Certification for diving the Big Island

[Eyegore]

Ahoy. I've read that one must be either PADI or NAUI certified to rent gear. Is this true? I got my OW cert. through YMCA and have the card. Will this certification be okay for renting gear from dive shops in Hawaii?

 

[tursiops]

Ahoy. I've read that one must be either PADI or NAUI certified to rent gear. Is this true? I got my OW cert. through YMCA and have the card. Will this certification be okay for renting gear from dive shops in Hawaii?

What you've read is wrong. Multiple cards are accepted.
A larger issue might be the level of your certification; many of the Big Island dive sites are deeper than 60 ft so you might be asked to show an AOW or Deep card for the actual dives with an operator...but not for just renting gear.

 

[diversteve]

Not true. I'm SSI amd could rent from any of the shops - all they want to see is A card
Hawaii is popular with Asian tourists so they must see a lot of different cards.

It would only matter were you taking classes - there is some crossover but most would issue their agency's card.

 

[Eyegore]

Thank you—that’s exactly what I needed to know!

 

[tursiops]

It would only matter were you taking classes - there is some crossover but most would issue their agency's card.

Just to be clear, a "cross-over" usually means staying at the same certification level, but getting a different agency's card. This is not commonly done, and may not be possible in many cases.

An "upgrade" would be (for example) getting a PADI AOW card starting with a YMCA OW card...this is commonly done and has no real issues associated with it.

 

[diversteve]

You're reading more into my use of the word crossover than is there - especially since this thread is at a rec level.

What I meant is what you're calling an upgrade.

 

[Eyegore]

An "upgrade" would be (for example) getting a PADI AOW card starting with a YMCA OW card...this is commonly done and has no real issues associated with it.

Thanks for that bit of information. I have a refresher on Sept. 8th but now I'm thinking about doing YMCA OW to PADI AOW upgrade, in addition.

 

[tursiops]

Thanks for that bit of information. I have a refresher on Sept. 8th but now I'm thinking about doing YMCA OW to PADI AOW upgrade, in addition.

Good plan.

 

[tursiops]

You're reading more into my use of the word crossover than is there - especially since this thread is at a rec level.

What I meant is what you're calling an upgrade.

Words have meanings, and casual use (and misuse) can cause confusion. Sorry, my mother was an English teacher. I'll never live it down.

 

[JamesBon92007]

By YMCA are you saying that your C-card is really old? I have a NAUI card from 1969 and the first time I went to Hawai'i (Maui, 2011) they accepted it for renting tanks etc and on the dive boat. It says "Scuba Diver" on it. I wrote to NAUI and asked for a card with updated terminology and they sent me a new card for around $30. I think the price has gone up. It's not that anybody didn't accept my old card, it's just that I didn't want it to ever be an issue so I got the new card.