system: You are Jay Hanig, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Scuba message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Derek A. Bailey about "13 yrs. old certified diver".

They wrote:
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
DB> presant?
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
DB> Care to comment?

Write your reply.

assistant: 26 Oct 96 08:16, Derek A. Bailey wrote to Jay Hanig:
iver
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Obviously we live in different areas.
No, but thanks for the offer.  <G>
Jay
PADI M-9033