OW to AOW?

[Marie13]

I'll not be going to Bonne Terre. Too many steps for me.

 

[mi000ke]

If they're doing it for vacation diving then a lot of them don't bother with AOW unless they want to dive deeper and if they do take it then they usually do it while on vacation. The impression I have about vacation divers is that they seldom if ever dive locally after their initial training so we normally only see them when they take a refresher before going on vacation. R..

That's me. Doing AOW next week in Grand Cayman, where we go frequently. Most operators there do a 100' wall dive as first dive, and I wanted to get some deep training first, plus doing nitrox cert as well. The cost was not much more than what I'd pay for the dives anyway.

 

[Marie13]

Care to let me know who you are on Arfcom? Tried to PM you, but you don't allow them.

 

[mainedvr]

Thank you for your post. I do like my instructor who is both PADI and SSI certified. The LDS I have is also very laid back and supportive. Being in New England I think my dive opportunities will be getting a little frozen over in December through March, but you never know! I am going to dive as long as my 7mm wetsuit allows me to.

Off topic but since your the OP, my wife and I started diving while living in Maine and while exposure time is limited still if you wear a 7mm and keep your hands and feet warm you can dive all year we use to set up easy up with sides and primed our suits with warm water (not hot) and have done dives in water as cold as 45 for 30-40 minutes. Typically not mulit dives but at least feed the need. Now that was salt water I know the lakes your probably diving will freeze over. Anyhow just wanted to throw that out there. If you haven't and get a chance dive Nubble its amazing.

 

[Chip Elliott]

Mainedvr, I have the whole wetsuit setup, hood, gloves, booties and wetsuit. I want to dive this season as long as possible. I need to pass my course, of course, and then I need to purchase my own bcd, reg, octo, tanks, etc. So no dry suit this year for me. ANd you are correct about eh lakes freezing over. I could head down to Mystic/New London area and swim the sound, but weather is iffy at best. What is Nubble?

 

[Silty Sam]

What is Nubble?

SCUBA Knowtes, Dive Site Guide, Nubble Light

 

[KeithG]

Does anyone know the percentage of new OW divers that go on to get their AOW certifications?

No idea. I am one of those OW divers that never progressed further in the certification purchase chain. But I still enjoy diving.

My impression is that the majority of divers I experience have purchased way more cards than I own. Most are crap divers.

 

[mainedvr]

Sorry its a light house in York Maine (Cape Neddick) Close to the NH - ME Boarder. Its an amazing dive lots of life and several profiles. You can get pretty deep, or just cruise the outer edges and stay shallow. Seen Torpedo Rays and many other cool things. If you get a chance and are comfy with a rocky entry check it out. My wife and I would go there there with three tanks and spend the whole day there

 

[DustyC]

No idea. I am one of those OW divers that never progressed further in the certification purchase chain. But I still enjoy diving.

My impression is that the majority of divers I experience have purchased way more cards than I own. Most are crap divers.

I know many that way. I know 2 wonderful divers that only have OW cards. I know others with 20 cards that can't be trusted to not plummet onto coral or into other people.

 

[Dan]

I got OW certification in 2005. A year later I took Nitrox certification so I can have longer bottom time / dive (for diving in <110' deep, which is the majority of the dives) and not getting tired of doing 4-5 dives / day for a week of diving that people do in a liveaboard trip. Both OW & Nitrox certifications were all I needed for the warm-water recreational diving I had for 8 years.

I didn't get AOW until 2013 as suggested by my dive buddy, who is a dive instructor. It's a good skill refresher. However, most of the skills thought in AOW were the skills that I already know & practice them during those 400 dives leading to the AOW certification. For example, my first deep dive was actually 5 months after I got OW certification, dive # 15, 126' deep, 77F (25C) water temperature, 100' visibility, in Son of Rock Monster, Cayman Brac, with an experience dive buddy. Those other AOW skills were self taught by doing or by observing other divers or taught by experience dive buddies during the diving trips or taught by DM during checkout dives, sort of on the job training.

Looking back, I don't think I would need AOW to improve my diving skill, but it took me years to get there. The newbies can probably gain the same skill sooner than I do by taking the AOW not too long after getting OW.