AOW Cert in Cozumel?

[d56nut]

Hi All,

Heading back to Cozumel at the end of May (just got back Feb. 8th and couldn't wait to go back!). We are considering getting our AOW while we are there. Couple of questions!!! Can we get books, etc. before we go at our local dive shop and do whatever is required before we go and then just do the 5 dives when we get there? I don't want to spend our entire vacation reading. We can always wait until the weather warms up here and get AOW cert. this summer at home. Any advice is appreciated! Also, we are doing our diving with Dive House...anyone know if they offer AOW Cert? If not, any advice on who does?

Thanks!

 

[Scubagal]

Michelle,

I completed my AOW with Dive House earlier this month. I emailed them prior to our arrival, however they didn't provide me with the books until I arrived. It was a bit of reading and answering questions, but I just took my book to the pool and read away. Not sure if the AOW works the same as the OW, with referrals. Dive House was very responsive when I emailed them, give that a try.

We may be headed back to Coz near the end of May as well, we are definitely hooked!

 

[5615mike]

AOW is quite uneventful. Many of the options for dives you are already doing in Coz so they are not any different than doing a normal dive. The compass work is not difficult. A bit of reading and you'll have it. Very easy reading so can be done at night or around the pool in the afternoon if you do that. Have a great time. If you've not done a night dive you're in for some very neat sights.

 

[Charlie99]

We are considering getting our AOW while we are there. Couple of questions!!! ....Can we get books, etc. before we go at our local dive shop and do whatever is required before we go and then just do the 5 dives when we get there?

The AOW book, Rescue class book and DM class book are available for purchase at most dive shops. You might end up buying the book twice if you can't get the Coz shop to give you credit for it, but just look at that as the cost of doing things the better way.

I strongly advocate getting the AOW book now, reading all of the chapters (even the ones for specialties you won't be doing), and even doing some things like dry land compass drills. This way you will be able to get much more out of the class when you do get to Cozumel.

There is a really, really wide range of quality in the AOW class. At one extreme it is nothing more than a series of guided dives with little discussion and little learning. At the other end, the instructor and you work out a personalized course that covers a wide range of skills and topics and includes a general "tune-up" of all your skills.

Active learning is a lot better than passively being taught. Figure out what you want to learn. Both the books and the instructors are resources that you use to accomplish your goals.

Charlie

 

[texangal]

Did mine in Hawaii on vacation. Bought the book and read the five chapters for my dives on the plane. Reviewed each on the mornings of the dives. It was great, especially since I plan on doing most of my future diving in the ocean. Don't do AOW in some quarry. These are great advanced skills, so learn them where you will use them. Also, I would suggest picking five dives with true useful skills - avoid things like fish id, use things like bouyancy, nav, night, deep, etc. Two of those are mandatory. Have fun.

 

[dnhill]

Did my AOW in Cozumel using Aldora. We were there for a week and it was quite easy to complete. It was a good review of information, but I really did not break much new ground (water). I don't feel that it really put a dent in my free time. Most of the time the book work was completed during the SI.

dnhill

 

[d56nut]

Thanks so much to everyone who replied! I've emailed the dive shop that we are booked with -- Dive House to see if they offer AOW and what it would entail. We are already pre-booked for 5 days of 2 tank boat dives. Hoping that they could work most of AOW into what we are already booked for and just add a night dive. I'll let you all know what I find out!

 

[Scubagal]

Michelle,
Dive House had me do 2 shore dives at the Fiesta Americana for the AOW. One was for the Underwater Navigation. I did these one afternoon, after we returned from a 2 tank morning dive. I had time for lunch before we started. Charlie's suggestion about the dry land compass drills was a good one. My husband had me doing this prior to the course, and my instructor Jorge had me do it too prior to the Underwater Navigation dive.

Good luck with your course! We're also headed back to Cozumel in May, just can't get enough!

 

[Squeekycat]

Hi:

We are taking the Nitrox certification on Cozumel in April and our dive operator is mailing us the manuals and videos. Maybe you can get your operator to do the same for your AOW material. That way you don't have to spend valuable vacation time studying.

Good luck!