Is PADI serious about this course?

[Bryan]

Received this via E-mail today.....

Book your dives with us and sign up for the PADI Deep Ocean Megalodon Tooth Hunter Specialty and get the course / certification for only $249. That's $50 off the normal price of $295. This specialty counts towards your 5 required course completions to get your PADI Master Scuba Diver Card

WTF.....

Ok gang just send me $248.00 and I'll sign you up for the "Regulator dust cap maintenance specialty" This specialty counts towards your 5 required courses to get your Master Tool Card

[Herman]

Any PADI instructor can work up a specialty course and have it approved by PADI. If you can sell it, they will make a card for it.

[gj1963]

Dust cap maintenance is hard stuff - not to be taken lightly. I still don't have it figured. I's is howevar a certaphied PADI dive historian

[crimediver]

You can laugh all you want to but collecting teeth from megs can be pretty spooky. The first time I pulled out a tooth from a megladon shark he got really pissed off.
If only I had taken the PADI course and had my c-card I would have known to use sedation dentistry and most likely would still have my right hand. At the very least I would have been taught the ancient but but effective technique of tying the tooth to the door knob trick.

[Nemrod]

Do not you have to have taken the Peak Buoyancy course first?

I want to dig up some of those teeth, I am in.

Nem

[antique diver]

If you would all just take the "How To Choose Your Next PADI Specialty Course, Part I" "Specialty Course", you would know about half of the wonderful educational opportunities you are missing. Then you could take "Part II" (prerequisite is taking only 10 of the courses you learned about in "Part I") and really get serious about improving your diving knowledge.

Crimediver, if only you had known about the course in time to save your hand!
Please take the above mentioned course while you still have one hand left to write your checks with!

[21]

Don't be too harsh on PADI, after all it is the only instructor program that certified the founder of NASDS, John Gaffney dog as a PADI instructor.

Which was followed by a pig and a duck as PADI instructors...all with low instructor numbers. And it only cost $5.00!

SDM

[Bryan]

Fine......Then my neighbor and forum member 2THDIVR down in Venice should teach the MASTER MEGALADON TOOTH DIVER with DOUBLE HOSE class.

[antique diver]

Don't be too harsh on PADI, after all it is the only instructor program that certified the founder of NASDS, John Gaffney dog as a PADI instructor.

Which was followed by a pig and a duck as PADI instructors...all with low instructor numbers. And it only cost $5.00!

SDM

While some of us may think of the well known instructor certification of Gaffney's dog as an indictment of PADI's carelessness or worse, don't overlook the dishonesty and lack of integrity that was demonstrated by John Gaffney in perpetrating the fraud to start with!

PADI wasn't out looking for dogs to certify, and it took a dishonest act to start that ball rolling. (OK... admittedly, some of thought it was kinda funny at the time)

[21]

I still think it was funny, matter of fact I think it was hilarious!

SDM

[antique diver]

Well, one more thing to look back on and chuckle about when we get old.

[Nemrod]

The dog is probably a better diver than the typical PadI instructor.

I am in for the teeth, even if a dog is giving the course. Besides, I like dogs, at least I used to.

Nem

[uwstlth]

PADI= Pay Another Dive Instructor

Why Pay Another Dive Instructor for a card when you can do it on charter, and probably have a better time?

http://www.alertdiver.com/Cooper_River_South_Carolina

[antique diver]

Darn, I had to learn everything the hard way, way back when. Didn't know I could have waited a few years and just Put Another Dollar In.

Some specialty courses have merit of course, but some of the drivel that's available is sort of laughable.

[21]

[quote="antique diver"]

Darn, I had to learn everything the hard way, way back when. Didn't know I could have waited a few years and just [u]P[/u]ut [u]A[/u]nother [u]D[/u]ollar [u]I[/u]n. ....

quote]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were a number of reputable dive agencies in i965 who taught outstanding courses. Some that come to mind;

LA Co the grandfather of all certifying agencies and the most demanding and prestigious was established in 1954 in California.

NAUI was created by LA Co personnel and the very first instructor course (ITC)was presented at the Underwater Society of America (USA) in Houston in August 1960. A number enrolled but only a hand full successfully completed the ITC and were certified. It became apparent then that LA Co requirement were just too difficult for the average prospective instructor from the hinterlands. Slowly NAUI relaxed some of the requirements, the beginning of the slippery slope to PADI.

YMCA was a loose jointed organization but was some what active in selective areas of the US. The basic requirement was that he course be taught in an established YMCA facility.

One was the Long Beach YMCA. Nelson (Doc) Matheson (on the first cover of SDM) and Rory Page (of Hope Page) established the course.

They grew weary of teaching so Harry Vetter (NAUI #4) took over. I joined Harry almost immediately after my service in the USAF during the Korean war as his assistant. I became an LA Co UW instructor about the time my day time position transferred me out of long Beach to Orange county and left Harry to run the course.

Harry ran the course but he also became weary. About 1966/7 Nic Icorn completed the LA Co UW instructors course and took over from Harry until the YAMC was closed.

All courses were taught to LA Co standards and presented and upon successful completion the student was presented an LA Co certification along with a YMCA diving card signed by the director of the Long Beach YMCA Al Fish (Yep that was his name) Who was not a diver and never once checked on the course.


So there were a number of programs in 1965.

<<<< Maybe some day I should write about Rory Page and his Hope-Page mouth piece....We lived in the same OC town "2 blocks apart (north to south) and 10 blocks (east to west>)
Or maybe Harry Vetter who I remain in contact after all these good year>>>

SDM