When to do AOW?

[Walter]

I did my AOW right away

And I've never taken AOW. There are better options.

 

[elan]

And I've never taken AOW. There are better options.

Walter, what are those options that you would suggest?

Not necessary from PADI. Thanks

 

[Teamcasa]

When do you think is a good time (in terms of experience) to do AOW?

...I found the buoyancy control really tough.
I'd like to get some better training

Training is not taking a class in many situations. Training is learning from an experienced diver/mentor/instructor that will actually teach you the skills you lack.

Taking a class (in many instances) is more a review and test of your skills with a few pointers.

And I've never taken AOW. There are better options.

I only took the AOW so I would not have fewer problems on some resort charters, some 25 years after my original certification.

 

[Walter]

Walter, what are those options that you would suggest?

The best one is LA County's Advanced Diver Program. I took the YMCA Silver Star Advanced class which later became YMCA Silver Advanced and is now taught by SEI as Advanced Plus.

Not necessary from PADI.

They used to have a pretty good alternative called Advanced Plus, but they eliminated it several years ago. Too bad because they really don't have a better option anymore.

 

[hmoffatt]

It really depends on what class you'll be taking. If you're taking a class, like Bob's, in which there will be academics and skills, wait until you have some experience (typically 25 - 30 dives) so you'll have a reference. If you're taking a typical AOW class, wham bam, 5 quick dives with no academics, take it right away.

All the local shops seem to offer the 5 dives over a single weekend only. Some include a theory night but 3 hours is obviously not enough time to learn the 5 specialties, so all the academics will be prior study. My OW was a 4 day job too.

At least one of the local shops has a fixed set of 5 specialties in their AOW course. Diver propulsion vehicle isn't a high priority to me so I'll choose someone else..

Thanks for the inputs, I'll call a LDS and look into getting some extra mentoring with them at least.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Hamish and good question. Anytime you are entering as new environment it is a good idea to receive a local dive brief from a DM or experienced local diver. This will help you to identify specific characteristics about the environment and how to address these issues as well.
IMO "in my opinion" I chose to do AOW right after OW. I dive primarily in cold water and was interested in gaining as much of an advantage and skill practice as possible.
It was a good move for me personally and ended up diving way more than I anticipated. It established a relationship with a very good instructor who became a mentor and close friend. This has lead me to a dive training interest as a DM candidate.
The time spent training and helping train has brought me to many different conditions and many different divers. The best advice for me to give is to evaluate your skills very carefully. IF you are not 100% comfortable, seek more training. Find a good mentor / buddy who exhibits safe diving principals and has like diving goals.
Never dive beyond your skills or comfort level! Never dive beyond your training!
Take the time to gain the training and experience to safely achieve your goals.
I am a local diving proponent because it keeps us diving more frequently and more diving means more experience. I like to focus and have specific goals even for pleasure dives. I find it gives every dive a significance and have learned much from seemingly insignificant dives. Buoyancy will come with training / time in the water!
Just commit to being the best diver you can and get at it! Dive every chance you get and practice skills constantly. Do not become complacent about basic skills they keep us alive! Have fun what ever you decide, diving is a awesome experience!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[Mayor]

For more advanced resort diving they want the AOW even though that does not really mean much. Some AOW divers are very good some are not. It all comes down to putting time in the water. You could have an AOW at 25 dives or 2000. Great advise on getting with a good instructor to work on your diving. If you do get your AOW card your really not an advanced diver so dive with in your limits. My guess is if you pass the link below we can call you a AOW diver. Even with my Rescue card I'm far from a advanced diver. I also know a few OW instructor that are not as well. Sad but true.



GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[Sas]

All the local shops seem to offer the 5 dives over a single weekend only. Some include a theory night but 3 hours is obviously not enough time to learn the 5 specialties, so all the academics will be prior study. My OW was a 4 day job too.

At least one of the local shops has a fixed set of 5 specialties in their AOW course. Diver propulsion vehicle isn't a high priority to me so I'll choose someone else..

Thanks for the inputs, I'll call a LDS and look into getting some extra mentoring with them at least.

Which shops are you looking at for the course? Let me know if you want any feedback about good/bad shops

I think drysuit and wreck are not really necessary for Melbourne diving, you can learn them on your own with more experienced divers giving you some tips. Most of the wrecks shallow enough to dive with AOW are easy enough to dive around without a wreck course. If you are seriously interested in wreck diving, save the cash for later on and do a more involved course.

A drysuit can be learned under one of the piers, I got mine and drove straight to Portsea Pier and practiced there Was easy enough (and I am not a natural at learning diving skills ) Find someone who's got one to show you the ropes. Or get the shop to throw in some training for free, I'd never advise someone to pay for a course. If we are going to have to pay vastly inflated prices for gear in comparison to the rest of the world, get some freebies thrown in

I would say the only benefit to doing AOW locally is so that the dive charters will allow you on sites to 30m (few wrecks you can see then). You won't learn a heap with such a short course such as the ones you've mentioned, but it wouldn't do any harm so don't worry about the experience. Though, if you just want to get used to local conditions find a dive club and do some dives with them until you get comfortable. Plenty of clubs run dives like this that will acclimatise you A lot of the local piers offer depths of 4-9m and are great for practicing buoyancy as if you can get good at buoyancy in that depth, the boat dives will be a breeze.

 

[don Francisco]

There's no exact answer. I'd say wait until you've digested what you've learned in OW, and feel you're beginning to plateau. You're probably pretty close now.

If you take AOW too soon, you won't get the fullest possible benefit, since you're still struggling with the basics. For example, it's hard to fine tune bouyancy and trim if you're still bouncing around like a yoyo.

On the other hand, if you wait too long, you'll have either picked up much of the material on your own, or possibly ingrained some bad habits. Either way, if you wait until someplace between dive 50 and 100 the course may seem redundant, and only be something you take as a pre-requisite to another level.

One test of if you're ready, is if you find yourself feeling that you've gone as far as you can go with what you already know, and have new more subtle questions.

 

[Walter]

All the local shops seem to offer the 5 dives over a single weekend only.

Time to look beyond the shops. Some of the best instructors don't teach at shops.

Some include a theory night but 3 hours is obviously not enough time to learn the 5 specialties, so all the academics will be prior study. My OW was a 4 day job too.

That's OK because AOW doesn't teach 5 specialties. It only gives you one dive in each of 5 different areas. Thinking of AOW as 5 specialties gives you a false sense of accomplishment and gives way too much credit to AOW.