NAUI - 50 Years of Diving History and still Growing! - Midwest Scuba ...

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NAUI 50 Years of Diving Historyand Still Growing! 1959-2009The story of the National Associationof Underwater Instructors (NAUI) is anidea evolving into a vision of how divinginstruction should be. It is a vision that isshared by thousands of people for whomscuba diving is not just a recreational pastime,but a passion. Imparting safe diving skills andworking in unison to preserve the world’saquatic environments are the noble purposesshared by the pioneers who first formedNAUI. Pursuing this task has not always beeneasy, but it has been richly rewarding. Thisarticle chronicles the dedication, hard workand perseverance, the conflict and resolution,and ultimately, the triumph of the philosophy“Dive Safety Through Education.”The modern diving era in North America tracesits beginnings to 1948 when Jacques-YvesCousteau convinced Rene Bussoz (of Rene’sSporting Goods in Westwood, California) toimport self-contained underwater breathingunits he called Aqua-Lungs. Previously,aquatic adventurers were limited to breathholddives, although they too called themselvesskin divers. It wasn’t until the late 1960s thatthe term “scuba diver” became the acceptedname for Aqua-Lung users.The Aqua-Lung would, for the first time, allowdivers to stay under water much longer thanthey could on a single breath. Rene Bussozimported only ten S.C.U.B.A. units, and oncethey were sold he believed he had saturatedthe market. However, several sportinggoods stores across the country discovered amarket for the Aqua-Lungs. The divers whobought them soon realized they didn’t need abreath-hold diver’s stamina, and they in turnconvinced others to try this new, wonderful,extended, weightless experience. The numberof scuba divers steadily increased and U.S.Divers Company was formed out of Rene’sSporting Goods.During those beginning years, there were nocertification requirements, and anyone whocould afford it could purchase scuba equipment.That equipment pales in comparison to today’sdesigns. The double-hose regulators werehard breathing, and some required specializedtechniques to clear water from the hoses ifthey flooded during the dive. Still, the onlytraining offered by the sellers was the warningnot to hold one’s breath. Training was beingconducted by the military (UnderwaterDemolition Teams, the forerunner of the wellknown SEAL teams in the U.S. Navy) andby the oceanographic institutes at Scripps inSouthern California and Woods Hole in NewEngland. Dive clubs were the only resourcefor training available to civilian recreationaldivers throughout the 1950s. As the populationof divers grew, the need to codify the trainingwas also growing.Jim Auxier and Chuck Blakeslee started amagazine called The Skin Diver (later renamedSkin Diver Magazine) in 1951. They asked NealHess to write and edit a column about teachingscuba called “The Instructors Corner.” Itwasn’t long before Neal was reviewing courseoutlines submitted by others and certifyingthem as instructors. He started a new columncalled the “National Diving Patrol,” whereinhe would publish the names of these new skinand scuba diving “instructors.” Al Tillman,(soon to become NAUI Instructor #1) wasthe director of sports for Los Angeles CountyParks and Recreation during this period andestablished a training program sponsored byL.A. County to certify skin and scuba divers.The impetus was the growing number ofdivers appearing at Los Angeles area beachesand concern for their safety. As Tillmansaid in a 1952 letter to Parks and Recreationdirector Paul Gruendyke: “A new sport—skindiving—is becoming popular in the area.Recently while diving in Palos Verdes, I raninto several divers in the water with me whodidn’t know what they were doing. One hadone of the new underwater breathing units thatallows divers to stay under for long periodsof time... I propose that my department getinvolved in this sport and provide trainingclasses. I believe that diving will grow in thefuture, and we have an obligation to make thesport as safe as possible.”Bev Morgan, a Los Angeles County lifeguardat the time, (he would later be well knownamong commercial and recreational divers16 MIDWEST SCUBA DIVING SPRING 2008
alike for his equipment designs, including theKirby-Morgan band mask) and Al Tillmanstudied with Conrad Limbaugh at ScrippsInstitute of Oceanography in 1953. In April1955 they held the first Underwater InstructorCertification Course, (1UICC) and created theworld’s first civilian diver training agency. TheL.A. County program soon began grantingProvisional Certification to instructors acrossthe country to respond to a growing numberof requests.The decade of the 1950s was a periodof growing interest and participation inrecreational scuba diving. “Sea Hunt” airedfrom 1958 to 1961 and starred Lloyd Bridges(NAUI’s first honorary instructor member)and Zale Parry, NAUI #A-12. “Sea Hunt”generated much of the early excitement andinterest in scuba as a recreational activity.There were also early movies and books byCousteau and Hans Hass, but neither did asmuch as “Mike Nelson” to focus the attentionof the general public on scuba diving. ZaleParry and Al Tillman have likened the programto “an underwater Western movie” in theirbook ScubaAmerica: The Human History ofSport Diving.Remarkably there was even an LP recordreleased that purportedly taught listenersto dive. The jacket of the album carried thefollowing explanation, and the lesson contentis eerily familiar.“On the album the great actor–skin diver tells“Recorded text by Lloyd Bridges, written byWilliam Barada” (In 1962 Bill Barada NAUI#A-1 became NAUI’s first “Affiliate” memberwhose number carried the “A” designation.)you—in what amounts to a private lesson—all he knows of the art and science of gettingalong in the world of the fish. It’s all sensible,all practical, all learned by years of fun andpractice under water.“Bridges is the well-known aquatic star onnational TV and has found a perfect way ofcombining his hobby and his work. He’s beenan actor for many years, on Broadway first,then in movies and television. At the sametime, he’s been an enthusiastic skin and scubadiver. So he jumped at the chance to star in aseries which would let him act, skin dive andmake money at the same time. He once wasquoted as saying he would almost have paidthem to let him be in the show—undoubtedlyan exaggeration, but it shows you how muchhe loves the water. And he knows and respectsit, too. On this record, he imparts his love, hisknowledge and his respect.Los Angeles County was followed by otherpublic certifying agencies including theBroward County, Florida, the Red Crossprogram developed by John C. Jones, Jr. andlater, in 1959, the YMCA’s national program.In 1959 the National Diving Patrol wasrenamed the National Association ofUnderwater Instructors (NAUI) and Hess,Blakeslee, and Auxier planned to conducta major instructor certification course thefollowing year. In August 1960, a meetingof the Underwater Society of America wasscheduled to be held in Houston, Texas.Neal Hess asked Al Tillman to organize theinstructor course, and they contacted John C.Jones to work on the project. NAUI’s firstInstructor Certification Course was held at theHouston’s Shamrock Hilton Hotel that Augustwith 72 candidates. After six days of what wasdescribed as a “Hell Week,” 53 graduated, andalong with their staff instructors, became thevery first instructor members of the NationalAssociation of Underwater Instructors. A littleover a year later, in October 1961, NAUIwas incorporated in the State of Californiaas a non-profit educational organization.Al Tillman was the first President and NealHess, the Executive Secretary. When askedrecently why they chose a non-profit status,Garry Howland, NAUI #13 said, “That’s whatwe knew. I was a member of the Electricaland Electronics Engineers, Inc. and Al wasfamiliar with the YMCA.”NAUI’s first elected Board of Directorsincluded Al Tillman (NAUI #1), John C.Jones, Jr. (NAUI #2), Neal Hess (NAUI #3),Garry Howland (NAUI #13), Jim Auxier,(NAUI #A4), and James Cahill, (NAUI#85). A Board of Advisors was appointedand included Captain Albert Behnke, Jr.,Commander George Bond, Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and Dr. Andy Rechnitzer.NAUI grew throughout the 1960s by way oflarge Instructor Certification Courses (ICC’s)conducted in central locations throughoutNorth America. The organization reliedprimarily on volunteers and regional leaderslike Garry Howland and John C. Jones and inCanada, Ben Davis, NAUI #101. Al Tillmanadministered the Association’s business outof his home until Jim Auxier and ChuckBlakeslee, NAUI #A34, with Skin DiverMagazine provided office space and a salary.Skin Diver Magazine published the “NAUIPage” as a regular feature, helping NAUI tocontinue to grow.Al Tillman left the NAUI Board andadministration in 1967 to operate his resort,the Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO),that he had opened in 1965 in the Bahamas.He was elected to a newly created position ofNAUI Resort Branch Manager. Otherwise,NAUI continued to use regional Branches(managers) and local Chapters (leaders) asSPRING 2008 MIDWEST SCUBA DIVING 17
Page 6 and 7: COMMENTARYThis issue of Midwest Scu
Page 8 and 9: Palau - Half A World AwayBy Chuck B
Page 10 and 11: DESTINATION: PALAUto see. Once, dur
Page 12 and 13: How Regulators WorkBy Richard Talag
Page 14: DIVING SCIENCE: HOW REGULATORS WORK
Page 19 and 20: COVER STORY: NAUI CELEBRATES 50 YEA
Page 21 and 22: DIVING MEDICINE: HEALTH & FITNESS I
Page 23 and 24: SUNKEN TREASURES: THE STRAITS OF MA
Page 26 and 27: Fun 2 Dive SCUBAMANATEE SNORKELING
Page 28 and 29: “BACKSCATTER”A elephin spotted
Page 30 and 31: Pat Hammer (standing left) withHaro

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