I don't really see the point of trying to get around the system. While I do not agree with all aspects of the various organizations, I do realize that most of the diving requirements exist for safety. Because someone doesn't ask you for proof of training doesn't mean the training is not required. It is sort of like speeding...you could do 100 mph down a residential street and possibly get away with it. On the other hand the speed limit exists for safety.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a good dive shop will incorporate your AOW training into cool dives. It isn't like the AOW course is spent in 15 feet of water for 5 dives. I saw some cool wrecks that were all part of my AOW and Nitrox course. The last thing I thought when I was done my training was that I missed something on a dive. In fact, I saw everything the ordinary divers saw since we were all on the same boat diving the same locations. The difference is that I paid a little more and got valuable training that I can use for the rest of my life.
Ultimately it is your body and you run the risk of hurting yourself (or your buddy) by avoiding training in an attempt to save some money. Do your buddy a favor and let him or her know you haven't received training beyond OW so they know what to expect.
On the other hand, as most have stated, you can probably get away with diving deep with little resistance if that is your goal.
Agreed. I think a lot of people bristle at the idea that some charters require them to have their AOW card and they view it as an obstacle or a chore they have to accomplish instead of an opportunity to do five great dives while simultaneously enriching their education as a diver.
If done with a good instructor, and I stress that heavily, AOW isn't a chore but it's an incredible opportunity to get training on how to properly perform night and deep dives as well as a few other specialties depending on the dive shop and/or instructor. I loved my AOW class. A lot of instructors, like mine, will even bundle stuff like nitrox in with AOW to save you some extra money so you can get the best bang for your buck. I do think nitrox is extremely over used, but on the other hand, it's one more tool to have in your repertoire.
You can absolutely get the same training and experience with a good mentor or just by figuring it out yourself. However, it ultimately comes down to how much you're willing to gamble since it is after all your life that will be lost if you make a mistake that a class would have taught you about in order to avoid. I certainly agree that AOW is kind of like OW part 2 for PADI...having gone the PADI route myself, I think the material in AOW should be part of OW.
Thanks guys, You replies just made me sure that I just need to take a Deep Diver course to verify my knowledge and procedures but some courses like Navigation I hesitate to take. I have experience in land navigation using compass. As I have seen the video materials they do not offer me anything new. Nav card does not make me a good navigator but hard training does. for the price of the course I can buy myself 20-30 tanks of air and dive the shore sites inside out which we have started doing.
This is what bothers me about some PADI courses, there are some courses that do not verify your abilities and the card does not mean anything but that you have taken the course, sorta way of liability transferring no more. As an example the above Nav course. The actual even basic navigation skills (not knowledge) is impossible to get that quick.
But it' good to hear different views and opinions. I will still keep my mind open.
Out of your experience which agency has better knowledge and skills coverage for recreational Deep Diver course ?
You're going to hear everyone evolve into agency bashing by asking which agency has better X or Y.
Honestly, outside the PADI Boat Diver specialty (which I personally think is pathetic), all of the specialties bring something useful to the table. It's not the course that doesn't verify your ability; the instructor should. If you earned a PADI specialty card, and you feel like it doesn't mean anything, then your instructor failed to teach you anything of value. I don't see how that's PADI's fault or the specialty's fault. Instructors are free to teach beyond what PADI requires as long as they allow the person to pass the class if they meet all of PADI's requirements.
As an example, for my PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty, my instructor gave everyone a couple 10-page handouts of information he gathered and compiled himself on marine life (he's a marine biologist), brought in about half a dozen or so books for us to review and decide which ones we'd want to get ourselves for identification, took us to the tidepools inbetween dives 1 & 2 and taught us about the life that exists there, etc. The trick is to find a good instructor that you get along with and brings something of value to the class.
I'm lucky here that my LDS told me that I can take the Rescue course w/o being AOW certified. They just told me that if I want the official card and the course to be valid for the Master SCUBA Diver I will need to get officially the AOW. But the last is the least I care about. I am planning to do the Rescue sometimes this year.
You didn't mention anything about it, so maybe they did offer it but you forgot to say anything, but I wonder how effective of an unofficial rescue diver you'll be without first aid and CPR training.
It's great that your LDS will let you take the class, but unless they're going to let you take first aid and CPR as well, I don't know how useful that is. All you'll learn is how to get the victim up onto the beach where they become a patient and then you won't know what to do unless you happen to be a healthcare provider. Being a rescue diver without CPR training is like a dog chasing a car...it's all fun and games while it's chasing the car but once it catches it, now what?
