Need some reassurance....or not...?? AOW

[BrotherBear]

No, it will not make me think I'm a better diver....Just open to more experiences out here, specifically night dives. The local clubs do a LOT of night dives at La Jolla shores and I'd like to join them. The "night" thing is just a fear of mine. In all honesty, I can see myself doing a TON of dives this summer in the 40'-80' range during the day, I would like the ability to dive some of the wrecks out here, and I am REALLY looking forward to the navigation dive as a confidence booster. I get the whole "c-cards don't make you a better diver" thing.....That's not what I'm after at all.

As Karibelle and Dumpsterdiver say AOW sounds right for you. I took it as soon as I could so that I could dive with an instructor to build confidence and experience while learning new things. I learned to dive and did my first 10 or so dives in the Carribean so I had confidence issues here in the North Atlantic cold murkiness, just like you. Continuing my education when I got home was the best decision I could have made, SSI requires you to have 25 dives prior to AOW but I would have taken it sooner if I could. Again like you, I am not a card collector but I love learning new skills and gaining experience with them.
FWIW night diving is fantastic, the bright lights used for diving will make it easier to spot others in the murky waters and it's just a great adventure.
The deep diving specialty is really just a reiteration of basic safety concepts as they relate to being that far under water (you cannot bolt to the surface, you must solve your problem underwater, what it feels like to be narced, that sort of thing). It sounds like where you are has similar conditions to here so you will probably do the night dives first as deep water in low viz conditions is essentially a night dive even on a bright sunny day.
The best part about gaining confidence at home is when you do travel to blue water conditions you will feel like a pro! Just don't get cocky

 

[Karibelle]

if you need the confidence of your instructor after you passed your OW certification i think there's a problem there
with proper training you should be confident enough to go diving on your own

this person has been diving on their own. Now they're looking for more experiences, different from what they had in their open water training and subsequent dives. There is nothing wrong with wanting the added value of an instructor along as one builds that confidence and gains those new experiences.

You have relatively few dives listed on your profile. I applaud your instructor for leaving you with the feeling that you can do anything! That's great. Don't let it make you complacent. And don't for a minute believe that we're all built the same in terms of bravado, confidence, skills, etc. What might be the right choice for you might not be the right choice for the OP.

Enjoy your diving!
kari

 

[t4e]

this person has been diving on their own. Now they're looking for more experiences, different from what they had in their open water training and subsequent dives. There is nothing wrong with wanting the added value of an instructor along as one builds that confidence and gains those new experiences.

You have relatively few dives listed on your profile. I applaud your instructor for leaving you with the feeling that you can do anything! That's great. Don't let it make you complacent. And don't for a minute believe that we're all built the same in terms of bravado, confidence, skills, etc. What might be the right choice for you might not be the right choice for the OP.

Enjoy your diving!
kari

hmmm they have been diving on their own?

I got OW certified from my LDS last September. Since then, I've done a handful of pool dives and a 5 day Great White shark cage diving trip (mostly surface cages with a trip to 60' if you were certified).

at least i have listed the number of dives in my profile...he/she hasn't, not that is anything wrong with that, but how do you figure they have been diving on their own and they have more than i do?

you did not understand my comments...my instructor did not leave me feeling i can do anything, but he left me feeling confident enough to go and improve the skills he taught me, on my own

AOW will not build your confidence, the OW teaches the basic skills to dive, why would you need advanced skill when you are afraid of the basics?

 

[spectrum]

IMO you are not ready. Pools and cages do little to develop you basic skills.

AOW is not remedial OW, it is taking to you the next level however thin in content.

It's irrational to think you can have a meaningful experience diving in the dark when you have barely dove in the light. If the far side of 50 feet has you spooked why not make OW dives until you are comfortable with depth approaching 50 feet, then it will seem like logical next step.

The instructors support is not surprise, he knows he can bring you home alive and if he does not get the job someone else will sign you up.

Go make some appropriate dives with peers or more experienced local divers, Reevaluate when you have a few dozen true dives under your belt.

Pete

 

[tenover]

Thanks everyone. I didn't mean to start a war here, was just asking for advice(which I received, from both sides!). I agree that the smarter choice would be to get a bit more experience doing shallow (<60) dives in the next 6-8 months and THEN move forward. Much appreciated.

 

[nauga]

Based on my pretty limited experience I'd say if you've been in water over your head more than 5 or 6 times you won't be in the bottom of a PADI AOW class. If your cage dives are the only non-pool dives you've done you might get more out of it by just doing some fun dives on your own first. That way you can iron out some of the comfort and confidence issues first and maybe get more out of the class (although it also depends on skill level of the rest of the class).

Are you the Tenover that used to fly slope? Small world.

Nauga,
over and under

 

[Karibelle]

hmmm they have been diving on their own?



at least i have listed the number of dives in my profile...he/she hasn't, not that is anything wrong with that, but how do you figure they have been diving on their own and they have more than i do?

you did not understand my comments...my instructor did not leave me feeling i can do anything, but he left me feeling confident enough to go and improve the skills he taught me, on my own

AOW will not build your confidence, the OW teaches the basic skills to dive, why would you need advanced skill when you are afraid of the basics?

i interpreted the original post to mean this person had been diving on their own. I interpreted your post, and your seeming scorn for wanting to do training beyond OW, to mean that you felt you could do anything. Sorry if that's not the case.

My point is that people are different. Students are different. Some people who successfully completed their OW certainly will benefit from further instruction, or more dives under an instructor's supervision, or even just some focused, personal guidance. That's true. It's a shame when the internet makes anyone feel like they are somehow deficient if they feel they might be that person. for some people, recognizing how to best use the tools they have at their disposal - and those tools certainly include courses and instruction - IS feeling confident enough to go and improve. They're not mutually exclusive.

And AOW can certainly build a diver's confidence. Have you done the AOW course? If you haven't, I'm curious how you can be so certain what it won't do for you. If you have, I am sorry your experience was so poor. As I said earlier, the AOW course does not make one an "advanced" diver. You might follow on from that that it's not really "advanced" skills, but rather, some additions to the basic skills that one has started to acquire during OW and will in fact continue to acquire throughout their diving career.

kari

 

[tenover]

"Are you the Tenover that used to fly slope? Small world."

Ha!that would be me.....very small world. I am looking for a someone to do some fun, basic dives with(obviously)....if your to do some dives at the Shores, PLEASE let me know!

 

[t4e]

My point is that people are different. Students are different. Some people who successfully completed their OW certainly will benefit from further instruction, or more dives under an instructor's supervision, or even just some focused, personal guidance. That's true. It's a shame when the internet makes anyone feel like they are somehow deficient if they feel they might be that person. for some people, recognizing how to best use the tools they have at their disposal - and those tools certainly include courses and instruction - IS feeling confident enough to go and improve. They're not mutually exclusive.

i agree that everyone is different
my original post was expressing a genuine interest in finding out people's motivation to take an advanced course so soon after the basic, even more so when they obviously have some worries already

there is nothing wrong with recognizing your limitations and seeking further training with an instructor, but if it were me i would seek the services of that instructor out in real dives not yet another course in the pool

its all a matter of personal opinion and i wanted to see the other side of the coin

And AOW can certainly build a diver's confidence. Have you done the AOW course? If you haven't, I'm curious how you can be so certain what it won't do for you. If you have, I am sorry your experience was so poor. As I said earlier, the AOW course does not make one an "advanced" diver. You might follow on from that that it's not really "advanced" skills, but rather, some additions to the basic skills that one has started to acquire during OW and will in fact continue to acquire throughout their diving career.

nope, no AOW yet because i don't feel i have yet mastered what i have learned in my OW to "burden" myself with advanced skills
i may never do it because i don't dive often enough to get to the level that i feel an advanced course will benefit me
but never say never, things may change in the future

again, all its my personal opinion and everyone is free to follow the path they wish

 

[flots am]

I got OW certified from my LDS last September.
. . .
EXTREMELY nervous.

This means that your Open Water instructor didn't do his/her job.

Before receiving your C-Card, you should have been comfortable in the water and capable of safely diving with nothing more than a similarly trained buddy. It appears that you were sent on your way before receiving enough training to make you comfortable in the water. My suggestion would be to go back to your original instructor/shop and tell them that you want to go through the class again at no charge.

Before receiving your OW card, you should have been comfortable enough that the thought of going diving with just a buddy was exciting, not scary.

flots.