MY AOW dive guidelines in addition to 6-8 hours of classroom covering gas management(including SAC rates, 1/3rds, 1/6ths, rock bottom, and advanced dive planning), deco procedures, night/low vis techniques, hazards of advanced dives, navigation techniques, search and recovery techniques, buddy rescue and assistance, communication, and a review of basic dive physics and physiology for those who need or want it.
AOW DIVE GUIDELINES
1. Advanced Skills Dive- This dive is used to enhance the OW divers skills by reinforcing and improving basic skills as well as introduce the following new ones:
A: Anti-silting kicking techniques consisting of frog and/or modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks.
B: Performing basic skills while swimming and hovering including mask removal and replace, regulator retrieval, weight removal and replacement, and sharing air.
C: Shooting a lift bag or SMB to assist in ascents.
D: Deployment of redundant air supply(pony bottle)
E: Reinforcing proper weighting and trim.
These skills are best done in relatively shallow water (25-30 feet ), and should be demonstrated by the instructor as with any other class. The bag shoot can be demo’ed and then performed by the student on a subsequent dive.
2. Underwater Navigation- This dive is used as a follow up to the basic compass skills as performed during the OW checkouts. In addition to the basic patterns of a square and triangle a multi leg course is selected as well. We repeat the patterns but I also have the student select an object on the bottom to use a reference at each turn. This small exercise in combined compass and natural navigation is used to illustrate the increased accuracy of this method and hopefully interest the student in further Navigation training. The following skills are evaluated.
A: Holding the compass properly
B: Maintaining horizontal trim
C: Maintaining position in the water column
D: Buddy awareness and communication
E: Accuracy
F: Attention to detail and selection of landmarks for natural navigation
G: Measuring distance through kicks, time, air consumption, or a line
H: Navigating patterns of increasing size- Square, Triangle, Multi Leg course
I: Navigating using compass and selected landmarks
3. Search and Recovery- This dive introduces students to basic underwater search patterns and recovery techniques. It is made clear that this is not a public safety course but an introduction to the use of basic patterns to locate lost objects of small size. The techniques and tools are suitable for locating things like fishing rods, boat motors, wallets, and other such items. The lift bags used should not exceed 100lb capacity and smaller ones are preferred. 25-50 lbs is an ideal size for lifting an object such as a concrete block or bucket filled with weight. The use of a reel and line is also required for this dive to execute a circular pattern, grid, or as insurance should visibility be reduced by natural conditions or the actions of the searchers.
These skills are used in this dive:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Selection of search pattern based on object size, approximate location, environmental conditions
C: Attention to terrain detail
D: Maintaining trim and buoyancy while conducting a slow search using good anti-silting techniques
E: Securing object to be lifted
F: Lift bag use – raise object at even rate, achieve neutral buoyancy with the bag, bring object to surface and return to original location
G: Note position of located object using compass and distance measurement to simulate having to return to site with more resources
4. Night/ Low Visibility- This dive is used to familiarize the student with the fascinating world of diving without natural light. The use of dive lights, strobes, markers, and new methods of communicating with the dive buddy are introduced. Night diving, while fun, presents new challenges and risks. The instructor needs to make absolutely sure the divers know the plan. They also receive a thorough site briefing and know the procedures should the team or group become separated. The following skills are practiced and evaluated.
A: Buoyancy control
B: Light use and selection
C: Use of strobe or marker to mark the anchor or down line
D: Buddy contact and communication
E: Lost diver procedures
F: Navigation
G: Site choice
5. Deep Dive- The deep dive is one of the primary reasons that divers take the AOW course. They wish to do dives exceeding the recommended OW limit of 60 feet. Whether it be a wreck, wall, or reef there is usually some reason for them to get a card that will demonstrate to a resort or boat operation that they are qualified to do the dive. Unfortunately this is usually the dive that also presents the most risk to the diver. Increased air usage demands a better understanding of management of the air supply. When doing this dive they may also be coming closer to the No Decompression Limits much faster than they realize. More attention to depth and times must be impressed upon them. Many will elect to begin looking at redundant air sources such as pony bottles. This is an area I cover as well to be sure they get the proper equipment and know how to use it. And it goes without saying that we need to again make them aware of the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Skills evaluated would be:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Horizontal descent and ascent
C: Maintaining rate of descent
D: Situational Awareness via tests to judge effects of narcosis
E: Communication
F: Management of air supply
G: Ascent utilizing deep stops
H: Actual Deployment of Redundant Air Supply
These 5 dives make up the core of the AOW program that I teach. The Deep, UW Nav, and Night/Low Visibility, and Advanced Skills are not optional. If I were teaching the Advanced Plus course the number of dives will double as will classroom. I also will throw in rescue scenarios on any dive such as unconscious diver from depth, tows, and leading a maskless diver to the surface safely while sharing air.
AOW DIVE GUIDELINES
1. Advanced Skills Dive- This dive is used to enhance the OW divers skills by reinforcing and improving basic skills as well as introduce the following new ones:
A: Anti-silting kicking techniques consisting of frog and/or modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks.
B: Performing basic skills while swimming and hovering including mask removal and replace, regulator retrieval, weight removal and replacement, and sharing air.
C: Shooting a lift bag or SMB to assist in ascents.
D: Deployment of redundant air supply(pony bottle)
E: Reinforcing proper weighting and trim.
These skills are best done in relatively shallow water (25-30 feet ), and should be demonstrated by the instructor as with any other class. The bag shoot can be demo’ed and then performed by the student on a subsequent dive.
2. Underwater Navigation- This dive is used as a follow up to the basic compass skills as performed during the OW checkouts. In addition to the basic patterns of a square and triangle a multi leg course is selected as well. We repeat the patterns but I also have the student select an object on the bottom to use a reference at each turn. This small exercise in combined compass and natural navigation is used to illustrate the increased accuracy of this method and hopefully interest the student in further Navigation training. The following skills are evaluated.
A: Holding the compass properly
B: Maintaining horizontal trim
C: Maintaining position in the water column
D: Buddy awareness and communication
E: Accuracy
F: Attention to detail and selection of landmarks for natural navigation
G: Measuring distance through kicks, time, air consumption, or a line
H: Navigating patterns of increasing size- Square, Triangle, Multi Leg course
I: Navigating using compass and selected landmarks
3. Search and Recovery- This dive introduces students to basic underwater search patterns and recovery techniques. It is made clear that this is not a public safety course but an introduction to the use of basic patterns to locate lost objects of small size. The techniques and tools are suitable for locating things like fishing rods, boat motors, wallets, and other such items. The lift bags used should not exceed 100lb capacity and smaller ones are preferred. 25-50 lbs is an ideal size for lifting an object such as a concrete block or bucket filled with weight. The use of a reel and line is also required for this dive to execute a circular pattern, grid, or as insurance should visibility be reduced by natural conditions or the actions of the searchers.
These skills are used in this dive:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Selection of search pattern based on object size, approximate location, environmental conditions
C: Attention to terrain detail
D: Maintaining trim and buoyancy while conducting a slow search using good anti-silting techniques
E: Securing object to be lifted
F: Lift bag use – raise object at even rate, achieve neutral buoyancy with the bag, bring object to surface and return to original location
G: Note position of located object using compass and distance measurement to simulate having to return to site with more resources
4. Night/ Low Visibility- This dive is used to familiarize the student with the fascinating world of diving without natural light. The use of dive lights, strobes, markers, and new methods of communicating with the dive buddy are introduced. Night diving, while fun, presents new challenges and risks. The instructor needs to make absolutely sure the divers know the plan. They also receive a thorough site briefing and know the procedures should the team or group become separated. The following skills are practiced and evaluated.
A: Buoyancy control
B: Light use and selection
C: Use of strobe or marker to mark the anchor or down line
D: Buddy contact and communication
E: Lost diver procedures
F: Navigation
G: Site choice
5. Deep Dive- The deep dive is one of the primary reasons that divers take the AOW course. They wish to do dives exceeding the recommended OW limit of 60 feet. Whether it be a wreck, wall, or reef there is usually some reason for them to get a card that will demonstrate to a resort or boat operation that they are qualified to do the dive. Unfortunately this is usually the dive that also presents the most risk to the diver. Increased air usage demands a better understanding of management of the air supply. When doing this dive they may also be coming closer to the No Decompression Limits much faster than they realize. More attention to depth and times must be impressed upon them. Many will elect to begin looking at redundant air sources such as pony bottles. This is an area I cover as well to be sure they get the proper equipment and know how to use it. And it goes without saying that we need to again make them aware of the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Skills evaluated would be:
A: Buoyancy control
B: Horizontal descent and ascent
C: Maintaining rate of descent
D: Situational Awareness via tests to judge effects of narcosis
E: Communication
F: Management of air supply
G: Ascent utilizing deep stops
H: Actual Deployment of Redundant Air Supply
These 5 dives make up the core of the AOW program that I teach. The Deep, UW Nav, and Night/Low Visibility, and Advanced Skills are not optional. If I were teaching the Advanced Plus course the number of dives will double as will classroom. I also will throw in rescue scenarios on any dive such as unconscious diver from depth, tows, and leading a maskless diver to the surface safely while sharing air.
