BDSC
Contributor
An 11 year old thread rises from the grave!
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AOW is a very weak course iMO.
I just got done reading that post. It was really good.
I don't want to get in this just for a certification. I want to learn all about diving and I want to be good at it. So I guess what I am asking is should I get my OW, get some dives under my belt and then go for the AOW Cert.
I would like to know how other people went about it.
I did my AOW straight after my OW. I have heard many say this is wrong but I disagree. What it meant for me was my first nine dives were all under the supervision of an instructor. A lot of the PADI specialities are utter b*ll*cks and perfectly within the capabilities of OW divers. There is little point in leaving it for ages between courses as the only thing you really learn is the deep part. Drysuit can be a useful adventure dive but all my OW dives were in a drysuit anyway. AOW is a very weak course iMO.
An 11 year old thread rises from the grave!
It can be a weak course if you let it. If you seek out a good instructor and insist on learning good new skills then it can be a very good course. It all depends on the effort you put in.
Your position would be plausible if most divers were followig up with full specialties in topics like navigation, buopyancy and the subjects of worthwhile AOW dives. The sad truth is AOW is usually the sole oprtunity divers make for true instruction in these subjects.
Yes as taught by some AOW is a sequence of "trust me dives" and "stupid diver tricks" but it need not be that way with a little instuctor research.
Taken right out of OW a diver simply does not have the bandwidth to really absorb what is being presented, however meager. It's all a blur of new sensations and eye candy.
I don't think anyone esposes leaving it for ages but 1-2 dozen dives lets a diver settle into the basics and more effectively manage the task loading and other nuances of AOW dives. If a diver exits OW feeling they need more instruction to execute novice dives they then need remedial OW, not AOW.
If it worked for you then all the more power to you.
Pete