26 Oct 96 08:16, Derek A. Bailey wrote to Jay Hanig:
 DB> The funny thing is, is that Scuba diving is a self regulating sport. How
 DB> can you stop a 12-14 year old from diving without a Adult certified 
iver
 DB> presant?
How can I?  I can't, if there are no family controls present.  What I can do 
is refuse to rent them equipment unless they come in with an adult diver, 
preferably one of their parents.
 DB> Legally you don't even need a license to dive. It would be stupid to
 DB> dive without a certification, and of course I myself would never
 DB> recommend diving without certification, in fact we as responsible
 DB> certified divers all know, one would more than likely hurt themselves
 DB> or even kill themselves without proper training, but the reality is
 DB> that if you were wealthy enough to buy all the gear brand new, and
 DB> your own air filling station, and you were stupid enough to go
 DB> without certification, you could in reality go diving today without a
 DB> C-card and no one could do anything about it.
Of course you could.  However, in all the years I've been diving, I've yet to 
meet the uncertified diver who owned his own compressor.  Uncertified diver 
deaths hurt all of us.  The headlines always read, "Diver Drowns In Cave", 
not "Untrained Person Dies Using Borrowed Equipment".  Our illustrious 
legislators see headlines like that and rush to restrict our sport.  Thanks a 
lot, Joe Moron.
 DB> So in my opinion a "Junior C-card" is also bogus. Either you are
 DB> certified or your not. Why would an adult with a c-card make any
 DB> difference to a diver regardless of age?
Around here, you have to travel to dive.  Very few 12 year olds drive.  They 
can't get to the dive site without cooperation from adults.
 DB> BTW just out of curiosity, when was the last time you were asked for
 DB> your C-card anywhere in the world before they would fill your tanks?
I have a big patch on my dive jacket that says "PADI Master Instructor".  The 
places that I usually do business with never ask for a C-Card.  I have been 
carded more times than I can count in the Keys (where I don't go very often). 
I have *never* gotten on a dive shop dive boat that didn't require everybody 
to flash the card before they were allowed a spot.  That's in more than 20 
years of diving.
 DB> I myself have dove all over the world and have been diving regularly
 DB> for 15years, and have Never, not even once been asked to show my
 DB> C-card before they would fill my tanks. They always check for current
 DB> Hydro and Vis, but never ask to show my C-card.
I admit to being guilty of this at times.  When I had a shop, sometimes I 
would talk to a customer for a while before we got around to the business of 
filling his tanks.  If he talked about diving knowledgeably, I seldom would 
ask for a card.  If I thought he was trying to blow smoke, I always asked for 
a card.  Of course, I never asked regular customers.....it would have been a 
bit anal of me.
 DB> In my opinion, Air filling stations should be required to ask for
 DB> proof of certification before filling any tanks. They always talk
 DB> about not being able to get tanks filled in the PADI course, and any
 DB> good instructor will instill this upon their students, but in reality
 DB> the c-card is rarely asked for, and in my case has never been asked
 DB> for.
Obviously we live in different areas.
 DB> Care to comment?
No, but thanks for the offer.  
Jay
PADI M-9033
--- GoldED/386 2.50+
(1:379/41.5)
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