Advanced OW, should I do it before or during a liveaboard trip?

[h3o]

I will be diving GBR and the Coral Sea on a live-aboard and I just found out that live-aboards in Australia are very strict of not allowing regular OW divers to go below 60'. So I definitely want to get my AOW... I could either do it in Guam for $185 USD books and rentals included, or do it on the live-aboard for only $65 USD. It would be nice to get my AOW before the trip so I can enjoy the dives fully rather than be doing underwater lessons and whatnot at the live-aboard dive sites. However, I am on a really tight budget for my trip so I would rather do it on the live-aboard, only because it's so much cheaper. So my question is, what exactly goes on in AOW? It sounds like you just go on 5 adventure dives... deep, night, wreck, boat, navigation, etc... Will I miss out on the sites if I do it on the live-aboard?

 

[Cave Diver]

You didnt mention what agency, but I think they all run pretty similar.

PADI requires you to do 5 "adventure dives" for an AOW class.

The deep and underwater navigation are required. The other 3 are of your choosing. Among them are boat, drift, and night diving as you already mentioned. Since you will already be doing dives from a boat, and you will likely be navigating to and from it, you will probably be able to go deep and have the opportunity for a night dive, it would seem that doing it onboard would be the way to go.

My suggestion would be that you contact the operator ahead of time and find out how the course is structured. You most likely won't be doing "training" dives like your BOW. Instead, the "training" will be incorporated into your normal dives, with a dive briefing beforehand on what skills they expect you to demonstrate and a debriefing afterwords on how the dive went.

I really dont think you will be missing out on anything by taking the class while on the liveaboard, and it might actually enhance your experience by diving with an instructor.

Good luck!

 

[h3o]

Thanks! I think I'll get my AOW on the live-aboard... :mean:

 

[steeldiver]

YOU LUCKY SO AND SO,
the only benefit of doing your adv.
Is that you will be doing reguler dives with
the other divers.
Some times the Student divers Are taken seperatlly
ALSO you will be spending time training NOT DIVING.
Howard

 

[Ari]

You get 2 birds (or fish) with one stone.

Nevertheless, looking at what Howard wrote, you might want to get some more details in advance.

Ari

 

[MikeFerrara]

I would say thet where you do it should depend on which instructor you want to use.

For instance you mentioned that you want to dive below 60 ft. Ask if they are going to teach you gas management or if your just going to play follow the leader and hope their right about how fast you will use your gas. Hint...the book doesn't say much about it.

Well, you get the idea. I could write a bunch on how to chose the instructor but I won't yet cause I don't know that anyone's interested.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Ari once bubbled...
You get 2 birds (or fish) with one stone.

Nevertheless, looking at what Howard wrote, you might want to get some more details in advance.

Ari

But it sure does stink to find out your one of the birds!

 

[leadweight]

If you want to do AOW on your liveaboard vacation, by all means do it.

However, I was on the Undersea Explorer (GBR & Coral Sea) last fall and they did not ask for an AOW card or to see a logbook. Maximum depth for everyone was 40 meters/132 feet.

 

[metridium]

I would (and did) do it beforehand. I'd much rather relax and enjoy my dives to their fullest than worry about lectures or tasks.

leadweight wrote...
However, I was on the Undersea Explorer (GBR & Coral Sea) last fall and they did not ask for an AOW card or to see a logbook. Maximum depth for everyone was 40 meters/132 feet.

 

[steeldiver]

LOTS of advice
whatever you go for
enjoy your trip
Howard