AOW as an experienced diver

[t-mac]

I can see how you'd have that feeling about AOW with the level of experience you have. I know some outfits that require AOW for certain dives (ie, deep), but I suspect with evidence of your experience that would be waived. For you, it does seem to be just another merit badge or a box to be checked. I took AOW about a year after OW and a reasonable number of non-training dives and that was perfect. I was ready for the slight advancement in theory and exposure to some different situations, which I believe is the real point of it. I think people get hung up on the "advanced" part of the name. It's kind of like first grade being "advanced kindergarten." It is advanced open water, not advanced scuba diving.

 

[Colliam7]

As I read the Adventures in diving manual something about it was familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Later it came to me …the Boy Scouts! It’s like earning merit badges.

A good analogy. It is a bit like that. But, then again much of what is done in education in general is like that - to get a degree you must complete X courses/credit hours, including Y course in a major field, along with certain required general courses that touch on whatever the particular college / university thinks are politically, culturally, or socially redeeming in value. The average undergraduate student does not have to actually learn much of anything, just check the boxes.

The Nav and Search and Recovery dives sound boring. The cove where we’re going to do the skills is a mud / sand bottom. It’s probably easier to find an object, but not much to see.

To a certain extent, the AOW course is tuned to the level of experience of the usual student diver. With over 1000 dives, you are NOT the usual and customary diver in an AOW course. The instructor working with 6 divers each with less than 25 dives on one hand, and you on the other, would probably be challenged to come up with a meaningful common educational experience for the seven of you, WHICH CONFORMED TO STANDARDS.

I can appreciate why you are adding the cert - more than a few charter boats require it for certain deeper wreck dives. But, I agree with Jim and Andy, you would probably be better served by an essentially private course, where you could articulate YOUR learning goals and work with a qualified instructor to meet them. As Jim points out, you can make the nav dive interesting and challenging, even though the PADI standards are limited - e.g. the recommended navigation square side lengths are (only) 100 feet. But, in that case, 'limited' does not need to be 'limiting', and doing a square with a 200 yard side is acceptable. For the Deep Dive, in contrast, the maximum depth is 100 ft, which may be 'limiting', where the student diver has already been deeper, on numerous dives.

Out of curiosity, other than getting the cert as the charter admission ticket, what specific learninjg would YOU like to get out of the course?

 

[petrieps]

I had roughly 450 dives in New England when I took my AOW. On the spur of the moment I loaded up my truck with dive and camping gear and drove to Big Pine Key in Florida with the intention of just diving for 2 weeks. The shop convinced me it would be more cost effective to take the course from them than charter the boat for 2 days, and I would be able to do better charters after that. I was the only student and it was more like diving with a buddy than taking a course. I did learn some things, the instructor made it hard for me at my request. After the course the instuctor continued to show me new sites and made the whole trip awesome!

 

[Hawkwood]

...
That would almost need to be a private course.

Ha! As I read your post and DevonDiver's response, that is exactly what I thought.

If you have to have the AOW, and you have that diving experience to begin with, why not find some folks who can introduce you to some new things and just have fun with it.

Are you really going to get much new regarding your diving practice out of it? You have to do the Deep and Nav, so just grin and bare it for those, but do the other three Adventure Dives that cover topics that you haven't done and simply for interest - video, etc.

Follow my rambling?

Bill

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've had AOW students who were quite experienced ... one with over 500 dives, another who had already completed GUE Fundies and was preparing for Tech 1. It took some effort, but I was able to challenge them.

It boils down to a question of why you're taking the class, and how much effort the instructor's willing to put into seeing to it that you get your money's worth.

My "standard" curriculum includes a midwater navigation dive that would challenge many divemasters. But the class is designed to prepare students to deal with the types of issues they can face doing some of the more interesting dives here in the PNW, and in order to do that they have to be challenged.

I don't think anyone's ever come out of my AOW class complaining they were bored ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DevonDiver]

... but do the other three Adventure Dives that cover topics that you haven't done and simply for interest - video, etc.

Sidemount? Tech Basics? Rec CCR?

I'm actually going to ask my regional manager if these dives would be permissible for AOW. They're all 'rec' level specialties... and AOW can include, as an adventure dive, any Dive 1 from a spec course that the instructor is authorized to teach.... .... or am I wrong about that?

 

[wedivebc]

I used to run a pretty challenging AOW through PDIC. Mainly because they required 20 prerequisite dive and the agency gave me more latitude to expand the curriculum.
NWGratefuldiver on this board I understand conducts a pretty comprehensive AOW as well. I included trim, stability, gas management SMB deployment and fin kicks in mine. See if you can find an instructor who is serious about expanding your education and you may get a beneficial AOW rather than some experience dives which you already have.
You may also be able to show your log book and convince an instructor that you have equivalent experience to enrol in a rescue class which is actually a lot more challenging in most cases

 

[Hawkwood]

Sidemount? Tech Basics? Rec CCR?

I'm actually going to ask my regional manager if these dives would be permissible for AOW. They're all 'rec' level specialties... and AOW can include, as an adventure dive, any Dive 1 from a spec course that the instructor is authorized to teach.... .... or am I wrong about that?

Cool, that is what I was trying to get across - there must be some out there that would peak the OP's interest and provide the opportunity to expose the OP to different things.

Of course I'm being PADI-centric in my thinking, because that is where I am at. Folks like Bob Bailey could certainly tailor their AOW program specifically to challenge the OP on a different level.

By the way, this is a really interesting discussion. I am used to providing the "basic' AOW to the "newish" diver, so seeing responses to the question posed by an experienced diver is a learning experience for me.

Bill

 

[DivemasterDennis]

It's clear from the responses that a good instructor can make the AOW course beneficial to even the most experienced diver. ( I vary our course substantially based upon the experience level of the participants, but am always heavy on navigation and dive planning. I also think student attitude and expectations are important, and there should be a discussion of what each wants to get from the class. Clearly some just want the card to avoid hassles with some dive operators, and others, those people fresh out of their open water class, are looking for what is really an extension of that class. There are a lot of others in between those poles. I would encourage the OP and others to discuss their expectations and objectives for the AOW class BEFORE they sign up. It's ok to shop around a bit to find what you want. But the student should also have a positive approach to the class - know what it is they need or want from the class, and then draw that from the course. That's another important part of the AOW class- communication, below and above the water.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Tigerman]

Since I upgraded all my gear the past 2 years and can't go to NC this year I pulled the trigger and started a PADI AOW class Tuesday. We went over the course and expected dives. I can’t believe I’m spending money for this just so I can do a charter once in a while. As I read the Adventures in diving manual something about it was familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Later it came to me …the Boy Scouts! It’s like earning merit badges. Take this, this, this and that and become a master diver! Turns out I’ve been diving longer and have more logged dives than the instructor and the Divemaster in training combined!
The Nav and Search and Recovery dives sound boring. The cove where we’re going to do the skills is a mud / sand bottom. It’s probably easier to find an object, but not much to see.
The Night and Drift dives might be fun depending where we go.
The upside is ALL the dives are from a BOAT! I like diving from a boat!

The very reason why I have always been in the "do AOW shortly after OW" camp. Its designed to give you a bit "advancement" from your OW course, not teach people with 200 drift dives how to drift dive..