Certification Requirements?

[Stu S.]

There was a post saying a member of the Cousteau family with a lifetime of diving once had to make a check-out dive with an instructor, as he had no AOW card. I call in advance, so I don't get refused later. I only heard "no" once.

Each dive is an opportunity to improve. You don't need a NAUI guy along. Each day you can learn more about diving, and it need not be from a PADI book.

 

[RedFishBlueFish]

Wow! Thanks to all of you for your input. I booked 4 trips with Silent World Divers. I can always change it to get AOW instruction instead so I can have it for future use. I do hope the dives required are fun. Anyone recommend which 3 elective dives to do? Deep & navigation are required, then you can do night, buoyancy control, search & recovery & some other ones to total 5 dives.

 

[flahiker]

My dad holds a 1967 YMCA basic card. He worked for many years as a commercial salvage diver in Louisiana (gulf and Mississippi river). 180 feet was common, and 400+ was not un-heard of. And yet all of this was done on a "basic" card.

I got certified in 1982 with a full course. I think it was at least 8 weeks with a full weekend of checkout dives. I had already completed 100+ dives in the bayous (ZERO VIZ) before my check out dive. I was little and used a modified Scott Air Pack with a j-valve as a tank! We used snorkle vests as BCs. My checkout dive was to 90' on the liberty ship in Destin.

Rules were different then. The navy tables were different then. I went ahead and took the AOW course 3 years ago because I wanted a "refresher". It also makes the boats happy. The point is that the card does not tell how qualified a diver you are. I have been with DMs that have only 1/4 of my logged dives.

 

[Stu S.]

Speaking of Dads. Mine has been driving 66 years with only one ticket and no accidents. He never could get the lowest auto insurance rate because he never took Driver's Ed.

Says something about "checking the box".

Stu.

 

[Thalassamania]

There was a post saying a member of the Cousteau family with a lifetime of diving once had to make a check-out dive with an instructor, as he had no AOW card. I call in advance, so I don't get refused later. I only heard "no" once.

Each dive is an opportunity to improve. You don't need a NAUI guy along. Each day you can learn more about diving, and it need not be from a PADI book.

I'm sure that he (or she) had no problem making the checkout dive, I know that I've made perhaps as many as a hundred over the years, the problem is with the idea that you need an "advanced" card, which from all I can see does not, today, really represent anything except a few extra dives, no skills, no academics, just a few dives at what is likely to be the easiest place for the instructor to get in and out of the water.

 

[flahiker]

Says something about "checking the box".

Stu.

That is the main reason I have the card. It eliminates hassles with the dive operators.

 

[paulwall]

It also makes the boats happy. The point is that the card does not tell how qualified a diver you are. I have been with DMs that have only 1/4 of my logged dives.

Agreed. The DM on my trip in March did her first dive (ever) in January! She did her 100th dive with us! And she was giving me crap about not having AOW.

Hopefully, by the end of the week, the whole shop realized I was AOW-equivalent, at least.

 

[garyfotodiver]

As an open water diver, your dad qualified to dive to 60' max, in conditions similar to those he was certified in. If he wants to dive deeper, he should (IMO) continue his diving education.

Gee, my NASDS c-card from 1970 states that I am a "qualified SCUBA diver". On that card, in December 1970, I dove a wreck off the Jersey shore that was at about 110 feet. I also have used it up and down the Atlantic east coast.

In 2003, my 12 year-old daughter dove the Sea Emperor on her third check out dive for her PADI Jr. OW.

The depths given are not limits, merely guidelines. The IMPORTANT thing is to not dive beyond your capabilities. In my instance, I had a very experienced New Jersey wreck diver as my buddy; my daughter had the chief instructor from Force-E in Pompano Beach with her.

I just read through the RSTC Minimum Course Content for Open Water Scuba Certification and there is no mention of the depths that a Open Water Diver is limited to dive at. It mentions that the open water CHECK-OUT dives be conducted between 15 & 60 feet.

Here is what SSI writes: All open water scuba training dives must be conducted at depths between 15 and 100 feet (5 and 30 meters). The maximum depth for 12 year old during open water scuba training dives is 60 feet (18 meters). All students even after certification should be advised only to dive within depth limits they are taught in during class.

Additionally: Adult: The depth of open water scuba diving is not to exceed 130 feet (39 meters). The open water scuba dives of Specialty Diving courses are to expose students to depths of at least 20 feet (6 meters).

Now, you could say that my daughter exceeded the training limits, but she was with the instructor. He had my permission; I was on the dive boat.

Let's put this OW 60 feet "limit" to rest.

 

[Thalassamania]

Agreed. The DM on my trip in March did her first dive (ever) in January! She did her 100th dive with us! And she was giving me crap about not having AOW.

Hopefully, by the end of the week, the whole shop realized I was AOW-equivalent, at least.

I have never been diving with a DM that 1/4 of my dives, and I've never, ever, had an "Advanced" card.

 

[Dive-aholic]

He has in excess of 3000 dives. Back when he was certified there was nothing more than Basic open water certifications. He is certified to 130, that was the limit even back then. We have been all over the world diving together and yes he sometimes get odds looks because some have never seen a Basic card but he likes it and he has never been denied diving. He is now 62 and has no interest continuing his diving education.

It's all about liability and what the non-diving lawyers tell the dive ops. Some will follow the legal advice to the letter. Others may choose to ignore them. At least the dive ops know the different levels of cards. There's a guy that has a lake on his property and was once told only AOW certified divers should be allow to dive there. He won't let instructors dive the lake without first showing an AOW card. And, BTW, the max depth of the lake is in the 250' range...