AOW courses to take?

[TSandM]

I think night is a really good one, which is also kind of an intro to reduced visibility, too. PPB is a good dive IF the instructor makes it one. Underwater Photography can be very interesting, especially if the instructor provides the camera, because of the buoyancy practice and the insights you'll get into task-loading (at least our students report this).

 

[BDSC]

Paul,

If it were me, I'd take PPB, Night Dive, and Wreck Dive because there are lots of good wreck dives around the Keys. Many on that list I think would be a waste of your time and adds little to nothing to your skill set. I would not recommend either Videography or Photography at this time because before a diver goes down that road, I believe you need to have the basics down first. I have seen new divers with cameras that are all over the place because they are to concerned with getting a picture rather than their buoyancy and where they are on the reef.

 

[Frosty]

Hi Paul- with only 10 dives under your belt I would focus on the important stuff you don't know.
If you have already been dooing boat diving then theres just no point in doing that for you AOW for example.
IMO the most benificial are In order. PPB,Navigation, rescue and deep.
These if used correctly will be the buildimg blocks for solid skillsets you need to develop for the rest of your diving career.From there you can always do speciality courses for the stuff you are interested in pursuing.

 

[t4e]

can someone please explain to me what exactly do you learn in Boat Diver and Underwater Naturalist courses?

 

[spectrum]

Night Diver Yes
Fish I.D. NO
Photography NO
Videography NO
Wreck Diving Yes
Boat Diving NO
Peak Performance buoyancy Yes
Search and Recovery Yes
Deep Diver Mandatory
Drift Diver Yes
Underwater Navigator Mandatory
Underwater Naturalist NO

There is my contribution to narrowing it down.

You should get what you need about boat diving form osmosis and common sense as you go out to make dive.

Wheck is exploring the outside of a wreck without getting in trouble, drift diving is a toss-up. A good DM will get you up to speed.

Otherwise stick to diving classes. Learn photography or basket weaving from a true pro, not a dive instructor who got his merit badge. In any case go back and do that stuff later.

Pete

 

[uncfnp]

Pete. Overall I agree but I kinda like basket weaving and I think including one speciality that is a special interest for the student is worthwhile, along with the nut and bolt basics of scuba.

 

[Steve_C]

The PADI AOW is actually 5 adventure dives. But the specialty courses themselves are usually at least two dives. I went back and took a couple of the adventure dives as specialty courses. I found there was more information and more learned from the course than the adventure dive. I could have but did not count my adventure dive toward the course. The point is not to get cards faster but take you time, have fun, and learn.

For example, when I took the Drift diving course on dive 2 I got to lead a group of strangers on a drift dive I had done the day before with the instructor. I learned a lot on that dive. But I would not have done that if it was just the one adventure dive.

Another example, was one of my 5 was DPV. Later I took a regular DPV course and I learned a lot more. Got to ride several different types of machines. Did more drills, etc.

So pick your 5. AOW is just a start.


Night Diver - Good
Fish I.D. - no
Photography -no
Videography -no
Wreck Diving - ok -
Boat Diving -no. Did not learn much.
Peak Performance buoyancy - Definitely
Search and Recovery -ok
Deep Diver - required
Drift Diver - yes
Underwater Navigator - reuired
Underwater Naturalist - no


However, if one looks like fun, then do it. You can take more courses after that.

 

[buddhasummer]

As others have said, I'd def take night, PPB if your buoyancy needs improvement and the instructor is good. The third I would choose based on your interest or something that is relevant to the type of diving you do or conditions you dive in. Good Luck.

 

[DevonDiver]

Which courses would be ideal to take for my AOW?

Factor #1 - What are your goals with the overall course? Do you wish to develop better overall core scuba competency? Do you wish to investigate specific areas of personal interest? etc

Factor #2 - What are the instructor's specialist areas/interest/background? Does the instructor have specific features on his résumé that might added value to one adventure dive option over another?

Factor 3# - What is the relative quality of specialist dive opportunities in the area of your course? Are there good quality wrecks? Are there sites with current? Is water quality suitable for photography or videography? etc etc


Apply those factors to your options:

(assuming Factor 1 = core skill development)

 

[buddhasummer]

Factor #1 - What are your goals with the overall course? Do you wish to develop better overall core scuba competency? Do you wish to investigate specific areas of personal interest? etc

Factor #2 - What are the instructor's specialist areas/interest/background? Does the instructor have specific features on his résumé that might added value to one adventure dive option over another?

Factor 3# - What is the relative quality of specialist dive opportunities in the area of your course? Are there good quality wrecks? Are there sites with current? Is water quality suitable for photography or videography? etc etc


Apply those factors to your options:

(assuming Factor 1 = core skill development)

View attachment 153892

That's a great graph, where did you get it from?