Is certification necessary for shallow water diving?

[Miyaru]

@thbcthomas
Just skip the training. Diving without an ISO 24801-2 certification is not against the law.

And I agree, paying $1000 for certification (and course materials, gear rental, instruction) is wasted money. Spending that money on a wheelchair in case you end up like @BoltSnap has illustrated, is a much better (and tangible) investment.

The really good thing about diving without that ISO certification, is that you won't be afraid of what you don't know. Diving without worries! No knowledge of pressure change, or why the shallow depths are actually the most dangerous parts of a dive.

And if the brown stuff hits the fan..... blame Mother Nature, hold her liable and sue her in court for restoring the balance.
Maybe sue Darwin as well, in case he handed out an award.

 

[scubadada]

@scubadada Why is it ok to take my son diving in forgiving environments, but not a friend that is a United States Marine? Just because my son has his certification?...

Yes

 

[DogDiver]

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Is certification a good idea? Yes.

Is quality training a good idea? Yes.

Is fully understanding the physics and physiology associated with diving a good idea? Yes.

Is quality well maintained equipment a good idea? Yes.

But to the OP's actual question on this thread......"Is certification necessary for shallow water diving"? The answer is No.

 

[boulderjohn]

But seriously, folks, diving really is easy--if we are just talking about diving. I remember my cousin diving off the Jersey shore in the early 1960s, and, yes, his only training was the sporting goods store employee where he bought his equipment telling him not to hold his breath.

When I taught OW classes, I would introduce the pool sessions with a series of steps leading to them swimming around the shallow end while (roughly) neutrally buoyant. When they came to the surface, I would tell them that they now knew all they needed to know about scuba diving, thanks for coming, etc. After the laughs, I would say that no, I was serious. That really was all they needed to be able to do to dive. Everything we were going to do after that was all about how to prevent things from going wrong and how to manage them when they do.

So can you learn to dive without training? Heck, yes! You can figure out all the safety stuff on your own, too. What can go wrong, after all?

 

[TMHeimer]

I haven't read all the replies, but it was easy to predict what some of them would be. To relate it to my profession, a good clarinet teacher doesn't need to have any sort of instructor certification/degree. As well, a certified music teacher can be a very poor one. But the percentages say the certified one is probably pretty good. There is the obvious difference with scuba in that you can die doing that and you won't playing clarinet. Easy way-- get certified, then dive with someone who knows what their doing. Once you're certified you have no problem getting air, going on charters, etc. (as the OP pointed out). OW certification doesn't cost THAT much money.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

My 2psi:

This may be a bit rambling, and for that I apologize in advance. If I say something you don't like, or agree with, or think is just plain wrong, please know that I really don't care.

And, yes, the following is in lead-up to the OP- post.

There is no law (at least in the USofA) that I am aware of that says you have to be certified to dive for recreation, or to have your scuba tank filled. An industry standard? Sure. But no law, statute, regulation, etc... I believe industry standards are generally a good thing, as the overarching (underlying?) purpose for such standards is to promote safety (and apparently to draw the line for establishing compliance with a standards of care for negligence in legal actions ). Such standards do not ensure safety mind you, but do - at least attempt to - provide a baseline for competent skills upon which safety is based.

I have known a number of highly competent divers who never got around to being certified to dive. One had his own boat and compressor. Another became a scuba instructor without ever obtaining any kind of dive certification before taking the ITC. I currently dive a lot with a guy who started diving in 1963 but is still not certified. The guys at the local dive shop just see him regularly and assume he is certified and he gets airfills all the time.

Now to the OP's post re: "Do you believe that from a safety stand point, it is necessary to get certified if you plan to stay in the 40 foot range?"
Well shoot. If one is using 'necessary ' in the context of its a really good idea to at least get the basics down as set forth by industry standards so you stand less of a chance of death or serious bodily injury, then YES, it is necessary. If one is using 'necessary ' in the context of I'm a smart person and there is no reason I can't get the info from a book or on-line and practice with a friend, then, depending on the background of the person, NO, not necessary, but still a REALLY GOOD IDEA.

The latter statement is qualified in that it also very much depends on the person. A lifeguard, or surfer, or swimmer, or long-time snorkeler with excellent watermanship skills and knowledge is more likely (on average) to not panic in a watery environment than a person without those underlying skills. I dove a lot for 9 years before I took a PADI Basic class and obtained a cert. But I was born into a ocean-oriented family and had my dad who was a YMCA swim instructor, but not a scuba instructor, teach me how to dive. I would not have felt comfortable doing what I did if dad hadn't kept throwing me in the pool before I could walk.

Bottom line? There will be those that can become competent safe divers on their own without obtaining a certification. However, it is my opinion that for the vast majority of folks out there certification is really a necessity for a foundation as a safe diver.

End of rant. M

 

[scubadada]

@BoltSnap If training is the least expensive part of the process, then what is the most expensive part of the process, gear?

Initial training is a one-time expense. Once you have your gear, you can dive quite a long time before needing/wanting more gear. Unless you are lucky enough to live near very good shore diving to satisfy all your needs, paying for boat dives and traveling to diving locations to dive will be the largest expense.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I was first taught to dive by the "Mom & Dad" agency back in the mid 60's and was doing all the home pool maintenance when I was 10. Later in life, certification was really just a formality.

 

[scubadada]

I was first taught to dive by the "Mom & Dad" agency back in the mid 60's and was doing all the home pool maintenance when I was 10. Later in life, certification was really just a formality.

Back in the day, I was not certified until 1970 by LA County when I was 16, of course, I did not have scuba diving parents.