Got my NASDS card in 1971 in Hollywood Florida. My instructor was a HPD diver. He was an extra on some of the Thunderball scenes, next to the guy that gets shot in the face with a speargun during the big battle shots. Remember finding myself in a huge school of Barracuda when I was diving the third reef off of Port Everglades, high pucker factor.
I think I was in the cave in the Bahamas where some of that was filmed.
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Thunderball Grotto - Bahamas
https://www.bahamas.com › vendor › thunderball-grotto
Located just west of Staniel Cay, this fantastic underwater cave system is great
for snorkeling, diving, and wading. It is teeming with exotic marine life and a ...
A 5-foot barracuda was my introduction to diving. After 8 weeks of classes in a pool, the checkout dive was on a wreck off Beaufort/Atlantic Beach, NC. We were warned that there were some spear fisherman on the wreck the day before so we might possibly see some sharks or barracudas (so cover up all shiney objects, etc...)
Over the side I went. I cleared my mask and opened my eyes to reorient myself and... right, smack next to me. I could reach over and touch him. About 5 feet long with the gnarliest teeth and this big ol’ eye checking me over. Haha, almost had to climb back in the boat and change my shorts.
Right about barracuda, they hang out just at the edge of your vision and come and go like ghosts.
Got my NAUI card in 73, instructor was local AF recruiter, had been a para rescue guy out of Patrick AFB in the late 60’s and 70’s supporting the space program. Before that he worked over less friendly territory in Southeast Asia.
We stated class by treading water for 5 minutes holding our weight belts over our heads. By the third class we had to go to the bottom to don our gear, then swam laps buddy breathing. Our open water dive was on some rock ledges about 2 miles offshore of manasota key where there was a nice longshore current. We had to swim up current for about a mile after the dive to get back to the boat. He made sure that we were exposed to stupid things under controlled conditions. Learned a lot of lessons that I’m sure he picked up the hard way. Never had a dive as fun or as tough as that first one.