@boulderjohn
I've told this story before...
I was at a conference several years ago, and one of the speakers told a story of a dive trip he went on in Australia in 1967. It was a weeklong trip on a boat that would be doing some exciting diving. The captain asked to see everyone's certification card, but he did not have one. He explained that his father had first put him on scuba when he was 7 years old, and in the two decades since then he had done thousands of dives. Sorry, the captain said, no certification card from a recognized agency, no diving. No exceptions.
Apparently the rest of the crew intervened and convinced the captain to make an exception to that rule, and he was allowed to dive. As soon as he was home, he sought out a nearby PADI instructor so that he would not have to go through that again. He opened his wallet and showed us that half-century old card, which he still always carries.
His name is Jean-Michel Cousteau.
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For many years JM was in the background and had absolutely nothing to do with his father, diving or the organization-- His brother, Phillipe was the chosen one. He was killed in the PBY Catalina accident. JM gave up his chosen profession to become a component of the organization.( which is now totally owned by his "out of step mother." and has all but disappeared )
I can certainly understand why he was not immediately recognized - I suspect if he were to step one foot out of the sphere of diving he would not be recognized-- Think for a moment … how many personages do or world you recognized who were marksman ? with a 22 rife, a shot gun or a bow and arrow - but in their own sphere they are immediately recognized and revered
Boulderjohn knew this -- a waite ot time
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@Wookie
Stan Waterman refused to carry a card. In all of the different boats I've been on with him, he has never (to my knowledge) shown a card to any crewmember. It causes no end to angst, which I'm sure he reveled in.
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I can relate to Stan
In 1957 or was it 1958? in a far off place called Los Angeles we had formed the Underwater Photographic Society aka UPS.
I recall attending a meeting one extremely foggy night at LA City College aka LACC - the speaker was a fellow named Stan Waterman - Who was this Stan Waterman?
He explained he was a blue berry famer from back east and wanted to escape the harsh winters of New England . So a years previous he purchased a boat ended up in the Caribbean, took up diving and began offering diving excursions/ experiences to tourist - concurrently photographing them and the Caribbean sea life. Which resulted in one of the most boring UW movies ever made. But as Stan explained the movie was well received by audiences in the mid west who had at that time never peaked underwater.
That was his beginning - read the US Diver pamphlet practice in shallow water and become a diver
Mine was similar - began free diving in the 1940s, to have a look- see and later to spear fish. Made a SCUBA Dive in 1950 with the very crude equipment of the era. After Korea I joined with Harry Vetter LA CO UW instructor who in 1960 became NAUI instructor # 4 I am # A 27 the oldest NAUI instructor in California and Harry is the oldest in the world - well... pin a rose on our nose ! ) we took over the diving class from Doc (Nelson ) Matheson see the cover of SDM VO1 Nr 1 December 1951 and Rory Paige of Hope-Page fame. Harry and I team taught , I YMCA - Harry LA County. The only training I had was experience -It was a OJT type class
A little over a year later I applied was accepted and completed the LA Co UW instructors course the UICC -90 applied 36 accepted about 23 were certified as instructors. Many applicants and graduates never never had a formal dive course, including me -- but I wasn't unique in UICC, their was a number in the class who didn't have "C":cards, Col John D Craig of
Danger is my business book & TV fame, Bill Barada who developed the first commercially successful dry suit and authored about 10 diving books.. to mention some of the more prominent class members
So I suspect Stan never had a C Card -- and we will probably never know if he did or didn't …my $$$ on that he didn't have a C Card
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The only documented event of a moss back diver refusing service because of no C card occurred in Jolly Ole England and was documented in the UK HDS Journal about 25 years ago by Reg Valentine
The internationally famous spearfisherman Vane Ivanovic who began spearfishing long before JYC dreamed of the bubble machine and had published his first book "Spearfishing" in 1951, 2 years before the Silent World was published ,
Spearfishing was followed by
Modern Spearfishing 1955 and the last edition of an updated
Modern Spearfishing in 1974. All American versions were published by A.S. Barnes Co NYC.
Vane trotted off to a new dive shop in his area to fill some tanks. The new fuzzy faced super pooper instructor /owner refused to fill his tanks-- no card - no service !
Vane turned to Reg Valentine, who also wrote a book
"Learn SCUBA Diving in a Week end" (as I recall the title) who sat down with Vane chatted a while and issued a SCUBA Card.
Problem solved !
And that was "The way it was.." (any one recall my dedicated column in Discover Diving?)
Sam Miller, III
@rhwestfall ( Yes... Rory Page was a real person and a diver !)
@Ducky diver (worlds greatest instructor )
@HBVetera n2312 ( only 4999 dives until 5000)
