Stepping back in SCUBA time....

[derwoodwithasherwood]

I agree. My NASDS course was in 74 and the courses now are much easier.

Actually, I think it is far more difficult to pass an NASDS course now than in 74.

Seriously, it's apples to oranges, isn't it? As I understand it*, NASDS OW was more involved than, say, PADI OW because NASDS OW was more equivalent to PADI AOW in terms of the final skill set.


(*I never took any PADI courses so I could be blowing smoke here.)

 

[OE2X]

Actually, I think it is far more difficult to pass an NASDS course now than in 74.

Seriously, it's apples to oranges, isn't it? As I understand it*, NASDS OW was more involved than, say, PADI OW because NASDS OW was more equivalent to PADI AOW in terms of the final skill set.


(*I never took any PADI courses so I could be blowing smoke here.)

I don't think it was apples to oranges at all. With NASDS you got the equivalent of two courses for the price of one. In OW you were trained to a higher degree. With PADI you have to take another course. Many people stop their education after their first cert. Which organization do think made better divers?

FYI - NASDS went out of business a few years back.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

...was 13 weeks long. Had to get a clearance medical ( included a pulmonary functions test! - see the thread on "Diving Health" in Accidents/Incidents for a modern perspective ).

> Had to do complete "ditch n ' don" of snorkelling equip. in 12' of water - 1 breath.

> Fellow students regularly snuck up & turned your air off in the pool

> No "B.C.'s" - used the venerable "Mae-West" flotation vest

> O/W in 36 degree water in a wet suit for a man 40 lbs. heavier

> was fed beer by my classmates each night ( I was 14! ) of the o/w weekend (- they
were scolded by their wives )

> Survived it all & had a ball, but glad the times did change!

Best,
D.S.D.

 

[derwoodwithasherwood]

FYI - NASDS went out of business a few years back.

Thanks, yes I realize that. My opening line about it was intended as a joking reference. Sometimes my sense of humour is a little obtuse



Back to lurk mode...

 

[garyfotodiver]

I don't think it was apples to oranges at all. With NASDS you got the equivalent of two courses for the price of one. In OW you were trained to a higher degree. With PADI you have to take another course. Many people stop their education after their first cert. Which organization do think made better divers?

FYI - NASDS went out of business a few years back.

They were bought (merged?) by SSI, who still have some of the original NASDS records. I had no problem getting a replacement c-card last year.

I agree that the level of training that we old salts received 30+ years ago was higher than what is usually given today.

 

[OE2X]

Thats right I had heard that they had merged with SSI. I also heard that they had a fire sometime around 1976 and that all their records had been destroyed on certs prior to that. Is there any truth to that? If so it would be fun to get a replacement card since I got my cert in the spring of '75.

 

[Bubble Blower 479]

Thats right I had heard that they had merged with SSI. I also heard that they had a fire sometime around 1976 and that all their records had been destroyed on certs prior to that. Is there any truth to that? If so it would be fun to get a replacement card since I got my cert in the spring of '75.

If you go to the SSI website you will find all the info you need to get a replacement. They will explain about the fire and what you must do for a replacement (such as photocopy your old card). However, you will get an SSI card and not an NASDS card.

 

[Conchchowder]

SCUBA classes were two nights a week at the downtown YMCA from 7 to 10 pm. for 6 weeks. Tuesday night was the "dry" class using the "New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving, 2nd edition". On thursday night we used the pool. If you were lucky enought to pass the written test (no multiple guess answers) and the basic techinques in the pool then next weekend we drove 100 miles to Lake Travis for a checkout dive. The scuba course seemed longer and we didn't have to depend on computers to figure out the dive table problems. Some how we all survived and 30 years later we are now called "old salts" that should go back to square one and start over because the equipment and techiques we learned are no longer acceptable. Well guys ..... 867 dives later and I'm still going strong. I have given up my Dacor Double Hose and now own a SCUBAPRO MK10. After much critism from Scubaboard members I have purchase a octopus and a new jacket. Can't wait till 2034 when the "new guys" tell the current "hot shots" that they are "Over the Hill" and need to up date their equipment and training............... I'll be laughing in Cacun using my old Scubapro stuff (if i can still get the parts for it) and starting my 2000 dive if lucky .

My training was the same...Now, they want me to take check out dives to get my OW card so I can take courses to get into the IDC. OW card? I had to do a ditch and don in open ocean (surfacing in 25 feet of water) and go through harassment (we werent told that our air was going to be turned off...they wanted to see your reaction..I "slit my throat" and had my instructors reg in my mouth in a split second. The fact that PADI will dumb down their current programs, and not grandfather me in while I studied diving physics and took closed book tests (many did not get certified in my class!) and had 4 open ocean checkout dives...amazes me. I'm having second thoughts about persuing diving as a career which brought me into this whole c-card snafu in the first place. when the instructor got off the phone with PADI and said I had to do dives 3 and 4, hover, fin pivot full and partial clear...I was flabbergasted...dumbfounded. I had regularly assisted previous instructors ta that very dive shop in demonstrating those same concepts 15 years ago. Ive dove technical dives of 132 feet and to say that I am limited to dives of no more than 40 feet...WITH A DIVE PROFESSIONAL is absurd. I never had these restrictions on my c-card until PADI started dumbing down their courses. Now they want me to take a watered down course to prove that my extensive, basic training is adequate? poppycock!