Got my AOW this weekend, now its time to dive and do some specialty courses

[RJP]

Any suggestions on ones that are the most useful?

There is only one skill that is used during every second of every single dive you'll ever do. From the instant you enter the water until you're back on dry land. Accordingly this skill is a foundational part of every other skill, course, and activity you'll ever come across in diving:

BUOYANCY CONTROL

I would suggest getting your buoyancy control dialed in before doing anything else. Learning in scuba diving is all about learning a skill, mastering it, adding another skill, mastering and incorporating that skill, adding another skill, etc. Being able to effectively control your position in the water column - through buoyancy control and associated propulsion techniques, proper trim, and gear streamlining - will make adding another skill easy. If you're still "up and down and all around" adding another skill into the mix will not only be harder, but the task-loading of the additional skill will make your buoyancy control even worse. Think about this relative to any other class...

• Navigation? need to avoid randomly descending and ascending while trying to use a compass.
• Deep? Need to be able to descend and ascend carefully as things like greater pressure, thermoclines, narcosis, lack of visual references, critical nature of arresting your ascent and holding your safety stop make buoyancy control hard... but even more important.
• Wreck? Need to avoid stirring up silt and damaging delicate structures by bumping into the bottom, the top, errant fin kicks, etc
• Search and Rescue? You think buoyancy control is challenging by itself? Try doing it while shooting a bag or trying to lift and move an object around.
• Photography? Being able to hold perfectly still - in order to focus, avoid stirring up silt, and not scaring away your subject - makes getting good photos so much easier.
• Nitrox? Good buoyancy control will help ensure you don't mistakenly violate the - now shallower - maximum operating depth of the enriched gas you're breathing.
• Dry suit? Managing another bubble of air is more challenging in and of itself... much less if you're not already good at managing your buoyancy.
• Night diver? Think buoyancy control is tough now? Take away most of your visual references and give it try.
• Drift Diver? Without good buoyancy you're now out of control in TWO planes!
• Boat diver? Ever ascend to the surface unintentionally - either from depth or even a safety stop? Now try it with a boat between your head and the surface.
• Rescue Diver? Yes, even Rescue Diver, which most folks say you should take as early as possible in your diving career. In this course you will be called up to help other divers - responsive and non-responsive - manage their buoyancy in order to head off the ultimate negative dive outcome. Think how much easier that will be if you are in exquisite control of your own!

There is not a single diving activity, skill, or course that doesn't come easier if your buoyancy control is solid. Hell, even something as benign as "Fish ID" or "Coral Reef Awareness" is much easier, more enjoyable, and even safer - for both you and the aquatic environment - if you're have pin-point control of where you are in the water column at all times.

Find a great instructor and don't tell them you want to get your "Peak Performance Buoyancy" certification. Tell them you want to become a buoyancy control expert! This, to indicate to them that you don't simply want to "take the course" and "get the card" but that you actually want - and expect - them to help you master this foundational skill. Work at it in the course. Then practice, practice, practice. On every dive. With good instruction and diligence on your part it will come together in no time. Then do a little more diving. Then take Rescue. Then keep working on buoynacy throughout your entire diving life.

When you have good buoyancy control... everything else is easier, safer, and more fun!

Best regards,

Ray Purkis

 

[Bob DBF]

I don't know the shops in your area, but out here it would probably cost more to do PADI Adventure Diver than AOW because it would be a special class with private instruction.




Bob
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The day I can't dive anymore, I will really need some other good reasons to stay alive. DarkAbyss

 

[t4e]

RJP makes excellent points, of course he would know as an instructor, but yes, the Rescue Diver should be done once you are comfortable with your buoyancy as well as being confident that you can deal with any other issues that may come up
in the rescue diver course you will learn Self rescue, Recognizing and managing stress in other divers, Emergency management and equipment, Rescuing panicked divers and Rescuing unresponsive divers
just imagine how would a rope sweep search or any rope search pattern would go if your buoyancy is not good

 

[Colliam7]

May want to go and take some of the specialty courses too. Any suggestions on ones that are the most useful?

Any recommendation I make is probably just a bit biased by what I really enjoy teaching, so take this with at least a very small grain of salt.

1. PPB - while it might seem that you should have already learned what you need to know in your OW course, and now should refine your buoyancy through regular diving, a good PPB instructor will work not only on weighting, but on proper weight distribution, on trim, on streamlining, will video you in the water so you see what you actually look like, will work more on breathing, will address issues with propulsion techniques, etc. Unfortunately, not all PPB specialty experiences provide all of that. So, before simply signing up for a PPB specialty talk with the Instructor to find out how s/he approaches the course. It is not just about simply meeting performance requirements.

2. Deep - better to find out how depth affects you, and how to manage dives to the recreational depth limits, in a structured educational environment than by happenstance or accident.

3. U/W Navigation - I am continually impressed at how navigationally challenged many divers are. Not only is compass use apparently a neglected skill for many people before they ever start diving, but developing simple situational awareness while diving seems to be regularly overlooked behavior. I think U/W Navigation can be a useful course, an enjoyable course, and a confidence-building course.

4. Search and Recovery - like U/W Navigation, this course can be educational, fun, and can help a diver build confidence. Learning to efficiently and effectively use a lift bag is fun and functional, as is learning to find things you have lost underwater

5. Nitrox - any course that expands a diver's knowledge of gases, gas blending, and gas management, is a good thing. As with PPB, a GOOD enriched air course will address all of those areas, AND provide you with a credential that will expand your diving options. I infrequently dive enriched air for local (i.e. quarry) recreational dives. But, in situations where I am diving multiple times / day for multiple days, I do.

Now, I also like the idea of continuing to develop as a diver, outside of formal 'specialty' courses. I fully agree with Bob's comment about seeking out some offerings from GUE and / or UTD. Or, if nothing else, find local divers, be they instructors or not, who can work with you on optimizing your gear configuration, learning finning techniques such as back kicks, helicopter turns, etc.

 

[cmrangel]

Wow, thank you everybody. I was absorbed by some work issues and was not able to follow the thread until now and I think this is a fantastic wealth of info. I think I may "rethink" my approach and not wait for the 25 or so more dives and see about doing the Rescue sooner.

I am OK at buoyancy, better than most that were in my OW/AOW classes but realize I have a lot to learn. The info about PPB being either good or another "check the box" is good advice, I need to talk to more instructors in the area. I have actually had an instructor tell me not to bother with the course because it will come with practice. But ... from other endeavors, I know there is fruitful practice and useless practice. I seems reasonable that with a good instructor that is observing me and takes the time to explain what I am doing wrong, I could/should get much better much faster. But I can also see how it is totally dependent on the instructor.

In my AOW, we did the dives for PPB, Nav, Deep, Wreck, Boat, and a bonus for Night. However, I think I should get better at nav. When I was doing a boat dive recently, it was very bad vis like around 5 ft. I later realized that I should have shot a compass direction before leaving the line so I could find my way back. I just did not think of it and would like to get to the point that doing basic navigation when it is needed is just second nature and not something I need to think about. As it was, my buddy got cold and we ended up doing a free ascent from 80ft or so because, after a bit of searching, we could not find the line. Not an emergency by any means but not planned either.

I will get the Nitrox when it becomes an issue, I am an air hog and usually dive with an HP100 and still my air time and NDL are not that different for deeper dives and totally limited by my air at shallower ones. I need to practice slowing down and calming down.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Here is my 2 PSI. Go out and dive, dive and dive some more. Find some dive buddies that have been doing it for years and try to learn as much from them as you can. I'm not saying to learn decompression diving or cave diving from other non professionals but basic skills can be learned from a mentor just as well as from an instructor. Dive buddies can show you new dive sites and the best entry and exit methods for those sites, show you buoyancy skills, take you on a night dive. What about hooking up with some divers that hunt and asking them take you along? This is how it was done for many years until all of a sudden someone figured out that they could make money off all these training specialties. I think you will have to look long and hard to find an experienced diver who would be unwilling to take a new diver out for some fun dives and teach them a few things along the way. Some of my best dives have been with new divers, as I have found that there is nothing like the enthusiasm of a new diver to rekindle my love of the sport.

 

[Remy B.]

In my case, the instructor with who I want to take the rescue course want me to get at list 40 dives before I take the course, his reasoning is, that you need to have more experience, with less than 40 dives people can't not even rescue them self, there can be two victims in the water, you been the other if you don't get your self more aware of your cababilities and air consumption, ect, ect, what I see as very true.

PDIC suppose to have one of the best rescue courses, they make it in more difficult conditions than the other agencies, there reasoning is when ****e hits the fan it normally is in not the best conditions, deeper, lack of visibility etc.

From what I hear the Boat speciality is kind of throwing your money away, I guess it depends from the perspective of each individual.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Absolutely get your buoyancy nailed before you take any more courses, and do a heap of fun diving so you can assess for yourself what your strengths and weaknesses are. That will tell you all you need to know about the specs that will be most useful to you! But in general buoyancy, navigation, deep, eanx and wreck are the most popular and useful in a general sense.

I, like many others here, am also a massive fan of the rescue course. It is challenging but utterly worthwhile and you will learn a lot about yourself and other divers. It is beneficial to be confident in your own abilities (buoyancy, air consumption & monitoring, self rescue skills etc) before enrolling though. If you are not able to rescue yourself, its unlikely you will be able to rescue another diver!

 

[swimmer_spe]

Whoo Hoo,
Got my AOW this weekend. Maybe get another 25 or so dives in and then think about the Rescue course. May want to go and take some of the specialty courses too. Any suggestions on ones that are the most useful?

Go dive.

Seriously, work on those skills when you do different dives.

After 50+ dives, examine your skills, or, better yet, have a DM check out your skills.

Focus on those skills. Take a course for those. Once you are confident in your skills, then do a Rescue course. This way then, your skills are where they need to be.
If you find you have lots of air and hit your NDL, then it might be a good idea to get Nitrox certified..