Advanced water course

[pir8]

The AOW class is designed to give you an introduction to different areas in diving. Even the specialties are only designed to give you a good introduction to that area. The only way you are going to become an expert at any area of diving is to do that area of diving. You learn to dive by diving! To answer the original question, yes you can and should dives wrecks after AOW. That doesn't mean to go ahead and do penetrations. There is a lot to diving on the outside of wrecks.

 

[TSandM]

Jill,

My AOW class was just five dives, and all of them were pretty superficial. I was disappointed in how little actual learning went on, although I got five more dives with an instructor, which is what I really wanted.

NWGratefulDiver's AOW class is an entirely different animal. It has significant intellectual content and some VERY challenging diving in it. (I'm not sure I could pass the class today!)

I think the reason people always bring that up is that it's an example of how an AOW class can really have meat to it, as opposed to how it all too often is.

You don't list where you are, but there are other instructors on SB who believe in this kind of teaching and can deliver this kind of class. We can help you find them, if we know who to recommend.

 

[Tigerman]

Just a little from my "personal experience" from my AOWD class...
Our navigation and search and recovery dives where both made on shallow water and both included over one hour of diving. Thats the time my computer registered and there was also a fair bit of time spent doing navigational work on shore prior to doing it under water and the computer also has "black holes" where we spent time on the surface, making preparations between the exercises, included straight line and return, slalom, tirangles, squares and other things..

 

[girldiverllc]

TSandM is right.

I think if you read about NWGrateful Divers AOW, you'll see the types of things to look for in a local program.

I know what the certification agency that I teach through "mandates" that I do in a class...and really, that's all I'm required to do. However, an excellent instructor will make sure that their program is as valuable to their student as is possible in a "one-dive per specialty" experience. That means that they will do more teaching than simply going over the "fill in the blank" pages from the AOW book.

AOW is typically 5 dives. You'll want to make sure that the learning takes place on land first, just like in your OW, so that when you get underwater, the knowledge pairs with your diving.

More diving + more knowledge = More and Better Diving (and isn't that what we all want??)

 

[JillGadget]

Thanks for all your information. It all gave insight to exactly what the advanced course is actually about. Sounds like the dives just give you a glimps into your possibilities in this new AWESOME world, even though they are not extremely informative...just a tease I guess. Obviously it will give me more experience IN the water (with the confidence of an instructor) which ultimately makes you more confident. Again... Thanks to everyone. There are a lot more questions coming your way.
Jill

 

[Tigerman]

Thanks for all your information. It all gave insight to exactly what the advanced course is actually about. Sounds like the dives just give you a glimps into your possibilities in this new AWESOME world, even though they are not extremely informative...just a tease I guess. Obviously it will give me more experience IN the water (with the confidence of an instructor) which ultimately makes you more confident. Again... Thanks to everyone. There are a lot more questions coming your way.
Jill

Yeap, the advanced course is very much about learning by doing, unlike the OW course that obviously need to contain a lot of basic theory..

 

[plot]

How much you get out of an advanced course depends on the instructor. I recently took my AOW, and I had already done all of the dives required previously outside of navigation. (Deep, limited vis, boat diving, etc. I had already performed). So when I told my instructor this he said OK, and added alot to the course so I'd get something usefull out of it. I told him where I wanted to go with my diving someday (technicals, wrecks and caves), and he's a certified cave diver and what not, so we did alot of extra's in that area such as hand signals, flashlight signals, he gave me alot of tips on technical gear setups, redundancy checks with your buddy above and under water, creating a dive profile in my head throughout the dive from looking at time, air left, and depth, etc. and alot of other information like that.

I told him I was weak on navigation becuase that's where I had the least experience, so we focus'd alot on that as well.

We practiced most of it routinely while we were under, so I ended up taking quite a bit away from the course even though most (if not all) of it was above and beyond due to the circumstances and the fact that I had talked to my instructor before hand and told him what I thought I was capable of and what my plans for future diving were, so he tailored the course for me. It should be a learning experience, not another card.

Granted, I was lucky enough to be in a 1 on 1 situation, but with any luck in your AOW class you should get alot of 1 on 1 instruction if the situation permits. Most of the AOW classes I've seen out of my shop have been pretty small, with a divecon leading alot of the dives.