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kae6511

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i am taking my open water certification in about 3 weeks and my father is already open water certified but he lost his card. he's not sure what agency he went through when he got his certification in the early 90s and none of the agency websites return any history on him. i was trying to find out the best way for him to go about getting his card so we can start diving together. thanks for any and all help.

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Without knowing the certifying agency he is out of luck. Did you try using different name variations? If his name is Michael, he may have put Mike on the application.

Another option would be to call the agencies directly, yes I know that is alot of phone work, but it may turn up something.

Otherwise, the only real choice would be to take the certification course with you. It sounds like he hasn't dived in some time so it would be a good refresher for him.
 
Call the top 5 agencies and ask. Websites sucks.
 
Even if he can get his old card, if he pretty much hasn't dove since he got certified he'd probably be better off taking the class again with you. If someone was a very practiced/experienced diver and then left the sport for a long time it might not be a huge problem. But if someone got certified then didn't dive much to reinforce those skills, they'll have forgotten a lot and be way out of practice.
 
Is the store still in existence? They may have a record. Or at least can tell you what agencies they were affiliated with back then. It's been my experience that they don't change very often. If your dad was NASDS, a lot of their records were destroyed in a fire after they merged with SSI. I don't remember when.
 
With all the changes since then and considering that he doesn't even remember the agency, it's likely best that he retake OW.
 
I did a PADI refresher course. Money and time well spent. Talk to your LDS and see if they will let him do that. If you have a old dive log, paperwork or any proof you maybe let in that.

To be honest I had over 75 dives yet took 20 years off I needed a refresher.
 
To be honest I had over 75 dives yet took 20 years off I needed a refresher.

75 dives and 2 years should need a refresher. After 20 it wouldn't hurt to do the entire course over again. A lot has changed in that period of time. While the fundamentals of diving are always the same, the gear changes a lot. I always get a nervous feeling when people come into the shop and ask if we still use the CO2 cartridges in BCs....
 

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