Building on OW cert

[TerryC]

Students are all different. Some just want to dive with a buddy, some move straight to AOW.
If you need some more practice with basic skills then you could hire an instructor for a couple of dives and plan a personal "course" just for you. Certainly if you did skills in OW while kneeling down then you will need time to improve buoyancy. Mask skills, while bouyant, need to become "easy" for you.
You know much more now than you did before OW so choose your instructor with care. You obviously want to improve your diving so no more "kneeling on the bottom" for anything.
Remember, the "deep" dive for AOW is a dive planning exercise, NDL exercise and gas management exercise, not just about going deep. When I teach this the "planning" takes as long as the dive!

Do come back and let us know what you did and how it went.

A couple of articles for you to read.

5 Important things To Do after passing your Open Water Course » My St Kitts Dive Buddy What to do after passing your open water.

When should you take your Advanced Open Water Course. » My St Kitts Dive Buddy

 

[TMHeimer]

In waiting for quite a while before doing AOW, and thus Rescue, you will be diving (with a buddy I assume) without the (exact) knowledge of what to do should your buddy be panicking. Some of the Rescue course is just logical, as with the OW course. But there are some specific techniques to learn. Though I don't recommend it, even just reading about these techniques is probably better than nothing.

After taking Rescue, I told my OW certified buddy what to do should I ever become unconscious at depth. Probably not supposed to do that since I'm not an instructor, but I was thinking of my own safety.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I would encourage you to look into local diving. Im not sure if you got your OW locally or elsewhere, so I don't know if you experience local conditions yet or not.

You say you don't see local diving "for the next few months", so Im imagining that winter weather and/or storms are deterring you. There are dive conditions forecasts -- google them. Only dive when conditions are calm, That may mean lots of weekend plans blown out, especially during winter, but that's OK. As for the cold --- well, hopefully, you'll get used to it.

You could always arrange a DM thru a local shop, or even a refresher type dive. Once you feel more comfortable, you could just dive w more experienced buddies willing to mentor.

You say youre avoiding local diving bc youre a "wuss." You don't need to tackle the harshest local conditions immediately. There are many protected easier shallow shore sites in SoCal. Take it easy, gradually. Once you feel ready for AOW, go for it.


After my OW, I just dove with more experienced divers in Monterey/Carmel area - about once a month. Gradually, I went from unsure of myself to feeling fairly confident. After 2 years, I took AOW. However your path goes, Im sure you'll have fun on it.

 

[Scuba Scott]

This may be an absurdly overbroad question, but what's a good next step for someone who just got their open water certification?

Advanced Open Water

Of course my instructor tried to sell us on the advanced open water course immediately.

As he should, it is part 2 of the open water course and if you have time to continue your training you should absolutely do that. AOW exist as a separate course for those who wouldn't have time for a much longer Open Water course.

But it seems a little reckless to me to go right from basic certification to something that will allow me to dive much deeper and take on all sorts of other challenges before I've even practiced the basics.

Does it seem less reckless to do your next dives while you practice the basics with an instructor or without one?

I know if I did the night diver course, I'd want to start doing night dives right away. But, um, I only did a mask removal in the ocean once, while kneeling on the bottom, only one CESA, only planned one dive myself, etc. I didn't feel like I really got a handle on buoyancy control until the very last dive. I kind of wish I could just do the ocean dive portion of the course over again several times until it was all second nature, before I futz around with depths that might make me stupid.

You sound like you may want to do some more diving with an instructor. Maybe work out a special deal on Peak Performance combined with AOW.

What's a smart path from here? Do a bunch of dives and focus on practicing those skills on my own? Sign up for something like Peak Performance Bouyancy without it being part of an AOW certification? Hire an instructor for private lessons? Other ideas?

Diving on your own is not likely to produce the results you want as fast as diving with an instructor. You don't have the experience to recognize what you are doing wrong and the ability to offer yourself tips on how to improve your diving. An instructor does. Your other ideas are good options.

FWIW, I live in Southern California and probably won't be diving much around here over the next couple months because I'm a wuss, though I have a trip to Playa del Carmen coming up next month. I do have vague ambitions to go deeper and maybe try wreck diving and other fun crazy kinda dangerous stuff someday. But I work a demanding job and don't see myself devoting every weekend and vacation day to the sport, so that's going to be a long way in the future, if I get there at all.

Step one is get your buoyancy under control. You can do that before or during AOW.
I am thinking you are probably better heading off to vacation with AOW already in your pocket.
Arrive in Playa and still aren't 100% comfortable diving on your own or with an insta-buddy? You might be able to pick up a simple specialty for little more than the cost of diving and you get an instructor as your buddy. Want to just dive and look at the fish? Hire a divemaster to go with you and look at the fish, point out all the hiding spots, and tell you what you saw. For a little more money take Fish ID specialty with an instructor.

You really have a lot of options at this point but the best option is more training with an instructor until you feel you don't need it anymore.

 

[Esprise Me]

This place is awesome. I really appreciate all the feedback!

To respond to a few points (I started trying to quote people but that got messy fast!):

In terms of how I feel about my performance, I felt clumsy but fairly calm through most of the course. On the final checkout dive, a lot of things clicked. I played around with my bouyancy, trying to hover as close to the sandy bottom without touching it as possible, then trying to come up a couple feet using my lungs. I haven't quite figured out how to reconcile using my breath to fine-tune bouyancy with breathing deep, but I felt really in control, which was hugely exciting. My air consumption wasn't great, but it was on par with the other noobs. No real issues equalizing. Since then I haven't stopped thinking about how cool that was!

I'm not sure yet what kind of diver I'm going to be. I had initially figured I'd stick with tropical reef dives on vacation, but I survived getting certified in 63 degree water near my home in LA in November, so maybe I'll do more local diving. That could afford me enough practice to do more than putter around just below the snorkelers. I can pretty confidently rule out ice diving and altitude diving--for those who charitably assumed my planned winter abstention had something to do with dangerous storms, nope, I'm just afraid of the 58 degrees the water usually drops to in January-February. But maybe I could learn drysuit and/or toughen up enough to tolerate a warm winter's day.

Thanks for the tips on courses. The GUE Fundamentals course sounds great, though I think I'm going to have to get in better shape first; the OW swim test wasn't easy for me, and it looks like the GUE one is 50% longer, and timed. Maybe I'll start with a swim class; I might improve just as much from refining my technique as improving my fitness, and I could learn something other than freestyle. Also, what's the story on the specialized gear? Could I rent what I need?

For those who suggested Extreme Makeover Scuba, I'm finding their website confusing. A lot of the locations are just listed as being in "United States," and I can't find a schedule. Anyone know of a place within a couple hours drive of Los Angeles?

I will also think about signing up for AOW once it warms up a bit. It's good to know I don't have to stick with PADI. I'd probably pick a different dive shop this time; any ideas on how to find a good instructor? If I haven't dived for six months, should I take the refresher first or will the AOW course suffice for that?

I'll also give some thought to sneaking away to Cabo for a long weekend during the cold months. I like the idea of hiring a DM as my buddy and getting feedback and support while diving for fun. Any recommendations for newbie dive sites, shops, or instructors down there?

As far as local diving, I'm signed up for a 3-dive boat trip to Catalina next weekend through the dive shop where I got my OW cert. I'm apprehensive about the cold, but I decided to buy a dive computer before my trip to Playa and wanted to get comfortable with it first. I got some great tips already from you fine people about how to avoid turning into a popsicle during the surface intervals, so hopefully it won't be too bad. What other options are there if I want to go diving around here? It seems like the scuba clubs I read about sometimes are more of a UK thing. The local scuba meetup group appears to be defunct. I got certified with a couple friends, but they seem a shade less enthusiastic and anyway I'd want someone more experienced in our group at least at first. Thoughts? Thanks again!

 

[Chavodel8en]

Is should have posted this earlier - there are local forums on this board, including a SoCal one

SoCal

You can ask around there about local dive spots, dive clubs, buddies etc. - you'll probably get better localized answers there.


In addition to this board, I recommend a couple of resources for finding dive clubs & buddies:

Facebook - there are several dive pages & dive clubs in the Monterey are that use facebook for organizing dives. Do a search on facebook, im pretty sure you'll find some SoCal ones.

You may want to search on Meetup.again - I recall that there were several Meetup scuba groups in SoCal.

 

[BlueTrin]

Personally I had a not so good experience doing my AOW right after my OW.

Even though I told my instructor that I have very little experience and still issues controlling my buoyancy, he didn’t kept a check on me and left me with less than 50 bar after telling me to follow him during the deep dive. My buddy gave me the thumbs up after seeing my gauge as he didn’t know that the instructor planned to give me his octo later on.

With the confusion I didn’t stop for the full three mins at 6m and at some point lost control and went to the surface.

The instructor had lost me at this point and surfaced a lot later as he went to look for me.

So I failed my AOW even though they advised me to do my AOW immediately and told me I would be fine even if I still have issues controlling my buoyancy.

In retrospect I would say that the instructor took a group too large and didn’t plan well as he always ran late and was stressed as he had to rush things. I told him the previous day about my buoyancy issues and he gave me no advice whatsoever as he was too busy getting everyone to do their skills to complete his ‘checklist’

I finished my AOW with another shop who took only two divers at the same time and it was a much nicer experience and I learned so much more as the instructors were much more relaxed and professional.

My advice would be maybe to get a couple of dives locally between the OW and AOW with an instructor and asking him to help you on improving your OW skills if you need to.

Also make sure you get a good instructor, the story above happened with a PADI 5 stars IDC, proof that this does not mean that all instructors are good.

I think the worst part was that I got a skin infection in addition to fail my AOW as the first shop didn’t dry their wetsuits properly: they were wet when they were given to us on the first day.

 

[TMHeimer]

Check out the diving opportunities in Puerto Penasco. Gulf of Cal. is somewhat warmer water, especially in summer I think. I've never dived there. Not sure if boats go out. It's a drivable distance for you if you spend a few days there.

 

[jadairiii]

Thanks for the tips on courses. The GUE Fundamentals course sounds great, though I think I'm going to have to get in better shape first; the OW swim test wasn't easy for me, and it looks like the GUE one is 50% longer, and timed. Maybe I'll start with a swim class; I might improve just as much from refining my technique as improving my fitness, and I could learn something other than freestyle. Also, what's the story on the specialized gear? Could I rent what I need?

Join a Masters swim team in your area, you will never regret it. You will be shocked at how well you can swim just after a month of regular works outs. And dont fret, you have everyone from beginners to ex-D1 swimmers, all are welcome and encouraged. And yes, you can rent all the "GUE" gear.

 

[CassieNYC]

I'll also give some thought to sneaking away to Cabo for a long weekend during the cold months. I like the idea of hiring a DM as my buddy and getting feedback and support while diving for fun

I'm still in the "not so long after OW" phase myself and this is the plan I've been going with. I've been vacation diving and hiring a private DM, which guarantees that I have an experienced buddy.

I do a post-dive review for myself to think about what might be good to focus on on upcoming dives. Actually, over Thanksgiving I was doing some seriously boring snorkeling (shocking!) at a Caribbean island. I used the time to just see how relaxed in the water I could become.

I've also done some pool sessions to work on skills and to try out some bcds before purchasing one.

The additional cert I've done is for Nitrox, which is helpful in Cozumel (generally deeper first dive on air and shallower second dive on Nitrox -- mimicking my experienced dive friends).