AOW as an experienced diver

[dumpsterDiver]

If you've done that many dives, you don't know an instructor that will just give you the certification? My one dive buddy got his Ow certification like that... I wasn't an active instructor, so we brought this lady out to certify him on his own boat. First he and I did a dive to 180 ft and went spearfsihing, then he did a few check out dives in 60 feet (with the instructor) and she gave him the test on the dock....

I can't imagine an AOW course providing any real value for the OP .. even the nitrox course is pretty much a formality if you read the book and understand the stuff. As a matter of fact, i think my buddy never got nitrox certified yet, but the shop still fills his tanks!!

 

[AfterDark]

If you've done that many dives, you don't know an instructor that will just give you the certification? My one dive buddy got his Ow certification like that... I wasn't an active instructor, so we brought this lady out to certify him on his own boat. First he and I did a dive to 180 ft and went spearfsihing, then he did a few check out dives in 60 feet (with the instructor) and she gave him the test on the dock....

I can't imagine an AOW course providing any real value for the OP .. even the nitrox course is pretty much a formality if you read the book and understand the stuff. As a matter of fact, i think my buddy never got nitrox certified yet, but the shop still fills his tanks!!

You're taking me back to the way things were. All of the instructors I know are either passed or retired. The son of my original instructor an instructor himself wanted the cost of the course for the cert. didn't have to take the course or do the dives just pay. That didn’t sit well with me, in fact I considered calling his father but didn’t.
The one teaching the course now I have an acquaintance with, from diving with his charter once and seeing him at LDS social functions. He never offered and I never asked.
I found the challenge though! There’s a lot of reading to do and a lot of questions to answer before Monday! As my posts display my academic skills are well......wanting.
So there’s the challenge!

 

[supergaijin]

The son of my original instructor an instructor himself wanted the cost of the course for the cert. didn't have to take the course or do the dives just pay. That didn’t sit well with me, in fact I considered calling his father but didn’t.

A typical Cert card with PADI runs in the $150 mark. In their marketing wisdom PADI decided a couple of years ago to change the old practise of the shop buying C-card forms and now require the shop to purchase the appropriate manual as well. If your instructor's son just gave you the cert, he himself would be out of pocket by $150

 

[Bombay High]

I had over 6000 hours logged in saturation before I got my open water certification. I had a huge body of experience in task management underwater, keeping focussed in life or death situations. Working for hours in zero viz. weeks in deco, 1000 foot deep dives.
What I was not great at was managing my buoyancy in an elegant manner

I spoke to my instructor about this aspect, and he focussed on that. It was of great benefit to me.

 

[AfterDark]

A typical Cert card with PADI runs in the $150 mark. In their marketing wisdom PADI decided a couple of years ago to change the old practise of the shop buying C-card forms and now require the shop to purchase the appropriate manual as well. If your instructor's son just gave you the cert, he himself would be out of pocket by $150

He is SSI don't know if it makes a difference. My original cert was NASDS Cert. of SCUBA Training or some such thing. It was head and shoulders bette than any "rec" training offered these days. I should have gotten AOW from SSI just based on that 12 week course. My SSI OW card reads diving since 1972 more than 1400 logged dives. I think the kid wanted to pocket the money.

 

[Quero]

I'm an instructor and can certify AOW students, and yet I think there are still a few of the adventure dives/specialties that would be fun to work with somebody on--I've never held a video camera, for example, and I wouldn't mind paying somebody to show me how for a dive or two. I've never been diving at altitude, and I'd be willing to pay somebody to dive me through an experience with that. I have already paid somebody to teach me dry suit diving after I was already an instructor. I guess I'm saying that even if a diver's got a bunch of dives, there are things s/he has never tried, and the AOW course could be used for satisfying a bit of curiosity at least, if it's important to get the card in order to buy a spot on a charter....

Every time I think about doing a course, though, my s.o. reminds me that I'm the kind of person who simply likes to learn, so there's that, and I may not be a typical sort of diver in this sense. I don't ever think I know enough, and I'm generally attracted by a systematic (even if simplified) introduction to a new skill set.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have issued aow cards to military divers based on SEI's policy of recognizing their experience and training. The divers sent me.copies of latest physical, dive logs of those dives they could actually talk.about, discharge papers, and a letter from their C.O. , and a waiver I emailed to them to fill out.
Oh and the check.for $35.00. For card processing fee and postage. I don't understand why an instructor that actually sees you in the water could not just loan you a book and pay the processing fee for the card.



Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TomZ]

I'm a re-tread diver, originally NAUI certified in 1971. My (potentially) world-record SI started in 1981 and ended in September of '11. My wife and I took PADI OW, ending the SI. I went into the class (just the wife and I) telling the instructor "Consider me a non-diver, skip nothing". Any time I've "started over" I've picked up details that were forgotten or didn't adequately absorb on the first go-around. My current instructor is a cave/wreck trainer. Even though I've recently (February) done deep, night, digital photography, drift and boat dives he isn't certified to teach those (except drift and deep), as he thinks they're fluff. His drift class is taught in a deep river with heavy flow, where missing an exit point results in a very long drift to subsequent exit points, and the resulting "educational/motivational" long walk back. He's a bit old-school, lol. For AOW I'll do deep, nav, already have Nitrox, and currently am taking drysuit. For the fifth class he recommended DPV since he's certed to teach it, has the DPV's, and said it would be fun. Taking classes one-on-one or two-on-one with an experienced instructor, willing to challenge you is a great way to learn. Repeating fundamentals has always been beneficial to me, regardless of the activity.

 

[sheeper]

i had over 1,000 dives as a public safety diver and medic. as a civilian recreational diver, i too realized i needed an AOW cert as i really didn't like showing my public safety dive card. However, my "instructor" knew my level of experience, looked at my dive log and said "yup....deep dives....check", "yup....real search and recovery dives....check". and so on. went diving to validate my experience and there was my AOW card.
so with a truly advanced instructor, a truly advanced student can make something like AOW quick and painless. And...yes...i actually did learn a couple of subtle techniques that helped me (i did have a 15 year layoff from diving).

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

I've been certified since '82 and just never got around to it. If Jim were closer I'd be up his butt until he opened and AOW class for me. LOL

I'll be setting up the nav course at the quarry I'm working at this summer for my local AOW cert. I've been reading my book and a lot seems to be quite redundant for me, but at the same time I have to demonstrate ability. LOL.