Roll call: Any old NASDS divers out there?

[jgaski]

Just found this thread. I was certified at the Dive Shop in Falls Church VA in 1978 by Ken Fine

 

[rcs9250]

1974, Midwest Underwater School of Diving, Wickliffe , Ohio. My OWS instructor was Doug Feathers. Been a long time.
Randy

 

[AfterDark]

Me Too! My card reads 1972 the year it was issued. My actual cert was in 1968 at M&S Divers Westport Ma. Glen Shoesmith and Bob Mercer owners, operators and instructors. Long gone now. I was too young by 1 year then to be certified, so the instructor(s) didn't want to issue it at that time. I procrastinated for a couple of years, then in '71 I was planning to dive in FL during the winter of '72 and needed to get a card. It took a few months to happen hence 1972. My card is also mangled. After reading this thread I'll be getting my new beginners card from SSI! I am also considering taking a solo diving course and have discovered the only agency around here that offers it is SSI! Ironic the agency I was originally certified with has become part of another agency that after a 15 year lapse maybe part of my re-submergance into diving sort of speak.

 

[Rick Murchison]

... Ironic the agency I was originally certified with has become part of another agency that after a 15 year lapse maybe part of my re-submergance into diving sort of speak.

SSI was a split from NASDS in the first place, formed in 1970. By the time they decided to get back together (1999), SSI had grown to be the larger agency, and already had "International" in the name, so the choice of name between the two was easy to make.
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

NASDS, #2383, 1968, ...The irony is I’ve probably made 1000’s of dives, including many below 200 feet – including free ascent, 100’s involving pre-gps navigation, 100’s at night, many in caves and in wrecks, many 100’s off the beach and 100’s of those in heavy surf, etc. I’ve even been chased by sharks while dragging bloody fish on my stringer (just plain luck of the stupid there). I lost interest in logs 30 years ago, and no longer have the one I once kept.

All that and $40 (lots more than the course cost back in ’68) will get me a replacement card that says I’m a beginner. Nice.

Not exactly... the SSI card has on it a nice label, front & center, that says "Diving since" and the year - in your case it'll say 1968... and, it has another prominent field that says "XXXX or more logged dives." In addition to that, since you've made "1000's of dives" you can buy the SSI "Platinum Diver" card, for those with 1000 or more dives.
See your local SSI dealer, who will be happy to help you.
Which caves?

Rick

 

[Artimas]

NASDS 1969
Underwater Sports of NJ.

Instructor was AJ Bakunas. Shortly after I was certified, AJ moved to Hollywood to become a stuntman. He was killed performing a world record high fall from a helicopter when the airbag malfunctioned.

 

[Stoy D Dabbs]

I was NASDS certified in 1975, I remember my certification number was BB11245, I went threw a refresher course in 1984 was NASDS, I went threw another refresher course in 1992 which is SSI.

I have loss my original NASDS certifications, I would like to replace them.

 

[WetRide]

Not exactly... the SSI card has on it a nice label, front & center, that says "Diving since" and the year - in your case it'll say 1968... and, it has another prominent field that says "XXXX or more logged dives." In addition to that, since you've made "1000's of dives" you can buy the SSI "Platinum Diver" card, for those with 1000 or more dives.
See your local SSI dealer, who will be happy to help you.
Which caves?

Rick

As reported by AfterNight, above, my current card has no issue date. It only says "1972 SERIES" on the back. However, it does say "Hebs Dive Shop Florida" on the front (actually it is "Herbs," they misspelled it), and I was only in Florida during the school year of 1967-68. Other than the card, I have no documentation and cannot prove the actual date of certification or anything else. I filled out the online application for replacement, but haven't mailed it yet. Is there any advantage to going to a shop with no documentation but an old card? How can I get a card that says "Since 1968," when I have no documentation? I was pretty chagrinned to learn that everything burned. One would have thought they would keep records in a fireproof vault. The other certification I had is just plain gone.
I have to confess 1,000's of dives was a flagrant exaggeration. I went diving in the Pacific along the California coast from Santa Barbara in the south to Fort Bragg in the north practically every weekend for many, many years. However, I just picked up the calculator and divided 2000 dives by 52 weeks and came up with 38 years! So sorry, even though we often made multiple dives over two days, it probably could not possibly have topped 2,000. Also many dive days were spent free diving for abalone, back when the limit was still 10. However, it probably did top 1,000. But as I said in my post, I stopped logging many years ago and no longer have any records. I have nothing but the card. After moving a few times and going through two marriages some things are just gone. The latest major purge came with my move to Thailand.
As for caves, I explored many caves with friends we found diving along the Pacific Coast. To the best of my knowledge none of them had names.
Anyway, with no other documentation but a card that says "1972 Series" is there any alternative to the simple application for the basic card?

Cheers

 

[Rick Murchison]

As reported by AfterNight, above, my current card has no issue date. It only says "1972 SERIES" on the back. However, it does say "Hebs Dive Shop Florida" on the front (actually it is "Herbs," they misspelled it), and I was only in Florida during the school year of 1967-68. Other than the card, I have no documentation and cannot prove the actual date of certification or anything else. I filled out the online application for replacement, but haven't mailed it yet. Is there any advantage to going to a shop with no documentation but an old card? How can I get a card that says "Since 1968," when I have no documentation? I was pretty chagrinned to learn that everything burned. One would have thought they would keep records in a fireproof vault. The other certification I had is just plain gone.
I have to confess 1,000's of dives was a flagrant exaggeration. I went diving in the Pacific along the California coast from Santa Barbara in the south to Fort Bragg in the north practically every weekend for many, many years. However, I just picked up the calculator and divided 2000 dives by 52 weeks and came up with 38 years! So sorry, even though we often made multiple dives over two days, it probably could not possibly have topped 2,000. Also many dive days were spent free diving for abalone, back when the limit was still 10. However, it probably did top 1,000. But as I said in my post, I stopped logging many years ago and no longer have any records. I have nothing but the card. After moving a few times and going through two marriages some things are just gone. The latest major purge came with my move to Thailand.
As for caves, I explored many caves with friends we found diving along the Pacific Coast. To the best of my knowledge none of them had names.
Anyway, with no other documentation but a card that says "1972 Series" is there any alternative to the simple application for the basic card?

Cheers

You are pole vaulting over mouse turds.
Scuba's a sport; it ain't a lawyer brokered legal contract... tell your SSI dealer what you want on your card based on your best honest assessment of what should be there and they'll put it on the card. If your original cert was 1968, tell SSI and that's what will go on your card. If your logs are all gone, start a new one with a summary of your best recollection of where, when and how many dives you have in the past as an introductory page, and pick up from there. Show that to your SSI dealer and if he/she's comfortable with it, that's how many "logged dives" you have and that's what will go on the card.
(When NASDS merged with SSI and I got my first SSI card, I had 'em put the date of my original YMCA certification (1971) in the "diving since" spot, 'cause that was a date I knew - at least the year - rather than "1964," which could be as much as a year off and didn't involve any certifications... For logged dives... well, as I hadn't logged any dives between the 60's and when the Lovely Young Kat started her course in '90 - brought home a log book and told me I ought to be logging them - I used the number I'd logged since then, so that number's a couple of decades of dives short. I suppose I could estimate, but as my diving was pretty spotty anyway I didn't see much point at even taking a guess.)
In addition to the basic card, you can buy an additional card - Gold Diver for 500 dives or Platinum Diver for 1000 dives, depending on the number of dives you're sure you have.
Bottom line... If you know the year you started diving, SSI will honor that; if you know how many dives you can "log" SSI will put that on the card too, so long as the SSI shop owner that submits it is comfortable with your numbers.
Yes, I'm sure that with this system there are a few folks out there with SSI cards that overstate their experience... after all, there are right at 5 times as many "Navy Seals" diving than have ever been Navy Seals, and double the "fighter pilots" than have ever existed, but don't let that keep you from getting a card that reflects your real experience.
Rick

 

[NCGUY]

NASDS certification in 1973, Wayne, NJ. One of the main things I remember is that if I didn't use Scubapro I would die.

Did PADI Scuba Diver 6/08 and Open Water 12/08, both in the BVI. Beats a quarry in NJ (or PA) in March!

Rick