AOW before Tech?

[rongoodman]

I was under the assumption maybe mistakenly that most cave diving goes into deco thus I thought its extremely dangerous. Dangerous in my mind.... Can you do alot of shallow cave diving?

If you dive in Mexico, absolutely. Although there are some deeper caves there, on average they are shallower than those in N. Florida. OTOH, they tend to be navigationally more complex and often full of fragile decorations, which means that if you bump into something you're likely to break it.

 

[tomcatbubba]

If you certify Tec through PADI, you will need AOW for Tec 40. Any further training requires Rescue Diver, of which AOW is a pre requisite. So, for PADI yes you need AOW.

 

[WetRocks]

Edd Sorenson still required him to do a drysuit course (with Edd) before he could do SM with Edd.

Interesting...I've never heard of Edd requiring much less teaching a drysuit course. Unless of course someone shows up to a more advanced class who can't perform to the level expected.

 

[Marie13]

Interesting...I've never heard of Edd requiring much less teaching a drysuit course. Unless of course someone shows up to a more advanced class who can't perform to the level expected.

OK, I could have the drysuit course with Edd part incorrect but lowviz definitely had to do a drysuit course before SM with Edd. He wanted to do SM, so he did the drysuit course.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I think the OP is mature enough to come here and ask for information that would lead him to make the correct decision. There are many 40 year old's who are going through certs after certs and do not have any end goal in mind.

If you look hard then yes, you may be able to find someone who can get you started in the cave diving path. It is possible but is it recommended? The journey towards reaching that level in diving, itself is a life-transforming experience that should not be overlooked. We are doing it for fun right? Why be in a rush to skip so many steps that each bring their own pleasure factor that you have not yet experienced? At 18 you have way too much time ahead of you to bother yourself with such deadlines.

One rule in scuba training is that if you have to ask someone if you are ready for a certain course then you are not. When the time comes, you will know it.

 

[The Chairman]

Find a solid cavern/cave instructor.

Probably the best advice given so far. Find your mentor first. Hopefully he's full cave and even an instructor. Learn with him.

 

[kensuf]

You have 60 dives under your belt. The big question I would ask regarding those dives that you've conducted is what variability was there in the environments -- if you did 60 dives but they were all in Vortex your experience is not going to be as well rounded as a guy that has only completed 30 dives but they include the ocean, quarries and springs.

You've already got nitrox under your belt, that's highly applicable. With the exception of the deep dive, there's not much that is taught in a standard AOW course that is applicable to cave diving. However, what should be applicable is exposure to different environments because that will simply help make you a more rounded diver and more comfortable when dealing with new challenges. Sadly, not all AOW courses are taught with the idea of exposing divers to different environments and many are really just a waste of time, so signing up for an AOW course may be pointless depending on who teaches it.

You've stated your goal is to become a cave diver and you've put some time into diving. A cavern course may be a reasonable step, it is a recreational course and not a cave diving course, but it will introduce you to cave diving concepts and the overhead environment, plus give you practical skills that are applicable to cave diving when you're ready.

 

[Preach]

I don't agree with some of the comments in this post. When i started diving, i knew from the start i wanted to go down the tech/cave road. I enrolled in a gue fundamentals class with around 30 dives logged and learned the basics of the skills needed for tech/cave. After 100 dives total i started getting into tech diving and shortly after cave.

My advise would be to start a fundamentals (or equal) course early, start with the right gear/skills from the start. It isn't going to help to just dive a lot, without the proper skills/gear/mindset. It will just make the road to tech/cave longer.

 

[AJ]

#Me too I listened to the "sound advice" () of "experienced rec divers" and regret it. Could have saved myself time and money although I was fortunate to have tech diving instructors from the start. Otherwise OW and AOW would have been a complete waste of time and money. My diving education really took of with GUE Fundamentals. Now having done 500+ dives in litle more than 4 years in varying condiitions I'am ready to venture into GUE Tech 1 and Cave 1.

My advice is to find an instructor or agency that prepares you from the start for tech and cave. And dive in various conditions with lots of different buddy's. Tech and cave is about mindset and skills, not certs. Don't waste time on rec if cave diving is what you're after.

 

[JohnnyC]

Do AOW because it will allow you to dive in various conditions. You need a variety of experience, and having AOW will allow you to do those dives. Otherwise you'll often be shoehorned to doing shallow dives with limited exposure to other conditions.

You don't necessarily need to go beyond that, it's easy to get, but the important thing is that you are getting a variety of experience. Even better, is diving with technical divers and technical instructors as buddies and mentors. If you can get that variety of experience while also being pushed to perfect your skills, you'll be in a much better place going in to a cavern course and the progression from there on out.