"AOW is the weakest class in the PADI lineup"
ROTFLMAO
ROTFLMAO
AOW certification help!
- Thread starter UCFDiver85
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UCF,
IMO, the above explains AOW the best. Advanced may not be the best name for the course but the above best explains the intent of the course. And as many have said, getting more diving experience before taking AOW is not a bad idea, but if you want to take AOW to get more experience .... go ahead, there is nothing wrong with that IMO.
As long as you understand the limits of the AOW course, as ElectricZombie stated so well above, your good to go with AOW.
I stand corrected.
OP
UCFDiver85
Registered
jhelmuth,
I am learning out of Mac's Sports on Drew Street in Clearwater, with Keith Grubbs as my instructor. I think I will do some Clearwater dives for practice as you mentioned, and our water is only good for practice anyway
Thanks everyone for the AOW help, and giving me more information into what it is. I think I will put some serious time in OW before I even worry about AOW, since it seems like most dives are OW compatible anyway. Thanks!
I am learning out of Mac's Sports on Drew Street in Clearwater, with Keith Grubbs as my instructor. I think I will do some Clearwater dives for practice as you mentioned, and our water is only good for practice anyway
Thanks everyone for the AOW help, and giving me more information into what it is. I think I will put some serious time in OW before I even worry about AOW, since it seems like most dives are OW compatible anyway. Thanks!
[QUOTE
I am learning out of Mac's Sports on Drew Street in Clearwater, with Keith Grubbs as my instructor. [/B][/QUOTE]
I know that Keith did not suggest this to you!!!You are getting your OW?? ARE YOU EVEN CONCIDERING NITROX??
he would have you enrolled in NITROX as well since they can do both OW & Nitrox at the same time..I too certified at Mac's w/Keith..He's been there for many years!!!!!(some of his students and himself are members of this board)
When do you do your GULF dive? Is it Aug.24th??
You mentioned that our water in clearwater is only good for practice...There are alot of wonderful dives locally..
Keith frequently dives on his days off ask him about the dives and the things they are seeing and doing!!! Always promote diving in our area!!! (I live in Palm Harbor and we dive the Gulf and the springs) There are tanks sunk right out off of Clearwater!! There is Tarpon Reef! Go to diveflorida.com.
Sorry if I misunderstood but if I were you I would be careful using names the shop is one thing but names are risky!!
Read that book you were given for class like your life depends on it!! IT DOES!!!!!!
Have a great weekend
I am learning out of Mac's Sports on Drew Street in Clearwater, with Keith Grubbs as my instructor.
[/B][/QUOTE]I know that Keith did not suggest this to you!!!You are getting your OW?? ARE YOU EVEN CONCIDERING NITROX??
he would have you enrolled in NITROX as well since they can do both OW & Nitrox at the same time..I too certified at Mac's w/Keith..He's been there for many years!!!!!(some of his students and himself are members of this board)
When do you do your GULF dive? Is it Aug.24th??
You mentioned that our water in clearwater is only good for practice...There are alot of wonderful dives locally..
Keith frequently dives on his days off ask him about the dives and the things they are seeing and doing!!! Always promote diving in our area!!! (I live in Palm Harbor and we dive the Gulf and the springs) There are tanks sunk right out off of Clearwater!! There is Tarpon Reef! Go to diveflorida.com.
Sorry if I misunderstood but if I were you I would be careful using names the shop is one thing but names are risky!!
Read that book you were given for class like your life depends on it!! IT DOES!!!!!!
Have a great weekend
I recieved my OW certification on June 15 and have done and logged 26 dives of the which most have been at or around 100 ft. Of the 26 over half of those are night dives. Does a AOW certification make you an advanced diver. I don't think so. Yes it can introduce you to new diving experiences. But I don't believe it makes you an advanced diver. Personally it seems to me that it is a way for PADI and dive instructors to earn a little more money. It seems to me that the AOW certification is a little overrated. I don't know that I will ever go and get my AOW since I already dive the dives they want me to do.
OP
UCFDiver85
Registered
Debb, I never once said that "someone" told me to get AOW or anything, I just said I was thinking about it eventually. I'm not sure what you're fussing about...
You took a CAVE specialty course??? Please elaborate on what agency does that as a specialty and what exactly the course entailed.
As far as AOW goes, my AOW dives were the first dives I did after finishing my BOW. I held no illusion that they would make me an advanced diver. I just wanted to get exposure to some different types of diving while still under supervision before being cut loose on my own. I also did a nitrox course in conjunction with my AOW.
After finishing my AOW and getting a few dives under my weight belt, I took the Rescue course a few months later.
I personally think that the Rescue certification is something that all divers should strive towards. It at least provides them with basic skills in preventing, recognizing and handling emergencies.
JohnCollins
Guest
I don't really think of it as a "qualification". To me it's just a more complete OW cert, but it's still just basic OW stuff. I feel like the first course that takes one to a new "qualification level" is rescue diver. This, of course, is all just IMHO, and you know what that's worth.
But a lot of folks get really heated about being "advanced" or not advance OW, and arguing about how many dives you "need" before doing it. If you just look at it as a longer basic OW cert and not really a "qualification" level, all that arguments kind of evaporates.
When I got certified, my instructor sold it that way. He said, "Look, you're not going to take your skills to a great, new level with AOW, you'll only do that with a LOT of dives and then taking Resuce diver. BUT, what AOW is good for is building your feeling of personal confidence and comfort in the water, and that will make you a little bit of a safer diver. Anything that makes you more comfortable and skilled in the environment is a good thing. Plus, you'll feel better doing your first night dive, your first deep dive, your first whatever dive, supervised. Most new divers are a little tentative about their skills right after BOW cert, and this gives them a few more dives with an instructor so they realize, hey, I can do this! I recommend you do it as soon as possible, but don't think it's going to make you an "expert" or anything like it. And be sure to never do anything technical without further classes that really do expand your knowledge and training."
I thought that was a reasonable explanation about what the AOW is supposed to be. . .and a very good argument for not waiting until you have a lot of dives before doing it. I was lucky enough to be stationed on the beach in the Philippines at the time, so after my OW cert, I did several easy shallow day-time dives, and after about 6 or so, signed up for the AOW. He was right, I felt a lot better about doing the deep and night dives in a small group with an instructor. A lot better. And he was also right, I felt more confident in my skills. It was a great way to do it. I went right to AOW in about 15-20 dives in a 3-month period.
Now, mind you, I'm a careful individual, I don't do stupid stuff, I'd get an instructor and take another course before I'd even poke my head into a wreck or even think about an overhead environment dive. I'm not a macho kind of guy who thinks the AOW made me a better diver. All this is a function of diver personality makeup, not the AOW course. But I highly recommend doing the AOW as soon as you feel like it after BOW cert, the earlier, the better. But don't assume it makes you anything other than a basic open water diver.
In the interest of full disclosure I am not an instructor and this is just my feeling about what AOW is or how it should be viewed, and there are a whole lot of "better qualified" opinions around. But I think getting new divers to do more dives and more varied dives with an instructor in a learning setting is much better than asking new divers to hold off on doing the AOW. I'd rather the BOW and AOW were combined and it took ten dives to get a BOW cert, that's kind of how I feel about it. But it would cut down on the number of certs immensely. Do the AOW, but don't get cocky about it what it does for you, says I.
But a lot of folks get really heated about being "advanced" or not advance OW, and arguing about how many dives you "need" before doing it. If you just look at it as a longer basic OW cert and not really a "qualification" level, all that arguments kind of evaporates.
When I got certified, my instructor sold it that way. He said, "Look, you're not going to take your skills to a great, new level with AOW, you'll only do that with a LOT of dives and then taking Resuce diver. BUT, what AOW is good for is building your feeling of personal confidence and comfort in the water, and that will make you a little bit of a safer diver. Anything that makes you more comfortable and skilled in the environment is a good thing. Plus, you'll feel better doing your first night dive, your first deep dive, your first whatever dive, supervised. Most new divers are a little tentative about their skills right after BOW cert, and this gives them a few more dives with an instructor so they realize, hey, I can do this! I recommend you do it as soon as possible, but don't think it's going to make you an "expert" or anything like it. And be sure to never do anything technical without further classes that really do expand your knowledge and training."
I thought that was a reasonable explanation about what the AOW is supposed to be. . .and a very good argument for not waiting until you have a lot of dives before doing it. I was lucky enough to be stationed on the beach in the Philippines at the time, so after my OW cert, I did several easy shallow day-time dives, and after about 6 or so, signed up for the AOW. He was right, I felt a lot better about doing the deep and night dives in a small group with an instructor. A lot better. And he was also right, I felt more confident in my skills. It was a great way to do it. I went right to AOW in about 15-20 dives in a 3-month period.
Now, mind you, I'm a careful individual, I don't do stupid stuff, I'd get an instructor and take another course before I'd even poke my head into a wreck or even think about an overhead environment dive. I'm not a macho kind of guy who thinks the AOW made me a better diver. All this is a function of diver personality makeup, not the AOW course. But I highly recommend doing the AOW as soon as you feel like it after BOW cert, the earlier, the better. But don't assume it makes you anything other than a basic open water diver.
In the interest of full disclosure I am not an instructor and this is just my feeling about what AOW is or how it should be viewed, and there are a whole lot of "better qualified" opinions around. But I think getting new divers to do more dives and more varied dives with an instructor in a learning setting is much better than asking new divers to hold off on doing the AOW. I'd rather the BOW and AOW were combined and it took ten dives to get a BOW cert, that's kind of how I feel about it. But it would cut down on the number of certs immensely. Do the AOW, but don't get cocky about it what it does for you, says I.
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