Finishing AOW

[itsdp515]

I took the Advanced Open Water course with my college this semester. I completed the boat, navigation, altitude and night dives for the certification. I did not have enough time to complete the deep dive. I graduated so I will not be there anymore. My instructor said he was willing to do the deep dive with me at a later date, but I want to know if I could do the deep dive with another dive center closer to me, and still achieve the certification.

 

[tursiops]

Yes. Just make sure the other four dives are signed off in your log book, and/or you have a signed "training record" from your previous instructor.

 

[Mscdex]

Make sure of this because we got a letter to confirm 2 adventure dives were completed and the dive shop we complete the other 3 dives with, wouldn't accept it. Apparently a signed log book means more than a letter with the same info.

 

[knotical]

Likely both instructors will need to be associated with the same certifying organization. i.e. PADI to PADI, or NAUI to NAUI, etc.
Contact your first instructor, and he/she should know the process that works for that agency.

 

[TMHeimer]

Check what the second dive shop will charge to complete the AOW.

 

[Mscdex]

Not to hijack the thread but it was more about the principle of already completing the skills and paying a lot of money to do so. Both are padi shops as well which is why the second shop was saying that every padi instructor knows better than to not sign a lot book and state that it was an adventure dive.

 

[knotical]

When I was still an active PADI instructor, it was the PADI Advanced Open Water Training Record. It had a separate sheet for each dive which listed skills, and had a verification statement that included the instructor’s name, signature, PADI number, date and contact info, as well as a place for the student to sign off. Don’t know what is currently used, but doubt a log book signature would be sufficient for any receiving instructor. If I got something like that, I’d attempt to contact the original instructor and ask for the proper documentation.

The cynic in me says that anyone can doctor a logbook, but with the instructor's credentials, I can verify with PADI that he was current at the time of the dives and contact him directly with any questions.

 

[TMHeimer]

Not to hijack the thread but it was more about the principle of already completing the skills and paying a lot of money to do so. Both are padi shops as well which is why the second shop was saying that every padi instructor knows better than to not sign a lot book and state that it was an adventure dive.

I had to go back to the shop because for OW course my instructor forgot to sign for the 4 checkout dives.

 

[scoobydrew]

Yes. Just make sure the other four dives are signed off in your log book, and/or you have a signed "training record" from your previous instructor.

This is the correct answer. Get the training record and the log book signed and you should be fine. If the dive centre dose not accept this then it is not because of the standards (provided both centres are PADI which is the only agency I can comment on with accuracy).

You do not need a letter, if the new centre has any doubt then they can call or email your old instructor.

If the new centre wants you to do the full course then walk away and talk to another centre.

 

[tursiops]

Under PADI, AOW is not a class, it is a certification you can get based on five adventure dives, two of which must be deep and nav. Each of the five dives can be done anywhere at any time. All the OP needs is one Deep adventure dive by a PADI instructor. No big deal, and that deep instructor issues the AOW cert and gets the credit for the cert, even though he did only one dive. The OP should pay for one dive and the cert. Period.