i was certified naui in 1984 in monterey bay. have been on a handful of dives since, and recently misplaced the 'certificate of completion' i had been relying on. we are scheduled to go to bonaire in october and am wondering if anyone has suggestions as to how to get diving as quickly as possible. my partner is good to go. thanks for any and all suggestions. p.s. i have emailed naui, no response. joedawn

Have you drove with any dive op. recently that might still have your liability form on hand? Usually that has your cert. # on it. It might help to speed up NAUI. Another idea is a local dive shop that you get air refills from.

Contact NAUI and ask for a replacement card. Give them your full name, address at the time, certifying dive shop's name, and certification level. I had my C-cards stolen in '94 and was certified in '78/79 and was able to get all three cards replaced. Their URL is www.naui.org

thanks Linda and Linnea. i emailed naui again and more completely this time. however, there still may be some information lacking, i.e. i do not know who the guys were who certified me. they worked through the Presidio recreation department in san fran. i explained this in the email. in the event this fails, i may trouble you again for the next step of advise. i don't know what that may be other than some kind of recert or refresher or...joedawn

Hi Joe,

If you have really done only a few dives in 20 years, I guess I'd HIGHLY recommend at the minimum a refresher course, with a full cert course being an even better option. Dive table DCS science is different, gear is different, chance of injury or death remains the same. No need to go out of your way to become a statistic.

Just one guy's opinion.

Randy's right. Diving is NOT like learning to ride a bike. You truly have to keep up with it. Please don't take any chances. At LEAST take a refresher course to make sure you're familiar with your skills and new equipment that you may never have used. When I got my open water it was 1966. Not long after it was college, career, wife, etc. and I got away from diving. When I returned to diving in the 80's, there was so much new equipment. We never had BCs or even SPGs. No dive tables either (we had to do all our calculations by long arithmetic, can you belive it?). It was like starting over. Take our advice and take a course. And besides, you might find it fun.

Good luck........Richard

thanks Richard and Randy. don't think i can get one in before my October trip to bonaire. can i get a refresher on bonaire and still have time to dive with my partner? if so, any recommendations where? i did dive last year, but i'm with you-i need a refresher. thanks for any more help. joedawn

Hi Richard..As a 13 year old, I started diving in 1965 and as you've indicated the changes have been remarkable..Remember the double hose regulators where in order to clear you had to roll over on your back? The K valves (when you ran out of air, the solution was simple, just ascend a bit so the ambient pressure lessens which would give you a few more gulps of air). The j valves which for some reason would on occasion be in the wrong position when you need it (darn), the Mae West vest for use on the surface..A BC, what's that??
However contrary to what you stated I have a vivid recollection of using the Navy Tables which I believe were first formulated back in 1915 & then modified back in 1930.

Joe:

You can most likely obtain a refresher with whomever you are diving with. It is probably a good idea to arrange that in advance with them (that way they will be sure to have someone available). I know the Carib Inn (who I have first hand knowledge of) offers one for $45 (half day) or $75 (full day, including a dive) -- but I am sure most other dive ops do as well.

I was certified in '77 and there have been a few changes since then...

thanks again for the help David. much appreciated.