Advanced

[TMHeimer]

I didn’t assume that’s what the poster meant either, but as you were getting at...I’ve seen that play out firsthand on a number of occasions. There’s a fine line between receiving assistance from a buddy and expecting something for nothing.

Yes, like you see on TV-- at a party he says "Hey doc, I got this pain in my back. What do you think it is?"

 

[cburgert]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

AOW is good--but not REQUIRED to do a reef dive to 30 feet off of a boat in Key Largo.

 

[TMHeimer]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

Only for dives below 60', and only when a charter does require it for below 60'--which is not always the case. My first two boat dives were to 73' and 78' (FL panhandle) with only OW cert. and 2 logged dives post OW cert. (both in Springs).

 

[Jafo19D]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

What you talking about Willis ?

 

[David Novo]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

That is not the case: you can do boat dives at least to the OWD depth limit without AOWD.

 

[Jafo19D]

If you plan on doing a dive boat you need advanced scuba diving cert.

I’m really curious from where you got this. 100% not true.

 

[Esprise Me]

I’m really curious from where you got this. 100% not true.

Nah, it's more like 90% not true. Some boats do require an advanced cert for some dives, regardless of your experience level. Beach dives don't tend to have that kind of gatekeeping. But there are usually plenty of options for boat dives you can do with just an OW cert.

 

[David Novo]

Nah, it's more like 90% not true. Some boats do require an advanced cert for some dives, regardless of your experience level.

Are those dives at or above OWD limit depths?

 

[Esprise Me]

Are those dives at or above OWD limit depths?

Around here, the dive sites for which I've seen boats require AOW are Farnsworth Bank on the backside of Catalina, and the oil rigs. Farnsworth is an underwater pinnacle; the top is only about 60 feet deep, but it drops off from there to about 200. I've dived there several times and never go below 110; most of the boats I've been on are rec-only and expect you back on board within an hour. The pilings on the oil rigs extend all the way from the surface to over 700 feet (Eureka; the twins are shallower at 260 feet.) One could certainly do a dive there with a max depth of less than 60' (I have; I've also gone to 100'). However deep you want to go, you're going to have to stop your descent before you land on the bottom. But perhaps because the consequences of not being able to do that are so dire, dive boats typically want to see an AOW card. I understand the same is true for a lot of wrecks in 80' or deeper. The 80' shark dive I did in Playa del Carmen required it too, though I was able to use that as my deep dive to get the AOW cert so it didn't delay my vacation plans.