Should we take AOW now?

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oreocookie

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Scuba Instructor
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Location
Montreal, Canada
# of dives
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I know this had been discussed before, sometimes even on a daily basis, but I want some opinions.

My friend and I got our OW certs in September but because of school and work schedules and local dive sites being frozen over, we've been out of open water since we got certified, though we did enjoy the "scenery" at the bottom of a 50ft deep pool on the other side of the city. We had been planning on doing a few dives on our own before doing AOW sometime this summer, but after having been out of open water for 9 months and never having been there on our own, I'm thinking that doing AOW first, looking at it as OW part 2, for more instructor supervised dive time (and learning a few things) and then going diving on our own after might be a better idea .

I can't speak for my buddy because I haven't specifically asked her, but I felt comfortable in the pool, so I doubt a Scuba Review would be any help, since the lds does it strictly in a pool. I've looked at their local events and the only one before August that doesn't require AOW is this saturday, and we're both busy. :shakehead:

So what do you think? Should we do it now to get some experience, then do easy "basic OW" type dives (ie, really simple, less than 60 feet) until we're comfy on our own? Intructors' opinions on if this is a good plan would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance.
 
Why not take a refresher now, get in a few dives this summer, then take AOW after you get comfortable with the basics?

I always advise my students to get comfortable with the things they learned in their last class before going on to the next one. Your brain only has so much bandwidth to process new information, and if you're still struggling with stuff you should already know you won't have a lot of margin for stuff that's new.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
During my divemaster internship, I saw a lot of people in your situation who were taking AOW. They had not dove in a while and then tried to do the AOW dives. Most of them did not do well. Several couldn't assemble their equipment properly. Almost all had poor diving skills including things like using the inflator button as an elevator button or not being able to control their buoyancy. One punctured her eardrum.

I'm sure others will differ in opinion. I think the refresher is your best bet before you do the AOW. This is because all the dives have particular training objectives and you want to be able to concentrate on those rather than trying to remember how to do some basic skill.
 
Do you have the option of just paying an instructor to dive with you and show you where to improve. For example...you pay for his dive/air. He/she watches you dive, gets you trimmed out right, makes sure you are weighted correctly, helps you improve you buoyancy skills,etc.
There might even be a trustworthy skilled diver in your area who's not an instructor but can be just as beneficial.

The reason I'm saying this is because what you need is to improve what you started learning in your last class. For that you don't NEED to pay for another class. AFTER you've mastered those basics(by diving) you can THEN take AOW to progress to deeper depths.


oooops...typed pretty slow here...NW posted his before I hit "post"
 
:D padi franchise says "yes" :D

Seriously though, if its gonna be cold water I'd do a dive or five with a guide or instructor first - and maybe a refresher, although its probably the practical side of things that is likely to occupy you most while diving. just to get back in the groove. I dont think you'd get the most out the adventure themes of the dives if mostly concentrating on remembering OW and possibly bothering with equipment and buoyancy.

But go go its fantastic when its not frozen ;0)
 
I would get some experience first and refresh your skills. Get comfortable with the skills that you learnt in your first course before processing more information. That way you will get the most out of yuor advanced course and enjoy the skills rather than still worrying about the scuba basics
 
Another vote for more experience. You want to have a solid base before potentially adding more skills and more challenging dive environmets. I would advise you enlist the help of an instructor or experienced diver to advise things to work on and go from there.
 
See if you shop will throw in a refresher course in with the advance class. But I would take the advance class. You will learn new skills and have an instructor their to help with old and new skills.
 
During my divemaster internship, I saw a lot of people in your situation who were taking AOW. They had not dove in a while and then tried to do the AOW dives. Most of them did not do well. Several couldn't assemble their equipment properly. Almost all had poor diving skills including things like using the inflator button as an elevator button or not being able to control their buoyancy. One punctured her eardrum.

I'm sure others will differ in opinion. I think the refresher is your best bet before you do the AOW. This is because all the dives have particular training objectives and you want to be able to concentrate on those rather than trying to remember how to do some basic skill.

I wonder if we did the same AOW Internship dives? Obviously not, but I could have typed everything you posted, save the ear drum puncture, and and it would be my story nearly word for word.

I definitely think a refresher is a good idea as a result of that experience, where maybe before that I would have just suggested AOW as a logical next-step. Experience is something you get right after you need it, right? Don't waste your AOW course re-learning.

At a minimum, check into your local dive clubs if you have them in your area. Go dive and get a few dives under your belt before taking AOW.

Best,
 
That I know of, the AOW course is not for going over the basic stuff again. Go out and perfect the basic stuff first. Maybe even with an experienced diver/instructor. It doesn't have to be a paid class. People like to say that taking the AOW class right after the OW class is great because this way you get more time with an instructor to go over the basic stuff as well. If I was that instructor, the first thing I would do is see if you even learned the basics from the OW course. If not, then I'd say you're not ready to take my AOW class.(especially since it's also known as the 130' card)
 

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