[grumpie]

mine was in 1984, at underwater schools of america in long lake minn. instructor was cliff schmidt.
grumpie now naui 14792. IT

 

[WetRide]

NASDS, #2383, 1968, instructor Herb Ellis at Herb's Dive Shop, Daytona Beach, Florida. Herb’s is gone, and Herb Ellis is more than likely dead by now, too.

I was trying to get a replacement card and stumbled across this forum. I read this entire thread, which had its first post in 2006 and the last in 2008, so I guess I'm a latecomer. I joined the Forum just to get in an “old guy” comment. Jesus, at 58 I’m not that stinking old! Where are all the divers from back in the day? Does anybody remember the two-hose regulator?

My card just says, “This qualified SCUBA diver has completed the NASDS Diving Course.” No chips, no pictures, not much of anything. It is severely cracked, though. In 1973, I took a course for what, if I remember correctly, was an NASDS “Senior Dive” certification at Charlie’s Divers Dock in Sunnyvale, California. I remember the card was black, but I lost it years ago. Of course all the NASDS records burned up in 1977, Charlie is dead and the The Divers Dock is gone, and so is that certification.

Today there are so many money-grubbing certifications and restrictions. I pretty much had to give up organized “sanctioned” activities where regulations tell me what I can or can’t do without throwing them some more money. “You aren’t certified to dive this deep,” or “you can’t dive at night,” etc. All I need is to be able to get my tanks filled (and that’s about all I can do!).

The irony is I’ve probably made 1000’s of dives, including many below 200 feet – including free ascent, 100’s involving pre-gps navigation, 100’s at night, many in caves and in wrecks, many 100’s off the beach and 100’s of those in heavy surf, etc. I’ve even been chased by sharks while dragging bloody fish on my stringer (just plain luck of the stupid there). I lost interest in logs 30 years ago, and no longer have the one I once kept.

All that and $40 (lots more than the course cost back in ’68) will get me a replacement card that says I’m a beginner. Nice. Oh well, at least I do not have to surrender my old, original, badly broken one!

Truth of the matter is, I get out once in awhile, but not all that much anymore. I ride my motorcycle a lot, though – hence the name “WetRide.” It rains a lot here. Now I live in Thailand. Anybody coming this way, give me a shout.