Question Is my AOW class “normal”?

[Blackcrusader]

Reread my post please. I said they were a learners permit. The very basics. I believe everyone should be trained to use Nitrox right from open water. It’s so basic it should be include from the very beginning.

When I did my BSAC Sports diving in 1986- 1988 there was no nitrox or courses for it. So all dives were NDL or deco air dives.
Nitrox and nitrox deco dives just become normal for me after that. Yes it is good divers even with OW to do a nitrox course and I have seen many do it in addition to their AOW. A lot of dive centers push nitrox courses. As for marine life identification ( not just fish ) I would take video or photos then spend time reading books on the marine life at the dive centers I dive with as they also keep a library of books for their own staff and customers to use as well. I've never taken a course for it as I do more often than a lot of other people. Those who may not dive a lot that course would help a lot. Same for my photography I never took a course but I am getting very good photos and video's from my diving vacations.

 

[Searcaigh]

Yes it is good divers even with OW to do a nitrox course and I have seen many do it in addition to their AOW.

Totally agree with this, and really is a "must do" course after OW/AOW.

As for marine life identification ( not just fish ) I would take video or photos then spend time reading books on the marine life at the dive centers I dive with as they also keep a library of books for their own staff and customers to use as well. I've never taken a course for it as I do more often than a lot of other people.

I did a PADI course with a Marine Biologist back in the early 90s when I lived in Jeddah, and that helped a lot not just for critter ID but also for my UW photography learning habits of various fish / critters as well as my buoyancy.

My card says "Marine Awareness" for that course and involved several dives as well as writing up a story on a specific fish species that is common in the Red Sea (White Belly Damselfish / Amblyglyphidodon leucogaster) No internet back then, only books to read was that was back in 1993.

I also did a Reef Check course in 2013 with another Marine Biologist that was specific for Indo-Pacific species but more slanted towards Persian Gulf / Gulf of Oman area, and well worth it.

Like most courses, it's the instructor that makes it a great or poor experience.

 

[boulderjohn]

I agree. And you are actually saying that my opinion is wrong (hmm). Fish ID can be a very important and I assume interesting course. But to address this and what tursiops posted-- Of course not every course needs to be about improving your diving (skills, etc.) or safety. I've always felt that courses that lead to certs. like AOW or MSD should be about these two things. This post, like all the other AOW ones, eventually gets to the "AOW doesn't mean you are advanced--like with maybe 9 course dives, etc." I look at "advanced" as having to do with dive skills and safety. That's just my opinion. I feel that unless you're talking about Blue Ring Octopi, etc. knowing a lot about fish & sea life doesn't really fit that bill. Same with PADI MSD-- Master Scuba Diver to me means your diving skills and safety skills are Masterful. Just terminology I know, but that's my view.
There is very little knowledge about anything that has absolutely no value.

As stated earlier, the original purpose of the AOW certification, back when it was created more than half a century ago, was to pique the interest of divers in different aspects of diving in the hope that they would continue diving. A course studying and identifying marine life would definitely work toward that goal.

As for the name, when the course was created, it was the most advanced diving course you could take other than instructor at that time.

 

[Belzelbub]

I attended a week-long workshop on scuba marketing led by the owner of a major agency, and he said that using names that are different from other agencies and operations was a benefit. If a potential student is shopping around after hearing your pitch and hears the people not know the names for things as you named them, they feel like the other people don't know what they are talking about. At least that was his theory.

He may be right, though it sounds like the reverse is also true. It depends on which version the diver was originally exposed to.

 

[scubadada]

@boulderjohn

I was certified by LA Co in 1970. I will always regret not having the time and opportunity to take the LA Co Advanced Diver Program before I moved out of California in 1980.

Many people might be surprised that the ADP is conducted over 10 weeks each summer, and has over 100 hours of formal instruction, including about 14 open water dives. It may still be the most respected recreational dive training program, since it's inception in 1964.

 

[boulderjohn]

Along with the idea that calling things by different names is used to imply that competitors don't know what they are doing, I have long noted in ScubaBoard (and other) discussions that certain agency practices are often considered to be superior to others simply because they are different.

 

[BoltSnap]

The AOW course was created by Los Angeles County in the mid 60s. They noted that an extremely high percentage of divers were completing OW certification and then dropping out of diving. They theorized that a class that introduced them to different aspects of diving would pique their interests and keep them involved, and the AOW class was born. NAUI followed soon after that for the same reason.

It wasn't "AOW," it was "Advanced Diver" course. The original NAUI "Advanced Diver" course was FAR superior to any "Advanced" course available today. It was a totally difference course with much more extensive requirements at that time. It was "Advanced" course for real.

 

[TMHeimer]

As stated earlier, the original purpose of the AOW certification, back when it was created more than half a century ago, was to pique the interest of divers in different aspects of diving in the hope that they would continue diving. A course studying and identifying marine life would definitely work toward that goal.

As for the name, when the course was created, it was the most advanced diving course you could take other than instructor at that time.

Yes I understand that. The history of AOW doesn't change the fact that when one uses the term advanced (whether as a course title or in general), identifying fish (or uw photog, uw videog) just doesn't come to my mind. That's just me.

 

[drk5036]

It wasn't "AOW," it was "Advanced Diver" course. The original NAUI "Advanced Diver" course was FAR superior to any "Advanced" course available today. It was a totally difference course with much more extensive requirements at that time. It was "Advanced" course for real.

I think the NAUI advanced diver course is now the master scuba diver course?

 

[tursiops]

I think the NAUI advanced diver course is now the master scuba diver course?

NAUI has an "Advanced Scuba Diver" cert that is 6 sampler dives (must include nav, night, deep plus 3 electives). they also have the "Master Scuba Diver" cert that is at least 8 dives, but no apparent requirement for any specialties or number of logged dives. This is all from their web page; perhaps a NAUI instructor can be more informative.