AOW, but I don't think I'm any good- how to improve?

[lisa1234]

I just got the AOW, but I really don't think I'm much good. I've done about... 50 dives? In 4 years. I haven't planned a dive, or anything, and just follow the DM around (in warm, clear water).


The AOW, for me, was kind of useless. I did it because I was told I wouldn't be allowed to do night dives/more than 18m/drift diving/ect without it. But I didn't learn anything. The nav dive was a joke, we just had to swim a 10 kick cycle long triangle and square in perfect visibility, to pass. Deep dive? Just follow the instructor and your computer, you don't need to know anything about the theory or tables or whatever. Fish ID? That's a clown fish! Do a dive at 7pm, and take a few snapshots underwater, and you're done.


I did the OW when I was 13, and now don't remember much about what was taught (like the theory and stuff) especially because the place I took the OW didn't have the book in english, so everything was orally translated, and very vague. Dive tables are a distant memory. I've started keeping a logbook, but didn't have one for my first 40 or so dives
I think my buyoncy is kind of OK, but I can only compare myself to other 'resort divers' so it's probably not. I can control where I go with my breathing, and challenged myself to not take my hands off the camera on my last dive, and managed. But I can't stay vertical on the safety stops. And how do you improve your trim with rented gear?


I want to get better. I'd love to get the kind of control I saw on some technical diving youtube videos. Maybe get good at underwater photography. Maybe, in the very distant future, cave diving or solo diving?


But I'm 17, and can only go diving with my dad, who is perfectly happy being a 'resort diver'. Is there anything I could do to improve? A course, lessons? The resort that gave me de AOW suggested getting the 'rescue diving' because it was 'fun'. Given their version of the AOW, I wonder if I'd learn anything. I'm just not sure what to do!

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I would see if there is a shop where you live that you can get affiliated with. If so, you could probably go to the pool sessions they do with other students and practice those techniques you saw on the videos. Time in a pool will definitely improve your skills, and can make up for some of that rental gear problem. You can also buy a tank weight or some trim weights and take them with you when you travel. You could just buy trim pouches (XS Scuba makes them) and use the weights from the resort or boat. That will help your trim out, and pretty much everything gets easier when your trim is good.

Next, wash cars or do a bake sale or something and buy some of your own gear. A back-inflate BC or a Backplate (probably aluminum or plastic for travel) and Wing (I'd buy something used if you're on a constrained budget). The rest of the gear is less of a big deal in my opinion.

 

[g1138]

You need a good mentor and to break from the resort diver mantra. The first you can get through a class or via a dive buddy(or buddies).
The second part, you need to break from your dad as a dive buddy, or get him on the same page. It's very hard to go on that path you're intending if you're never given a chance to take part in planning and conducting a dive plan of your own.
The importance of the mentor in this aspect is to offer you insight and correct errors you make (either by lack of knowledge or experience); both during the dive planning and during the dive; then offer insight and improvement during a post-dive debrief.

Later you could take lead and be your father's "guide", but that has it's own problems (ie. being the one totally responsible for a "follow the leader" type of dive buddy). It's not fun, and I can tell you first hand it strains your parental relationship, especially if you care about being a competent self-reliant diver. Self-reliant not meaning that you'd rather be solo diving; rather implying every diver is self-reliant but capable/willing to work as a team.

The dive skills you get from diving and a little bit of oral instruction on technique. The knowledge base you get completely from oral instruction or reading. You can usually get by pretty fine here on Scubaboard if you have specific questions. Other ways are buying a NAUI Master Diver book and reading; that book will cover a range of diving physiology, physics (w/ realistic math problems), and environments (much more in depth than a basic class). It also covers dive table problems, however with NAUI/US Navy Tables. The same process is roughly the same as planning from original "oldschool" PADI tables.
If you want to be graded you can take the actual course or buy the workbook (or do both).

I don't think PADI has an all inclusive book like this since they do their MD course as separate specialties rather and an all-in-one course (I could be wrong). I'm not sure about other agencies. You may be able to get a similar book from a difference agency.

The UK's BSAC may have some divers and bases close to your area. So you may be able to meet a reliable club of divers who are more than willing to mentor you. I wouldn't know how to get started with locating one, maybe other diver's can chime in.

As it stands with your age, you may have to wait a year. Or perhaps you can ask the DM to fill you in on the dive plan ahead of time so you can additionally follow the plan, rather than blindly following him/her.


For dive gear, once you have the skill base it's not hugely important. However when working on that skill base, having gear that is consistent helps a ton. So buying your own gear would be good to offer that consistency, but it is not overly important.
What is important is to dive constantly and consistently WHILE getting constant constructive feedback and room for improvement.

For me, it took me a year of diving and learning constantly before everything just clicked skill wise. And that didn't work for everyone who followed that route. It truly depends on your commitment and mentality to learn and improve; I think you're in that right track there. I had the time to help out every pool session and ocean session as a TA for the classes below me. So I was in the water at least twice a week every week.

After that I had to work on keeping those skills when task loaded (I would consider that to be an experienced skill set). I was lucky to be in a university program, classes every quarter, surrounded by helpful divers, and a scientific diving based program, followed by in-field dive projects after becoming fully rated.
I wouldn't recommend that outside a university program though; too much money.

 

[PfcAJ]

GUE Fundamentals is almost certainly the course you're looking for. Find an instructor near by (I don't think there is one in France, but there are a bunch in neighboring countries that might be willing to come to you), email them, tell them your goals, and see what they can do for you. You'll need your own basic gear for the course (backplate/wing and a reg), plus the usual stuff like mask and fins.

You'll learn a lot about better buoyancy, kicks, some deco theory, nitrox, team diving procedures, and gas management. It is expensive, but its some of the best training out there if you want to take your dive skills to the next level.

 

[TSandM]

I agree with AJ -- but it isn't clear to me whether you are able to do any diving at home at all, or whether you only dive on vacation trips. If the latter, think about talking your dad into going to Malta. One of the dive shops there is affiliated with GUE, and even if you couldn't get a Fundies class, you could get some instruction that would truly improve your diving.

Another option is home practice, even if it's pool practice. Check out the Buoyancy Masterclass on Gareth Burrows' website. It will give you some ideas for fun things to play with!

 

[DaleC]

A far better plan would be to seek out a shop (or better yet club) that comprehensively teaches and practices the type of diving she will most likely and often do, take a refresher of the basics, and then to do straight forward, shallow dives without the camera to work on the basic skills.

The GUE/UTD path is only one of several pathways she could pursue. I would think that decision would have to balance interest from her father/partner, financial means and what form of diving she might want to seek out in the future. Certainly Fundies is a little beyond her stated level now. She would more likely fit into a Primer or Essentials curriculum.

 

[Mantra]

Hey. I confess I'm jumping in here because this post title caught my eye. I respect anyone who can admit that, despite their training, they are not where they want to be in terms of skills. And you're only 17? Ha. With your attitude, you will go far.

GUE fundamentals is an excellent course. You will come out of it a very proficient diver with good skills! But it's also expensive, and requires special gear, and maybe far from you too. By all means consider it. It is some of the best training available. But there are simpler things to try as well.

The best advice, as people are giving, is to dive as much as you can. Simple as that. The problem with holiday diving, as you have no doubt found out, is that like any complex physical skill you need regular practice to keep it. Maybe you have found that at the end of your holiday diving is starting to feel quite natural - but if you then must wait a year before diving again, you might find that you feel clumsy again to begin.

You become a better diver by diving (and by wanting to be excellent while you are doing that). Are you near the water? A club is a very good idea.

As for your AOW experience - this is not uncommon, unfortunately. AOW is designed to give you exposure to some different environments. It often doesn't give much in the way of skills. Just as OW is an introduction to basic diving, that you must then practice to be good at, AOW is the same with diving at night, or deep, or whatever. A good instructor who goes beyond the basic requirements of the course can indeed give good skills and so on as part of this course. But it isn't designed for that by default. Many people think the 'advanced' part of the title is a bit silly. Especially if you learn at a resort, your experience is common. Rescue, on the other hand, is a much more serious course and will teach you real skills. You might want to get your basic comfort in the water (trim, buoyancy and so on) feeling very natural before you try it, so that you get the most out of your training.

Dive dive dive is the best advice.

 

[lisa1234]

Thanks for the replies!
Having my dad as a buddy is a problem for me. He has bad trim and buoyancy, is 67, can't keep up in a current or thermocline/cold water, and uses so much air. He finishes with at least 50 bar less than me (And I'm typically all over the place/twisting around/a few meters deeper than him/taking photos/swimming back and forth to check with him). The DM typically lets him surface alone with the smb, half-way through the dive when he's low on air, or everyone's dive would be cut short. I doubt he would take the GUE course even if he wanted to. The swimming 15m underwater/275m is easy for me, I don't know about him.

My main problem with trim and rental gear is knee length wetsuit+weight belt+those really awkward and heavy rubber fins that don't fit. I used to do a lot of swimming, so I manage to stay kind of horizontal with posture and some effort (at least, I think I do, but of course, I can't see myself) but it's tiring and distracting. I feel like I'm always fighting against the position I'd fall in if I were motionless.

Becaue I swim a lot, my dad joked that I look more at ease underwater than on land, but well, that's relative, and I don't have any actual objective feedback. I've been teaching myself the kicks I saw on GUE youtube video, but I have no idea if I'm doing it right.

The GUE course sounds great! I wish.... But the gear looks expensive :/ Other than the price, I'd love to. I wonder if my parents would pay, or if I have to wait to be done with college :/ (Does anyone know about the ffessem? I've heard... lots of conflicted opinions)
And I'm nowhere near water Which is sad because I love it.
And also, in the meantime, is there any website when I can learn about dive planning? I'm concerned that without the dive computer/DM, I'd be lost :/

 

[diversteve]

Maybe try a Peak Performance Buoyancy class. While it won't solve all your issues, it will help to have someone evaluate you in water and make recommendations. Peak Performance Buoyancy Open Water Diving Adventure Courses - PADI Scuba Diving Training Society

What You Learn

How to trim your scuba gear so you’re perfectly balanced in the water
Nuances in determining weight so you’re not too light nor too heavy by even a slight degree
How to streamline to save air and move smoothly through the water
How to hover effortlessly in both a vertical position and a horizontal position

Rescue is for people who think they might need to do that. You'll learn how to rescue other divers safely (for both of you) but it won't help your buoyancy/trim skills much. In fact until you get that dialed in, I'd suggest you don't take Rescue. Part of the Rescue course is that the Rescuee isn't going to be very willing to let you try.

 

[Peter69_56]

You need a good mentor and to break from the resort diver mantra. The first you can get through a class or via a dive buddy(or buddies).
The second part, you need to break from your dad as a dive buddy, or get him on the same page. It's very hard to go on that path you're intending if you're never given a chance to take part in planning and conducting a dive plan of your own.
The importance of the mentor in this aspect is to offer you insight and correct errors you make (either by lack of knowledge or experience); both during the dive planning and during the dive; then offer insight and improvement during a post-dive debrief.

Later you could take lead and be your father's "guide", but that has it's own problems (ie. being the one totally responsible for a "follow the leader" type of dive buddy). It's not fun, and I can tell you first hand it strains your parental relationship, especially if you care about being a competent self-reliant diver. Self-reliant not meaning that you'd rather be solo diving; rather implying every diver is self-reliant but capable/willing to work as a team.

The dive skills you get from diving and a little bit of oral instruction on technique. The knowledge base you get completely from oral instruction or reading. You can usually get by pretty fine here on Scubaboard if you have specific questions. Other ways are buying a NAUI Master Diver book and reading; that book will cover a range of diving physiology, physics (w/ realistic math problems), and environments (much more in depth than a basic class). It also covers dive table problems, however with NAUI/US Navy Tables. The same process is roughly the same as planning from original "oldschool" PADI tables.
If you want to be graded you can take the actual course or buy the workbook (or do both).

I don't think PADI has an all inclusive book like this since they do their MD course as separate specialties rather and an all-in-one course (I could be wrong). I'm not sure about other agencies. You may be able to get a similar book from a difference agency.

The UK's BSAC may have some divers and bases close to your area. So you may be able to meet a reliable club of divers who are more than willing to mentor you. I wouldn't know how to get started with locating one, maybe other diver's can chime in.

As it stands with your age, you may have to wait a year. Or perhaps you can ask the DM to fill you in on the dive plan ahead of time so you can additionally follow the plan, rather than blindly following him/her.


For dive gear, once you have the skill base it's not hugely important. However when working on that skill base, having gear that is consistent helps a ton. So buying your own gear would be good to offer that consistency, but it is not overly important.
What is important is to dive constantly and consistently WHILE getting constant constructive feedback and room for improvement.

For me, it took me a year of diving and learning constantly before everything just clicked skill wise. And that didn't work for everyone who followed that route. It truly depends on your commitment and mentality to learn and improve; I think you're in that right track there. I had the time to help out every pool session and ocean session as a TA for the classes below me. So I was in the water at least twice a week every week.

After that I had to work on keeping those skills when task loaded (I would consider that to be an experienced skill set). I was lucky to be in a university program, classes every quarter, surrounded by helpful divers, and a scientific diving based program, followed by in-field dive projects after becoming fully rated.
I wouldn't recommend that outside a university program though; too much money.

Totally agree with this post, get a mentor. It needs to be someone you believe in and comfortable with. If you lived in OZ near me I would offer to take you for diving locally and take you through things and encourage you to ask. Also read as much as you can about diving and refresh what you "should have been taught".

I have no hesitation in helping anyone within my area or area where I dive (they just share costs of the dive, air, travel). As far as I am concerned, its part of my responsibility in being a DM. I do it because I love the sport and try and give something back at no cost to them. Even to the extent to lend gear where I can. Diving has been great to me and I love it so figure I owe something, so give it back. If you can find a mentor who cares it will really help by consistent diving and practicing of skills. Also just exposure to different dive conditions.

PM me if you want to know anymore about anything and I will try and help