French exception

[ABCdivepro]

Other agencies were teaching recreational diving prior to the formation of PADI in 1966, for example NAUI (1960) and Los Angeles County (1955).

Good to know, thanks, debunking the Padi marketing spiel I heard for so long ! Wondering what tables they were using in 1955 I found US Navy decompression models and tables - Wikipedia really interesting. Makes me wonder too about SDI claims as the first agency offering DC only courses, fact or fiction ?

 

[ABCdivepro]

Here in Italy formal scuba training began in 1948 by Luigi Ferraro:

Scuba Diving Education | Luigi Ferraro

He and J. Cousteau founded CMAS in 1959.

Did they have training without deco then, ie Rec diving ?

 

[tursiops]

Good to know, thanks, debunking the Padi marketing spiel I heard for so long ! Wondering what tables they were using in 1955 I found US Navy decompression models and tables - Wikipedia really interesting. Makes me wonder too about SDI claims as the first agency offering DC only courses, fact or fiction ?

PADI used the USN tables until they developed the RDP to mitigate some of the recreational-diving issues with the Navy tables, namely the slowest compartment thus causing long SIs, and the use of the 26 letters of the alphabet spread across no-stop plus deco diving, instead of just across no-stop diving.

I believe SDI was indeed the first computer-only agency.

 

[tursiops]

debunking the Padi marketing spiel I heard for so long

Padi created recreational diving

Where has PADI claimed to have created recreational diving?

 

[Angelo Farina]

T

Did they have training without deco then, ie Rec diving ?

The Italian diving school was based on the ARO rebreather (pure oxygen CC).
No deco procedures for the first 10 years.
The first ARA systems (twin tanks of compressed air) started to be employed here only around 1958.
When I followed my first diving course, in 1975, we used mostly the ARO and we got our twin tanks only during the last month (the course was 6 months long).
Deco procedures were taught since the beginning, using US Navy tables with a couple of modifications (ascent speed reduced from 18 m/min to 10 m/min, ascent time included in the dive time).
Here a couple of videos showing those old training methods:

 

[BoltSnap]

It sounds too complicated to dive in France. Can I just drive my truck with my dive equipment along the French cost on the Med. and dive wherever I find space by the sea? Will dive shops/centers in France accept my NAUI C-card and rent me tanks, fill my tanks and me go on their boats without too much trouble?

 

[JMarc]

Can I just drive my truck with my dive equipment along the French cost on the Med. and dive wherever I find space by the sea?

Yes, the regulation we are speaking about applies only to structures, not to people. There may be local regulations preventing you to dive at some places like natural parks.

Will dive shops/centers in France accept my NAUI C-card and rent me tanks, fill my tanks and me go on their boats without too much trouble?

As I've a Belgian CMAS cert, I've never had any issue. Getting non-French non-CMAS certs accepted is more at the judgment (and prejudice) of the operators. I've dived with SSI and PADI divers, and they had no issue to get their cert accepted. At least where I met them but I come to think that those places are selling PADI and SSI certs. I don't know if they had to shop around beforehand to find a center which accepted their cert. I've never met a NAUI cert holder IRL, I don't remember of a shop selling NAUI certs, so I've even less a clue of how easy or difficult it is.

My experience is recent (I started to dive again two years ago after an interruption of more than 20 years; BTW before the interruption I also dived with a few PADI cert holders), on the Mediterranean coast (thus a touristy area) with commercial operators (non-profit dive clubs have probably more variance in their attitude).

 

[JMBL]

It sounds too complicated to dive in France. Can I just drive my truck with my dive equipment along the French cost on the Med. and dive wherever I find space by the sea? Will dive shops/centers in France accept my NAUI C-card and rent me tanks, fill my tanks and me go on their boats without too much trouble?

Sorry, but NAUI is quite unheard of in France. Just take the time to send an email to dive centers where you intend to dive, prior going there, asking what's their policy concerning non CMAS divers. Things improved a lot. Still, you can find unspeakable people everywhere, that's true but don't let that thought deter you. Many sites in France require the use of a boat, it'd be a pity to miss those.

 

[BoltSnap]

Sorry, but NAUI is quite unheard of in France. Just take the time to send an email to dive centers where you intend to dive, prior going there, asking what's their policy concerning non CMAS divers. Things improved a lot. Still, you can find unspeakable people everywhere, that's true but don't let that thought deter you. Many sites in France require the use of a boat, it'd be a pity to miss those.

My issue isn't with "people" at all. It is the government/organization/laws that bother me. I am a TDI and SSI instructor so that may help too.

 

[JMBL]

My issue isn't with "people" at all. It is the government/organization/laws that bother me.

Just the same here

I am a TDI and SSI instructor so that may help too.

If you're a pro, that should help a lot : you're obviously diving a lot, not like a 'holiday'/'tourist' diver