What does your “C” card mean? To me it means you can have a tank filled with air without the person filling it being in trouble if you drowned! It doesn’t mean you’re a diver! Diving makes you a diver, just like knowing how to ski doesn’t make you a skier; it is not enough to know how. It is a practiced skill that needs to be polished so when that outside ski comes off you don’t kill yourself going down the hill. So does it matter if your PADI, NAUI, SDI, or any other agency certified. I say no, it matters what you do with it to further your comfort zone. Water is not our normal environment and you have to train yourself to over come your natural fear of water that all people have. You do that by practice and repeating your practice. I have a problem with people in agencies that move Open Water Divers into Advanced dive classes before they have any experience. You should not move to Advanced Diver until you have at least 30 or more dives in varied conditions. You will get more from it and have fewer issues with equipment and maybe even have a clue as to why you like this activity. Notice I call it an activity and not a sport. Sports are competitive and diving has no place for competition, except maybe number of, so the activity has to be fun for you to continue and become a better diver.
So is it important which agency you certify under, not in my opinion as a open water dive, just as long as you have a card to get air and a basic understanding of the Laws of Physic that can get you in trouble. So go dive not to prove to anyone about your certification, but to enjoy the wonders of the other two-thirds of the world with all its wonders.
Dive safe and dive often
Papa Bear
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