scubabrn
Guest
Tollie:
Is this right? An open water certified diver dose not need to be "supervised" when in the water. If it is true, it will answer some questions I have about the integrity of our lds.
what is this thing called AOW???
- Thread starter opalobsidian
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Is this right? An open water certified diver dose not need to be "supervised" when in the water. If it is true, it will answer some questions I have about the integrity of our lds.
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You folks can argue all you want about whatever you want, but let's keep the University programs, about which you seem only to be able to speculate, out of it. I was honored to be a founding member of AAUS, as well as an author of The American Academy of Underwater Sciences Standards for Scientific Diving.
There is a strong bias in the academic diving world toward NAUI. This is a result of NAUI have a much more flexible program than PADI doe. The NAUI program can be more easily used in an academic setting to meet a set of goals that have nothing to do with NAUI, PADI or any other agency. PADI's specification of what skills have to be taught in what order creates a situation is which their programs does not work well in a University setting where diving is being taught as anything other than a Physical Education activity class. An example of this was the United States Military Academy which was a PADI program at one time, and when PADI when to a more restrictive program the West Point Diving Officer crossed over to NAUI.
In terms of research diver certification there is no bias as to your agency background, if you are planning on attending or volunteering at an AAUS member institution. Frankly I get a bit bothered by folks who style themselves as AAUS Certified Divers on the board here. AAUS is NOT A CERTIFYING AGENCY. By making such claim these dviers demonstrate that they are posers rather than research divers. A research diver would describe him or herself as, a University Research Diver, not an AAUS certified diver.
Anyway, to become a University Research Diver you must meet the institutions requirements; requirements which must meet or exceed AAUS very high, but general standards. Different institutions handle this problem in different ways. Some institutions, which lack strong training programs, welcome divers with recreational training. As long as you can demonstrate 100 hours of formal training with a minimum of 12 training dives and can pass a written exam and checkout dive, you can be issued a Research Diver in Training card right off the bat.
At the other extreme are institutions with strong training programs that make the DIR folks appear highly adaptable in comparison. If you want to dive for these institutions YOU WILL TAKE THE COURSE! U.C. Berkeley was that way when I attended there. I was an A.I. with a thousand or so dives, and it was made clear to me that I should take the class. Frankly it was the best class I ever took and helped my to integrate myself into a team based, strongly standardized program. See: Link
If you have any questions concerning AAUS or research diving programs in general, please feel free to start a thread or to PM me.
There is a strong bias in the academic diving world toward NAUI. This is a result of NAUI have a much more flexible program than PADI doe. The NAUI program can be more easily used in an academic setting to meet a set of goals that have nothing to do with NAUI, PADI or any other agency. PADI's specification of what skills have to be taught in what order creates a situation is which their programs does not work well in a University setting where diving is being taught as anything other than a Physical Education activity class. An example of this was the United States Military Academy which was a PADI program at one time, and when PADI when to a more restrictive program the West Point Diving Officer crossed over to NAUI.
In terms of research diver certification there is no bias as to your agency background, if you are planning on attending or volunteering at an AAUS member institution. Frankly I get a bit bothered by folks who style themselves as AAUS Certified Divers on the board here. AAUS is NOT A CERTIFYING AGENCY. By making such claim these dviers demonstrate that they are posers rather than research divers. A research diver would describe him or herself as, a University Research Diver, not an AAUS certified diver.
Anyway, to become a University Research Diver you must meet the institutions requirements; requirements which must meet or exceed AAUS very high, but general standards. Different institutions handle this problem in different ways. Some institutions, which lack strong training programs, welcome divers with recreational training. As long as you can demonstrate 100 hours of formal training with a minimum of 12 training dives and can pass a written exam and checkout dive, you can be issued a Research Diver in Training card right off the bat.
At the other extreme are institutions with strong training programs that make the DIR folks appear highly adaptable in comparison. If you want to dive for these institutions YOU WILL TAKE THE COURSE! U.C. Berkeley was that way when I attended there. I was an A.I. with a thousand or so dives, and it was made clear to me that I should take the class. Frankly it was the best class I ever took and helped my to integrate myself into a team based, strongly standardized program. See: Link
If you have any questions concerning AAUS or research diving programs in general, please feel free to start a thread or to PM me.
This is quoted directly from the PADI Instructors guide:
PADI Open Water Divers are qualified to:
• Dive with a buddy independent of supervision while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
PADI Scuba Divers are qualified to:
• Dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Divemaster, Assistant Instructor or Instructor while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
PADI Open Water Divers are qualified to:
• Dive with a buddy independent of supervision while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
PADI Scuba Divers are qualified to:
• Dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Divemaster, Assistant Instructor or Instructor while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
Yep, PADI Scuba Diver (note *not* Open Water) certs only allow divers to dive while under direct inwater supervision of a certified PADI Divemaster, Assistant Instructor or Instructor. It also only qualifies the scuba diver to a maximum depth of 12metres/40ft.scubabrn:
Open Water divers are qualified to dive *with a buddy* but independent of professional supervision; max depth for PADI OW is 18metres/60ft.
Laser
Guest
It needs to be called OW1 & OW2. The " advanced " tag is misleading. A marketing scheme.
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NAUI used to call it Basic and Sport, then OW I & II, then PADI made their second course "advanced" and the stampede was on.
SparticleBrane
Contributor
Haha, "stampede" 
That's a good one...:lol:
I was previously speaking out of ignorance, having not actually taken the NCSU Scientific Diving couse. But I have taken the others that I mentioned (OW/Nitrox, Rescue, and Leadership), so I can speak from experience for the other courses.
That's a good one...:lol:I was previously speaking out of ignorance, having not actually taken the NCSU Scientific Diving couse. But I have taken the others that I mentioned (OW/Nitrox, Rescue, and Leadership), so I can speak from experience for the other courses.
serambin
Guest
Na, he was supposed to read the book. However, PADI is a little fuzzy about depth after an open water diver gets 'experience in the OW book. In the Adventures in diving book, the're more specific about depths.
Stan
Stan
serambin
Guest
And, there is a reason for this, outside of liability. I've seen inexperienced night divers, with many logged dives, run into a problem that in daylight wouldn't cause them a second thought, but at night they became anxious enough to cause the DM to have to call the dive.
Why should everyone pay for a 'small' lack of experience of a few.
Get the AOW, and you may really learn something. Even if you don't, you'll remove the problems associated with rec. diving from commercial boats.
Stan
Why should everyone pay for a 'small' lack of experience of a few.
Get the AOW, and you may really learn something. Even if you don't, you'll remove the problems associated with rec. diving from commercial boats.
Stan
soonerwink
Contributor
I am a PADI diver that has been through OW, AOW, and Recue Diver and in the future I will continue my dive education through PADI. I think you should get your AOW just to help with your experience and confidence when diving. I have dove with several buddies though that have only OW cert. that were great divers and very safe and we went on many deep dives. They just have no interest in continuing there diving education. I had my OW instructor tell me that PADI should stand for (Put Another Dollar IN).
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