Path to follow after OW certification

I got my OW certification last July. Since I have logged 8 dives. The first 4 were shallow water (around 30 ft), staying close to my instructor as he trained the next OW group, working on my boyancy control skills, removing my mask, etc. The remaining 4 times I dove with friends, so I was involved in planning the dives, managing bottom time and air, keeping an eye out for my less experienced and still a little worried buddy, etc.

Yesterday, when I went to the LDS to return the rental gear, I was told by my instructor and the LDS owner (a commercial ex Navy diver and a rec and tech instructor, with an excellent reputation in the local scuba community), that I was ready to commence my AOW training if I so wished. The latter also said that there was a bundle deal available, whereby if I enrolled to AOW, EFR and Rescue Diver courses (i.e. commit to do those in his Dive school, one after the other), I would get to do the EFR for free. Just so you have an idea of the costs involved, AOW costs 250, EFR 150 and Rescue Diver 300 (all prices in Euro).

My reply was that I intend to do all of the above, as I intend eventually to dive my way up to becoming a DM, but I felt that at the moment I wanted to put in some more dives (although I have logged all 8 dives, I only consider the last 4 as proper ones, as it was those I did unsupervised and got to actually see things underwater in depths of up to 67 ft, as opposed to repeating drills in order to improve my skills).

I am thinking of putting in at least 10 more dives before commencing my AOW training, maybe more if I feel that I need to further improve on some of the skills I learned.

I would welcome all recommendiations regarding the "best" way forward.

Ytsejam,

The costs are reasonable by European standards and prices you are getting are good deal at least in terms of the prices you have to pay. Since you have to do the EFR before you get signed off on your Rescue certification, looks like you LDS isn't stupid either.

They may be suggesting you do AOW now due to water temperature in September/October so that you don't have to do it in a Dry Suit?

I would be interested to know which "adventure dives" you would be taking in addition to Deep and Navigation and why. Is night diving allowed in Greece?

Rescue is the minimum training level that any diver who is serious about his diving should have. So if you like your LDS and think they train you well, go for it.

I would stay off the idea of becoming a DM right now until you have dived a lot more for fun and hopefully had the chance to travel and dive in different environments.

Take the Enriched Air Diver course fairly soon if both it and Nitrox is offered where you dive. It will expand your knowledge and change some of your perceptions.

Be happy to answer any more questions you may have.

The timing of AOW is often discussed, and a lot of the answers really depend on the quality of the class. AOW, in the PADI system, is really designed to follow immediately upon OW, to allow the diver a few more dives with an instructor, and to cover some subject matter which is not included in OW. If it is taught as it is often taught, there is not much point to doing a lot of diving before taking it, because eventually, you will have learned on your own much of what will be in the class.

There ARE AOW classes which are not that thin in content, but they are instructor-dependent.

I don't know where in Greece you are, but if you are interested in improving your diving skills, you could consider taking UTD Essentials. UTD just certified their first instructor in Greece. The class is an excellent one -- my husband took it -- and focuses on improving diving skills and teaching some which are not included in the usual curriculum (like non-silting kicks, and back kicking.)

There is no one, "right" way to do this.

Personally, I think that if you have understood your OW training and are comfortable diving within the initial OW constraints, you'll benefit from the additional dives with an instructor's supervision in AOW. No need to wait. Just remember, that an AOW certification doesn't make you an "advanced" diver.

As for rescue, I think that you should wait until you have a firm grip on the basics of buoyancy control and are very comfortable in the water. Again, no need to be an "advanced" diver, a solid beginner's skill level is just fine.

Were it me, I'd sign up and do the AOW dives right now. Then, I'd dive and practice so more and then take the Rescue portion of the class. You should take the EFR as soon as possible, as it's not directly dive-skill dependent.

I say go get your AOW if for no other reason than just learning a few more skill sets and it will get you in the water. This class won't mean you are an experienced diver but it will give you some basic stress/rescue training and a better understanding of diving as a whole. I don't think you need to have a lot of dives logged to do AOW. I believe this class will make you a safer diver and buddy to dive with. Good luck and safe diving.

First of all thanks for the responses.

-->leapfrog: Night diving is allowed in Greece and is in fact one of the AOW dives in my LDS. I will be opting for that, as it will show me a new perspective. Diving in the Med sea in the summer means that the conditions are much better than average. Visibility is usually more than 60 ft, ambient temperature is high, there's no drift, etc. I feel that a night dive will make me work harder on my skills than any of my day dives so far. It will also be interesting to see what it will do to my air consumption. I finished all of my OW dives with roughly the same amount of air left in my tank as my instructor had. It will be good to know what my consumption will be like once I am less relaxed

The deep dive will be conducted inside a verticall "well" which starts at a depth of 30 ft and goes down to over 100 ft. While still OW, the confines of the well (wide enough for 3 divers to descent into) will challenge my claustrophobia (not a phobia per se, but diving in anything other than clear ocean floor with good visibility is bound to shake me some)

Lastly I am thinking of diving a wreck, which again is an option offered by my LDS. We're talking about an "educational" wreck, sitting at around 42 ft, with trapdoors and hatches removed or securely welded, Still we will be observing it from a close distance but will NOT enter it. This dive I will opt to do because I have a phobia of shipwrecks, having survived one a few years ago.

EAD and Nitrox are both offered in my LDS and I will be doing them after completing Rescue Diver. Don't get me wrong. I am not aspiring to go from zero to hero in record time. I enjoy diving, have been told that I have what it takes to become a decent diver, but I want to tread cautiously, enjoy the sights and progress in slow, secure steps. When I said that I want to become a DM eventually, I meant that I do not wish to progress any further than that in terms of qualifications. I plan to enjoy every dive and learn something from it. If and when I feel competent to enroll for a DM programme, only then I will do it.

--> TSandM: I am located in Athens, but Greece is fairly small by American standards, so if I want to take the UTD Essentials course, the instructor you mentioned will not be out of reach . I will seriously look into it. Thank you for taking the time to point that out for me!

ytsejam, you sound like a very thoughtful person taking some care to figure out what to do next.

If you don't take the Essentials course, I would highly recommend doing a Peak Performance Buoyancy dive as part of your AOW, or even the buoyancy specialty. Getting your buoyancy really dialed in and your weights balanced to where you can effortless stay horizontal is really the beginning of relaxed, happy diving. Essentials would help you with that, but if you can't or don't want to do that soon, think about the PPB dive. (Of course, it depends on whether your instructor has any knowledge of how to balance gear.)

In the meantime, you might enjoy reading the articles on balancing gear which are HERE, and NW Grateful Diver's article on gas management, which is HERE.

PADI EFR is good for only 2 years, then you must "renew" to do Rescue or DM. May be best to hold off on the EFR until just before Rescue.

Follow the path.... to the water, and enjoy the dive.

-->TSandM: Thanks for the useful articles. My boyancy still needs a lot of work. I think that buying my own BC will at least eliminate some of the variables associated with diving a different rental BC every time.

In terms of gas management, I have already discussed with my buddy that our next dive will include a SAC measurement and a 5 minute stop at 33 ft, to measure our consumption rate there. What I have done so far is jot down in my logbook the tank pressure with which I start each dive (I always rent a 15lt steel tank) and what's left once I surface. It's pretty crude, but coupled with the dive profile it lets me know how I've managed my air during each dive. I have also found Chapter 7 of the U.S. Navy Diving manual to provide very useful information on this subject. Btw, printing the manual out and taking it with me to the first OW classroom session, was my way of assessing how open minded my instructor was and he did pretty well He commended me for seeking additional information beyond the course material and even asked me to translate a few paragraphs for him, to incorporate into his teaching, because he thought they were well written.

While on the subject of air management, after I did my fin pivot drill for the first time (having to inflate the BC through the mouthpiece) I've made it my habit to inflate my BC (when I want to adjust my boyancy) by exhaling into the inflator mouthpiece. I know it won't make a dramatic difference to my air management, but thought that every little bit helps. I'd like to know what exprerienced divers think of this practice.