Ripped off for my AOW training

[DevonDiver]

if the operator decides the dive needs a little more ability and decides that it will require AOW cert then he is saying that a diver with an AOW cert has that ability. Why distinguish between OW and AOW?

See post #128

(PADI) AOW training goes beyond the parameters of OW; specifically with regard to depth and navigation. It also ensures a further 5 dives of experience.

PADI recommend a maximum depth of 30m/100ft for divers "with training and experience beyond OW". AOW satisfies that recommendation - shifting the onus of liability to the certifying agency and diver, rather than the dive operator.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

We wouldn't say the Advanced course is worthless, and many dive operators require you have it. It provides many opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills set. But yes, the performance requirements can in many cases be fairly lame. So unless you have a passionate instructor who is willing to put the time in to your development and give all the feedback, critique and information you need its easy to lose out. As it appears you have. In all fairness in many specialty courses you'l find the same thing. Start by finding a great instructor, the rest will follow.

 

[Dive-aholic]

One of the deaths on the Andrea Doria involved a diver with a faked log book. If I remember right, the diver's family sued the operator,too.

Unfortunately, in the US, everybody can and does get sued. Lawyers will name everyone possible even if they were in no way at fault.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Honestly, I'm surprised to hear dive instructors defend mediocre or substandard work by peers.

It would surprise me too ... but I haven't seen that happen here.

Suggesting that Andy is defending mediocre or substandard training is like suggesting that Rush Limbaugh is defending Obamacare ... it's pretty much anathema to who he is ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

These are the dive outlines for my Advanced Class. Ideally they should also have done a Rescue Class BEFORE Advanced. Giving divers an AOW card with no rescue skills is stupid IMO and dangerous. Advanced training of any kind should NEVER be required for a Rescue Diver course.

AOW DIVE GUIDELINES​

1. Advanced Skills Dive- This dive is used to enhance the OW divers skills by reinforcing and improving basic skills as well as introduce the following new ones:
A: Anti-silting kicking techniques consisting of frog and/or modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks, we will also use this to get an idea of the distance a diver travels using these kicks.
B: Performing basic skills while swimming and hovering including mask removal and replace, regulator retrieval, weight removal and replacement, and sharing air. We must remember that students coming from other agencies may not have had to perform these skills while hovering or swimming. They should be able to start the course while performing these skill with no more than a 2 foot (+/-) change in depth. By the end of the course it should be no more than 1 foot (+/). This is well within the capability of every student I have trained.
C: Shooting a lift bag/SMB to assist in ascents.
D: Reinforcing proper weighting and trim.
E: Deployment of redundant air source (pony/stage bottle)
F: Buddy Skills and Procedures are reinforced and strictly followed!

These skills are best done in relatively shallow water (25-30 feet), and should be demonstrated by the instructor as with any other class. The bag shoot can be demo’d and then performed by the student on a subsequent dive as an option.

2. Underwater Navigation- This dive is used as a follow up to the basic compass skills as performed during the OW checkouts. In addition to the basic patterns of a square and triangle the instructor should repeat the patterns but also have the student select an object on the bottom to use a reference at each turn. This small exercise in combined compass and natural navigation is used to illustrate the increased accuracy of this method and interest the student in further Navigation training. The following skills should be emphasized and evaluated.
A: Holding the compass properly
B: Maintaining horizontal trim
C: Maintaining position in the water column; close attention to depth variations!
D: Buddy awareness and communication
E: Accuracy
F: Attention to detail and selection of landmarks
G: Measuring distance through kicks, time, air consumption, or a line
H: Awareness of Gas Supply



3. Night/ Low Visibility- This dive is used to familiarize the student with the fascinating world of diving without natural light. The use of dive lights, strobes, markers, and new methods of communicating with the dive buddy are introduced. Night diving, while fun, presents new challenges and risks. The instructor needs to make absolutely sure the divers know the plan. They should also receive a thorough site briefing and know the procedures should the team or group become separated. The following skills should be practiced and evaluated.
A: Buoyancy control
B: Light use and selection
C: Use of strobe or marker to mark the anchor or down line
D: Buddy contact and communication – separation is not acceptable nor inevitable.
E: Lost diver procedures
F: Navigation via compass, natural features, line and reel or spool.
G: Site choice


4. Deep Dive- The deep dive is one of the primary reasons that divers take the AOW course. They wish to do dives exceeding the recommended OW limit of 60 feet. Whether it be a wreck, wall, or reef there is usually some reason for them to get a card that will demonstrate to a resort or boat operation that they are qualified to do the dive. Unfortunately this is usually the dive that also presents the most risk to the diver. Increased air usage demands a better understanding of management of the air supply. When doing this dive they may also be coming closer to the No Decompression Limits much faster than they realize. More attention to depth and times must be impressed upon them. Many will elect to begin looking at redundant air sources such as pony bottles. This is an area we should cover as well to be sure they get the proper equipment and know how to use it. And it goes without saying that we need to again make them aware of the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Skills evaluated would be:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Horizontal descent and ascent
C: Maintaining rate of descent/ascent
D: Situational Awareness via tests to judge effects of narcosis – In my class this consists of descending to a min depth of 90 ft, performing some basic math problems, then tying off a line, navigating a course with the line and having student take control of the reel for return to the tie off point. I will then signal an OOA and we will do a HORIZONTAL AIR SHARE ascent to approximately 50 ft, retrieve and deploy stage bottles and finish the dive.
E: Communication
F: Management of air supply
G: Use of stage bottles to finish the dive
H: Ascent utilizing deep stops

5. Search and Recovery- This dive introduces students to basic underwater search patterns and recovery techniques. It must be made clear that this is not a public safety course but an introduction to the use of basic patterns to locate lost objects of small size. The techniques and tools are suitable for locating things like fishing rods, small boat motors, wallets, and other such items. The lift bags used should not exceed 100lb capacity and smaller ones are preferred. 25-50 lbs is an ideal size for lifting an object such as a concrete block or bucket filled with weight. The use of a reel and line is also required for this dive to execute a circular pattern, grid, or as insurance should visibility be reduced by natural conditions or the actions of the searchers.
These skills are used in this dive:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Selection of search pattern based on object size, approximate location, environmental conditions
C: Attention to terrain detail
D: Maintaining trim and buoyancy while conducting a slow search using good anti-silting techniques and buddy skills. I do not separate buddy teams for this. They will tie off to a fixed point and execute the search as a team.
E: Once object is located we determine position by taking a compass heading
F: Securing object to be lifted
G: Lift bag use – raise object at even rate, achieve neutral buoyancy with the bag, swim object a horizontal distance of 100 ft, bring object to surface and return to depth maintaining neutral buoyancy of diver and object.



6. Buddy Skills and Assist- The Buddy Skills and Assist Dive is intended to reinforce proper buddy skills
and also introduce the student to new skills that may be used to assist a dive buddy who has
encountered different issues and now requires assistance from his buddy. At all times safety protocols
must be observed and adhered to. This does not however preclude creating scenarios to test and
challenge the student with the goal of increasing confidence, situational awareness, and overall safety of
the divers. With this in mind the following scenarios can be used:
A. 100 foot no mask swim with buddy leading
B. 100 foot no mask air share swim
C. 100 foot no mask air share swim and ascent
D. Loss of buoyancy ascent assist
E. Unconscious Diver from depth ( not to exceed 33 feet)
F. Rescue tow of unconscious diver brought up while stripping gear


These 6 dives make up the core of the AOW program that I teach. The Deep, UW Nav, and Night/Low Visibility, Advanced Skills, and Buddy Skills and Assist are not optional. Students will benefit greatly from the new kicks, increased buoyancy skills, and perhaps the bag skill should they plan to dive in conditions where it could be useful. The rescue skills in the Buddy Skills and Assist can be invaluable to any diver.

Another dive that could be inserted in the course would be Wreck with no penetration. What I do avoid is putting in a dive that does not benefit the student by enhancing their dive skills. It should also be noted that during the dives and classroom sessions that I will inform you of the benefits of the AOW plus program. Not only will you experience more dives under instructor supervision but also get more information on gas management, navigation skills and techniques, and the opportunity to perhaps do all of the dives discussed, and really give you a varied experience of dives that are considered advanced.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Unfortunately, in the US, everybody can and does get sued. Lawyers will name everyone possible even if they were in no way at fault.

Oh so true. Lawyers "name everyone possible" in a lawsuit because THEY are afraid of getting sued for malpractice if they omit someone who it later turns out probably should have been named, even if at the time the lawsuit was filed the lawyer might have felt was probably "in no way at fault."

 

[ajtoady]

We've been down this road on ScubaBoard before ... with a predictable progression of responses. So I might as well add mine ...

What you got is the natural consequence of a class that's been designed to offer to students straight out of OW ... and marketed as "Five more dives with an instructor". The objective of the class isn't to learn new skills, it's to provide a few new experiences and give the students a bit more supervised underwater time. In effect, it's not an "advanced" class at all ... it's advancing the students beyond the point of barely being able to breathe underwater while not killing themselves.

There are instructors out there who take a different approach, and who offer a different kind of class. I'm one of them. When I became an instructor in 2004 I took one look at what my agency (NAUI) offered for their "standard" AOW and decided I couldn't, with a clear conscience, charge my students money for that. So I augmented the AOW material with a handbook that I co-wrote with another local NAUI instructor (who now teaches for UTD). Our local conditions are fairly demanding, and students are expected to be able to conduct their own dives unsupervised right now of OW class ... we don't do guided dives here ... and anything other than a few entry-level sites can be more challenging than an OW grad can be reasonably expected to handle safely. So we identified core skills that we felt even a relatively inexperienced diver should be able to handle ...

- How to research a dive site, evaluate conditions, and plan a suitable dive profile
- How to determine you have adequate gas for the dive you plan to do
- How to be a good dive buddy, and what to expect from your dive buddy
- How to properly weight yourself and distribute weights for proper trim
- How to control your buoyancy, even while task-loaded
- How to do complex navigation underwater (it involves a bit more than just reading a compass)
- How to plan and execute night dives
- How to plan and execute deep dives
- How to plan and execute search & recovery dives

Notice a theme there? It's one thing to tell somebody to "always dive with a buddy" or "end the dive with 500 psi" ... it's another thing to give them adequate knowledge to do it ... and still another to put it into practice.

My class involves a minimum of six dives ... none elective, and each building on skills introduced in previous dives. The class isn't over until all objectives have been met to my criteria ... which is that I'd trust you to dive in that circumstance with someone I loved (that's my agency's standard, by the way). If you struggle, we do that dive again. My last class took eight dives to complete, and that's not unusual.

In this AOW class you learn how to deploy an SMB. You learn how to navigate using compass, visual clues, and by creating a "mental map" of where you are relative to your starting position as you dive. You learn how to calculate your expected gas usage BEFORE getting in the water. You learn how to bring up objects using a lift bag, and how to conduct searches using a reel. You learn fundamental skills for diving with another person ... positioning, communication, and most of all a mentality toward approaching the dive as a team, rather than a couple of individuals. You learn proper buoyancy control ... NOTHING in this class is done while kneeling ... in fact, one whole dive is done mid-water, where the bottom is usually not even visible.

This isn't a "unique" class ... I know a few instructors who teach something similar. This isn't an agency issue ... I learned a lot of what I built into my class from an experienced PADI instructor I used to DM for.

It really boils down to the instructor ... are they providing you with real value for the type of diving you'll be doing, or are they simply following a checklist of minimum standards their agency says they "have" to do? Are they looking to train divers or just make money?

Different people have different expectations about what they want out of the class ... and if you get into a class that doesn't match your expectations, then you will be disappointed. It's up to you to do your diligence.

For those reading this who are thinking about an AOW class, ask your instructor what the purpose of the class is. And ask them if they encourage this class directly out of OW. If they tell you that it's to provide new experiences, to provide five more dives with an instructor, or that they encourage people to sign up for the class directly out of OW, then expect it to be the sort of class the OP described. If, on the other hand, they encourage you to get out and dive on your own for a while first, or can elaborate what new skills you'll get out of the class, then you will probably be getting something closer to what I described above.

Never just sign up for a class ... AOW or otherwise ... without doing your diligence, because the same class can offer wildly different results depending on the objectives, enthusiasm, and experience of the person teaching it. Do your diligence. Ask questions ... and shy away from any instructor who can't be bothered to answer your questions. Go into it with your eyes open ... otherwise the chances of the class meeting your expectations are a pure crapshoot ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I don't know if this is stated later in this thread, but, I want to go on record as saying you have my utmost respect in the methods you use or require! I'm well over 200 dives and would consider taking this course from you as a touch up. However the commute would be hell! Bob, keep up the GREAT work and thanks for the level you bring to diving!! Tony

---------- Post added November 28th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ----------

These are the dive outlines for my Advanced Class. Ideally they should also have done a Rescue Class BEFORE Advanced. Giving divers an AOW card with no rescue skills is stupid IMO and dangerous. Advanced training of any kind should NEVER be required for a Rescue Diver course.

AOW DIVE GUIDELINES​

1. Advanced Skills Dive- This dive is used to enhance the OW divers skills by reinforcing and improving basic skills as well as introduce the following new ones:
A: Anti-silting kicking techniques consisting of frog and/or modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks, we will also use this to get an idea of the distance a diver travels using these kicks.
B: Performing basic skills while swimming and hovering including mask removal and replace, regulator retrieval, weight removal and replacement, and sharing air. We must remember that students coming from other agencies may not have had to perform these skills while hovering or swimming. They should be able to start the course while performing these skill with no more than a 2 foot (+/-) change in depth. By the end of the course it should be no more than 1 foot (+/). This is well within the capability of every student I have trained.
C: Shooting a lift bag/SMB to assist in ascents.
D: Reinforcing proper weighting and trim.
E: Deployment of redundant air source (pony/stage bottle)
F: Buddy Skills and Procedures are reinforced and strictly followed!

These skills are best done in relatively shallow water (25-30 feet), and should be demonstrated by the instructor as with any other class. The bag shoot can be demo’d and then performed by the student on a subsequent dive as an option.

2. Underwater Navigation- This dive is used as a follow up to the basic compass skills as performed during the OW checkouts. In addition to the basic patterns of a square and triangle the instructor should repeat the patterns but also have the student select an object on the bottom to use a reference at each turn. This small exercise in combined compass and natural navigation is used to illustrate the increased accuracy of this method and interest the student in further Navigation training. The following skills should be emphasized and evaluated.
A: Holding the compass properly
B: Maintaining horizontal trim
C: Maintaining position in the water column; close attention to depth variations!
D: Buddy awareness and communication
E: Accuracy
F: Attention to detail and selection of landmarks
G: Measuring distance through kicks, time, air consumption, or a line
H: Awareness of Gas Supply



3. Night/ Low Visibility- This dive is used to familiarize the student with the fascinating world of diving without natural light. The use of dive lights, strobes, markers, and new methods of communicating with the dive buddy are introduced. Night diving, while fun, presents new challenges and risks. The instructor needs to make absolutely sure the divers know the plan. They should also receive a thorough site briefing and know the procedures should the team or group become separated. The following skills should be practiced and evaluated.
A: Buoyancy control
B: Light use and selection
C: Use of strobe or marker to mark the anchor or down line
D: Buddy contact and communication – separation is not acceptable nor inevitable.
E: Lost diver procedures
F: Navigation via compass, natural features, line and reel or spool.
G: Site choice


4. Deep Dive- The deep dive is one of the primary reasons that divers take the AOW course. They wish to do dives exceeding the recommended OW limit of 60 feet. Whether it be a wreck, wall, or reef there is usually some reason for them to get a card that will demonstrate to a resort or boat operation that they are qualified to do the dive. Unfortunately this is usually the dive that also presents the most risk to the diver. Increased air usage demands a better understanding of management of the air supply. When doing this dive they may also be coming closer to the No Decompression Limits much faster than they realize. More attention to depth and times must be impressed upon them. Many will elect to begin looking at redundant air sources such as pony bottles. This is an area we should cover as well to be sure they get the proper equipment and know how to use it. And it goes without saying that we need to again make them aware of the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Skills evaluated would be:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Horizontal descent and ascent
C: Maintaining rate of descent/ascent
D: Situational Awareness via tests to judge effects of narcosis – In my class this consists of descending to a min depth of 90 ft, performing some basic math problems, then tying off a line, navigating a course with the line and having student take control of the reel for return to the tie off point. I will then signal an OOA and we will do a HORIZONTAL AIR SHARE ascent to approximately 50 ft, retrieve and deploy stage bottles and finish the dive.
E: Communication
F: Management of air supply
G: Use of stage bottles to finish the dive
H: Ascent utilizing deep stops

5. Search and Recovery- This dive introduces students to basic underwater search patterns and recovery techniques. It must be made clear that this is not a public safety course but an introduction to the use of basic patterns to locate lost objects of small size. The techniques and tools are suitable for locating things like fishing rods, small boat motors, wallets, and other such items. The lift bags used should not exceed 100lb capacity and smaller ones are preferred. 25-50 lbs is an ideal size for lifting an object such as a concrete block or bucket filled with weight. The use of a reel and line is also required for this dive to execute a circular pattern, grid, or as insurance should visibility be reduced by natural conditions or the actions of the searchers.
These skills are used in this dive:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Selection of search pattern based on object size, approximate location, environmental conditions
C: Attention to terrain detail
D: Maintaining trim and buoyancy while conducting a slow search using good anti-silting techniques and buddy skills. I do not separate buddy teams for this. They will tie off to a fixed point and execute the search as a team.
E: Once object is located we determine position by taking a compass heading
F: Securing object to be lifted
G: Lift bag use – raise object at even rate, achieve neutral buoyancy with the bag, swim object a horizontal distance of 100 ft, bring object to surface and return to depth maintaining neutral buoyancy of diver and object.



6. Buddy Skills and Assist- The Buddy Skills and Assist Dive is intended to reinforce proper buddy skills
and also introduce the student to new skills that may be used to assist a dive buddy who has
encountered different issues and now requires assistance from his buddy. At all times safety protocols
must be observed and adhered to. This does not however preclude creating scenarios to test and
challenge the student with the goal of increasing confidence, situational awareness, and overall safety of
the divers. With this in mind the following scenarios can be used:
A. 100 foot no mask swim with buddy leading
B. 100 foot no mask air share swim
C. 100 foot no mask air share swim and ascent
D. Loss of buoyancy ascent assist
E. Unconscious Diver from depth ( not to exceed 33 feet)
F. Rescue tow of unconscious diver brought up while stripping gear


These 6 dives make up the core of the AOW program that I teach. The Deep, UW Nav, and Night/Low Visibility, Advanced Skills, and Buddy Skills and Assist are not optional. Students will benefit greatly from the new kicks, increased buoyancy skills, and perhaps the bag skill should they plan to dive in conditions where it could be useful. The rescue skills in the Buddy Skills and Assist can be invaluable to any diver.

Another dive that could be inserted in the course would be Wreck with no penetration. What I do avoid is putting in a dive that does not benefit the student by enhancing their dive skills. It should also be noted that during the dives and classroom sessions that I will inform you of the benefits of the AOW plus program. Not only will you experience more dives under instructor supervision but also get more information on gas management, navigation skills and techniques, and the opportunity to perhaps do all of the dives discussed, and really give you a varied experience of dives that are considered advanced.

Here is yet another instructor that goes above and beyond! I am very fortunate in that my number 1 dive buddy, is also an instructor that is always educating and mentoring. Not just me either, but all who dive with him are blessed with his knowledge and demonstration at any level! Thanks to all who go above and beyond!!

 

[scubadada]

These are the dive outlines for my Advanced Class. Ideally they should also have done a Rescue Class BEFORE Advanced. Giving divers an AOW card with no rescue skills is stupid IMO and dangerous. Advanced training of any kind should NEVER be required for a Rescue Diver course.

AOW DIVE GUIDELINES​

1. Advanced Skills Dive- This dive is used to enhance the OW divers skills by reinforcing and improving basic skills as well as introduce the following new ones:
A: Anti-silting kicking techniques consisting of frog and/or modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks, we will also use this to get an idea of the distance a diver travels using these kicks.
B: Performing basic skills while swimming and hovering including mask removal and replace, regulator retrieval, weight removal and replacement, and sharing air. We must remember that students coming from other agencies may not have had to perform these skills while hovering or swimming. They should be able to start the course while performing these skill with no more than a 2 foot (+/-) change in depth. By the end of the course it should be no more than 1 foot (+/). This is well within the capability of every student I have trained.
C: Shooting a lift bag/SMB to assist in ascents.
D: Reinforcing proper weighting and trim.
E: Deployment of redundant air source (pony/stage bottle)
F: Buddy Skills and Procedures are reinforced and strictly followed!

These skills are best done in relatively shallow water (25-30 feet), and should be demonstrated by the instructor as with any other class. The bag shoot can be demo’d and then performed by the student on a subsequent dive as an option.

2. Underwater Navigation- This dive is used as a follow up to the basic compass skills as performed during the OW checkouts. In addition to the basic patterns of a square and triangle the instructor should repeat the patterns but also have the student select an object on the bottom to use a reference at each turn. This small exercise in combined compass and natural navigation is used to illustrate the increased accuracy of this method and interest the student in further Navigation training. The following skills should be emphasized and evaluated.
A: Holding the compass properly
B: Maintaining horizontal trim
C: Maintaining position in the water column; close attention to depth variations!
D: Buddy awareness and communication
E: Accuracy
F: Attention to detail and selection of landmarks
G: Measuring distance through kicks, time, air consumption, or a line
H: Awareness of Gas Supply



3. Night/ Low Visibility- This dive is used to familiarize the student with the fascinating world of diving without natural light. The use of dive lights, strobes, markers, and new methods of communicating with the dive buddy are introduced. Night diving, while fun, presents new challenges and risks. The instructor needs to make absolutely sure the divers know the plan. They should also receive a thorough site briefing and know the procedures should the team or group become separated. The following skills should be practiced and evaluated.
A: Buoyancy control
B: Light use and selection
C: Use of strobe or marker to mark the anchor or down line
D: Buddy contact and communication – separation is not acceptable nor inevitable.
E: Lost diver procedures
F: Navigation via compass, natural features, line and reel or spool.
G: Site choice


4. Deep Dive- The deep dive is one of the primary reasons that divers take the AOW course. They wish to do dives exceeding the recommended OW limit of 60 feet. Whether it be a wreck, wall, or reef there is usually some reason for them to get a card that will demonstrate to a resort or boat operation that they are qualified to do the dive. Unfortunately this is usually the dive that also presents the most risk to the diver. Increased air usage demands a better understanding of management of the air supply. When doing this dive they may also be coming closer to the No Decompression Limits much faster than they realize. More attention to depth and times must be impressed upon them. Many will elect to begin looking at redundant air sources such as pony bottles. This is an area we should cover as well to be sure they get the proper equipment and know how to use it. And it goes without saying that we need to again make them aware of the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Skills evaluated would be:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Horizontal descent and ascent
C: Maintaining rate of descent/ascent
D: Situational Awareness via tests to judge effects of narcosis – In my class this consists of descending to a min depth of 90 ft, performing some basic math problems, then tying off a line, navigating a course with the line and having student take control of the reel for return to the tie off point. I will then signal an OOA and we will do a HORIZONTAL AIR SHARE ascent to approximately 50 ft, retrieve and deploy stage bottles and finish the dive.
E: Communication
F: Management of air supply
G: Use of stage bottles to finish the dive
H: Ascent utilizing deep stops

5. Search and Recovery- This dive introduces students to basic underwater search patterns and recovery techniques. It must be made clear that this is not a public safety course but an introduction to the use of basic patterns to locate lost objects of small size. The techniques and tools are suitable for locating things like fishing rods, small boat motors, wallets, and other such items. The lift bags used should not exceed 100lb capacity and smaller ones are preferred. 25-50 lbs is an ideal size for lifting an object such as a concrete block or bucket filled with weight. The use of a reel and line is also required for this dive to execute a circular pattern, grid, or as insurance should visibility be reduced by natural conditions or the actions of the searchers.
These skills are used in this dive:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Selection of search pattern based on object size, approximate location, environmental conditions
C: Attention to terrain detail
D: Maintaining trim and buoyancy while conducting a slow search using good anti-silting techniques and buddy skills. I do not separate buddy teams for this. They will tie off to a fixed point and execute the search as a team.
E: Once object is located we determine position by taking a compass heading
F: Securing object to be lifted
G: Lift bag use – raise object at even rate, achieve neutral buoyancy with the bag, swim object a horizontal distance of 100 ft, bring object to surface and return to depth maintaining neutral buoyancy of diver and object.



6. Buddy Skills and Assist- The Buddy Skills and Assist Dive is intended to reinforce proper buddy skills
and also introduce the student to new skills that may be used to assist a dive buddy who has
encountered different issues and now requires assistance from his buddy. At all times safety protocols
must be observed and adhered to. This does not however preclude creating scenarios to test and
challenge the student with the goal of increasing confidence, situational awareness, and overall safety of
the divers. With this in mind the following scenarios can be used:
A. 100 foot no mask swim with buddy leading
B. 100 foot no mask air share swim
C. 100 foot no mask air share swim and ascent
D. Loss of buoyancy ascent assist
E. Unconscious Diver from depth ( not to exceed 33 feet)
F. Rescue tow of unconscious diver brought up while stripping gear


These 6 dives make up the core of the AOW program that I teach. The Deep, UW Nav, and Night/Low Visibility, Advanced Skills, and Buddy Skills and Assist are not optional. Students will benefit greatly from the new kicks, increased buoyancy skills, and perhaps the bag skill should they plan to dive in conditions where it could be useful. The rescue skills in the Buddy Skills and Assist can be invaluable to any diver.

Another dive that could be inserted in the course would be Wreck with no penetration. What I do avoid is putting in a dive that does not benefit the student by enhancing their dive skills. It should also be noted that during the dives and classroom sessions that I will inform you of the benefits of the AOW plus program. Not only will you experience more dives under instructor supervision but also get more information on gas management, navigation skills and techniques, and the opportunity to perhaps do all of the dives discussed, and really give you a varied experience of dives that are considered advanced.

[h=2]Advanced Open Water Diver Level 2

[/h]The SEI Advanced Open Water Diver course is for divers who want to expand their knowledge and diving experience to include a variety of diving environments. The course provides an introduction to specialty diving, and features five open water dives, including a night dive. This course is highly recommended for all newly certified Open Water divers, to help them gain experience and comfort in the underwater world.

Hi Jim,

There's little resemblance between the SEI requirements and your course. My conclusions should be pretty obvious.

Good diving, Craig

---------- Post added November 28th, 2013 at 06:40 PM ----------

Out of curriosity, I attempted to look up the PADI AOWD equivalent for many of mainstream agencies:

PADI: Advanced Open Water Diver: 5 dives including deep, nav, and 3 others
NAUI: Advanced Scuba Diver: 6 dives including deep, nav, night/low vis and 3 others
SDI: Advanced Adventure Diver: 5 dives including deep, nav, and 3 others
SSI: Advanced Adventurer: 5 dives ? no specific requirement, is this generally accepted as AOWD?
SEI: Advanced Open Water Diver Level 2: 5 dives including night, is this generally accepted as AOWD?

I look forward to comments

Good diving, Craig