PADI adv. paperwork ???

[fotta]

A question for any PADI experts out there:

I recently completed my basic open water course in Mexico. Immediately afterwards I started working towards my advanced rating. I was able to do 4 of the 5 dives required for the cert, before having to head back home to Canada. I have my logbook signed by my Mexican instructor but received no other paperwork for the advanced course (I was told the logbook was sufficient). (I did get my paperwork for the basic open water portion btw, which I mailed to PADI).

My question:
The mexican instructor has a file on me. When I complete the last required dive, how do I go about upgrading my PADI certificate? Do I photocopy my logbook pages and mail them to PADI? Does all this have to go to Mexico to my instructors address? I certainly hope not since he cautioned that Mexican mail was *very* slow and not especially reliable.

Any insight is appreciated.

 

[Nessie]

Hi,
your Mexican Instructructor should have given you a referral paper which shows which dives you have done. This you could have given your next Instructor. The Instructor who does the last dive of the course with you is the certifying Instructor and sends the papers to PADI. The problem you could have is finding an Instructor who accepts the firsts dives as part of the AOWD. Either you ask the Mexican to send you a referral or you talk to the Instructor, show your logbook (maybe ask him to call/mail the Mexican Instructor) and hope that he is fine with only doing the last dive.

 

[fotta]

Thanks for the quick reply,

My logbook has pretty official looking pages for the advanced dives, which the instructor filled out and signed. Hopefully this is as good as referral papers. It looks like it has pretty much the same info as the referral papers that I brought to him from Canada to allow me to get my OWC with him.

 

[scuberd]

or you could suck it up and do more diving (oh darn)

I'm always a big fan of getting in the water for any reason at all

 

[sexyscubadiver]

If the Mexican instructor signed the pages in your logbook, ( I assume you mean the pages just after your open water dives in the blue logbook, then any PADI instructor should take those as a refferal form. All you need to do is the 5th dive, and have the instructor who does that dive with you sign your logbook and a PIC. I assume of the five dives you did two were deep and navigation....

 

[Bubble Boy]

If you did all your dives in Mexico (including your OW checkouts) you may as well go to your LDS and do 5 dives with them. Even if you had completed all the dives in Mexico and despite what the card says you would not be an advanced diver. The name is a marketing scheme that most agencies use. It used to be called open water ii.

I don't mean to sound negative but it sounds like all your dives were done in Mexico. If so you would not exactly be wise to do your first dive back in Canada without an instructor or an experienced leadership level diver. Preferably an instructor. My main reasons for saying this is primarily the fact that your dives would have been in salt water and not fresh water (bouyancy characteristics/weighting) and secondly water temperature will force you to wear an exposure suit (wet or dry) with gloves/mits, and hood. This extra gear again changes your bouyancy and also affects your mobility. Its a lot easier to clear a mast without a hood and wearing reef gloves than with a hood and three finger mits.

 

[fotta]

Sexyscubadiver: yes, the dives included nav and deep, and yes, I have one of those blue log books. So do I understand correctly that the final instructor will fill out paperwork on my behalf and send that, along with another picture to PADI who will then issue me a new (replacement) card? Or, do I send this to PADI myself?

Bubbleboy: I understand what you are saying and expect that there will be a transition process to become accusotmed to diving in the (cold) Ontario waters. Still, the learning process is part of the attraction of the sport.

 

[Bubble Boy]

you have the right attitude ....the saying goes... "A responsible diver is always training"

 

[sexyscubadiver]

prove to the instructor in Ontario that you did four Adventure dives in Mexico, all you need is one more, and he can either give you a PIC to mail or he will do it for you. Just be sure that he fills in his half of the card (the red part). And that's it. Cold water diving is more challenging than warm water, but give it a shot!! Just make sure that you go with someone competent and trustworthy, with experience in cold water. You don't have to go diving with the first instructor you meet.....

 

[fotta]

PIC = PADI instruction certificate?