Skills to have polished before going to AOW

[tursiops]

The RD course teaches you how awfully difficult and hopeless it is to try to actually rescue someone, so better to avoid the accident. Result: You don't want to be a hero.

I really dislike this: don't even try and rescue someone because you might fail. Jeez.
Result: please do not be my buddy.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Wow, don't know what rescue course he took but sounds like it sucked. My OW students are perfectly capable of performing a rescue. The advanced students even more so. They get additional training and classroom for that. The rescue course then can also focus on prevention, assessment, and evacuation.

 

[The Chairman]

Keep diving with your present skills, AOW classes--per se--won't add a lot of them, only more diving.....IMO

Not all AOW classes are taught equal. It's not dependent on the agency, but rather the instructor. Many, if not most, divers shop for AOW like a car: looking for the cheapest deal. Better to look for an instructor that will mentor and challenge you to dive a lot better. Some of the best compliments I ever get are from divers listening to me on the boat with my AOW student and then complaining with something like, "My instructor didn't cover any of this!" That's happened three times now and it makes me smile inwardly. I don't ever want to get arrogant over stuff like that and somehow think I'm the best thing since sliced bread or that there is no room for improvement, but it does encourage me to try even harder and set the bar a bit more neutral!

 

[Diver0001]

So I recently completed my OW and have done a few dives. I'm really enjoying it and am keen on doing AOW some time in the future. I know you can technically go straight from OW to AOW, but are there any particular skills/techniques I should have absolutely bombproof first to maximise how much I get from the AOW course? Cheers.

1) don't wait too long. I have made this mistake over and over again. I have had to UNLEARN more than have I have LEARNED from just about every scuba course I have ever taken. If you wait too long then you then anything you get out of the course will be a result of "undoing" bad habits instead of "learning" good habits.

2) I see on this thread a strong message to sort out your buoyancy control ahead of time. I think this is good advice to a point. However, PERFECTING buoyancy control before you take this course is (a) unwise and (b) impossible.

What I mean is this. I have been diving for 30 years. I'm a highly experienced diver with a great many dives. I am a technical diver, an instructor and someone who students would tell you looks like a "statue hung on a string" under water. and yet, I can tell you that my buoyancy control is still not "perfect". It still requires concentration. It still requires continual fine tuning. On the internet all the hero's here would have you believe that buoyancy control is something you can control perfectly. Forget it. What you need for AOW is that you can avoid unplanned (uncontrolled) ascents and descents. Having perfect buoyancy before you start with this course is a myth and mistake.

R..

 

[The Chairman]

On the internet all the hero's here would have you believe that buoyancy control is something you can control perfectly. Forget it.

I don't play a hero, here or on TV, and I disagree with this. Sure, a number of people have a skewed version of "perfect" when it comes to buoyancy and that may be the case here. Buoyancy control is simple applied physics. My OW students achieve it before they finish their class. It's just not that difficult. Unfortunately, the myth that it is impossible to achieve easily has been around a long time, and so many instructors are hesitant to even try. I've even had people suggest that I'm lying when I state that my students have this skill down. It's just not that hard. I clearly remember the instructor who asked me when I had started teaching cavern when he saw my OW students in the pool. That this was only their second pool session really struck it home to him just how easy this is, IF you don't scare yourself from even trying.

Now, let's define "perfect" buoyancy; You can establish and hold the depth you want with your breathing +/- within a three foot (1 meter) window. The more neoprene or warmth you add, the more difficult this becomes with only your breath. Don't be afraid to use that BC or Dry Suit inflator if you find yourself starting to scull. Trim, Buoyancy and propulsion is one of the most popular classes I teach and I offer it free to any instructor who wants to learn how easy it really is. I only ask that they integrate it into their OW classes as best they can.

 

[Diver0001]

I don't play a hero, here or on TV, and I disagree with this. Sure, a number of people have a skewed version of "perfect" when it comes to buoyancy and that may be the case here. Buoyancy control is simple applied physics. My OW students achieve it before they finish their class. It's just not that difficult. Unfortunately, the myth that it is impossible to achieve easily has been around a long time, and so many instructors are hesitant to even try. I've even had people suggest that I'm lying when I state that my students have this skill down. It's just not that hard. I clearly remember the instructor who asked me when I had started teaching cavern when he saw my OW students in the pool. That this was only their second pool session really struck it home to him just how easy this is, IF you don't scare yourself from even trying.

Now, let's define "perfect" buoyancy; You can establish and hold the depth you want with your breathing +/- within a three foot (1 meter) window. The more neoprene or warmth you add, the more difficult this becomes with only your breath. Don't be afraid to use that BC or Dry Suit inflator if you find yourself starting to scull. Trim, Buoyancy and propulsion is one of the most popular classes I teach and I offer it free to any instructor who wants to learn how easy it really is. I only ask that they integrate it into their OW classes as best they can.

Ok.....

well.... I don't know. What I would expect from an OW student (the entry requirement for AOW) is that they control their buoyancy to the point where an uncontrolled ascent or an uncontrolled descent is not a risk. At this level, trim, buoyancy and breathing are connected (and complicated) like changing lanes on the freeway while shifting gears and accelerating..... You can't expect that at the OW level to be completely automated any more than you can expect a newly licensed driver to be able to merge, accelerate and change lanes while giving zero attention to it.

What I would expect from a diver at the level I usually dive with is that they can make a free-swimming staged ascent in mid water with no visual reference in technical gear with a 30cm deviance.

Are either of those perfect buoyancy?

No. In my mind they are not.

The relevant point for the OP is that if he wants to do AOW and he listens only to what people say on Scubaboard that he might (probably will) feel insecure. My point is that if he can control his buoyancy to the point where he doesn't put himself at risk then he's good to go.

R..

 

[The Chairman]

well.... I don't know.

There's a room for you here in Key Largo. Come on down and dive with a few of my students. They'll make a believer of you. You know you need a dive vacation, my friend!

The key is to reduce the amount of variables to a manageable level. The biggest mistake is not getting horizontal (trim). Once you get that straight, you only have to establish buoyancy once at depth. If you don't get that straight, you'll constantly be fiddling with your inflator/deflator as you stop and go. It's damned confusing!

FWIW, the biggest mistake with trim happens with an aluminum cylinder (the most popular). It's counter intuitive for most. With a steel cylinder, the further back you slide the cylinder, the lower your feet will go and sliding it forward will raise your feet. In the water, the butt of an aluminum tank is rather buoyant. IOW, the further back the cylinder is, the higher your feet will go, not lower. I can't count how many divers I have seen have their AL tanks so far forward that they can't lift their head and their feet are still too low. I will actually put a two pound ankle weight on the neck of my AL with the top strap right at the crown to get into perfect trim.

 

[Diver0001]

There's a room for you here in Key Largo. Come on down and dive with a few of my students. They'll make a believer of you. You know you need a dive vacation, my friend!

Indeed. If I have the chance I'll come and I'll audit your class. It would be my honour. As instructor I have always learned the most by being the student again.

R..

 

[TMHeimer]

I agree with both of you. You have to define "perfect" anyway. Hovering wasn't emphasized a lot when I took OW. After a few dives I found once that I wanted to stop and look at something and I was hovering "perfectly". This plus good safe ascent/decsent control may be a signal to do AOW. I do agree not to wait too long. I did mine after 2 post OW course dives, which was before I had this hovering experience and I think I did pretty well in AOW. Individuals vary of course.

 

[Screwball]

Crucial thanks to everyone for their input, really great responses all round. In particular the breakdown of concepts and ideas on some drills and exercises to try. Hopefully will be in the water this weekend to get some more practice in. Thanks again all!