How long between your open water and advanced open water course?

[Progen]

For me, it was 3 months. I know there are many who say that divers should chalk up a fair number of dives before they can appreciate what they'll learn in the advanced course BUT for me, in between my open and advanced courses, I had NO seawater dives at all BUT the peak performance dive took everything to a whole new level when the instructor took 2kg off my weight pockets. Usually, especially when we're on holiday or diving a new site, we're just too eager to get into the water and explore so just about no recreational diver will experiment with weighting which was why I thought the 4kg was right for me.

Had I not known that 2kg was sufficient to keep me at depth even with a near empty tank, I wouldn't have found out that I was negative in freshwater without weights and ultimately, when I had learnt better breathing control, neutral without weights in seawater too.

So to me, I was glad I did the advanced course (in a way) soon after my open water one or else I'd have wasted lots of dives being overweighted.

 

[Searcaigh]

I had over 100 dives before I did my AOW.

 

[tstormdiver]

For me, it was the next weekend after my OW evaluation dives. I got caught up in the marketing hoopla & didn't eeeven realize it until much, much later. Now that I have seen excellent instruction & the need for experience vs the absolute bare bones courses,.... I do have to ask,... How can one be an advanced diver with only 9 dives (4 OW evaluation dives + the 5 dives for Adv. OW) & never without an instructor present???? Even though that was the route I took,... I was by far NO advanced diver,.... Period. :blinking:

 

[RJP]

AOW comprised logged dives 5-9 for me. In between OW and AOW I took EANx, but did no dives.

Saying "divers should chalk up a fair number of dives before they can appreciate what they'll learn in the advanced course" is like saying "students should do a fair amount of math after Algebra I so they can appreciate what they will learn in Algebra II."

Anyone coming out of OW who is not ready to go right into AOW doesn't need to "chalk up some dives" but rather they need "Remedial OW" preferably with a different instructor.

 

[spectrum]

I had about 100 dives in my first calendar year when I took AOW which I'd consider 300% of ideal (a few dozen). I fell into a great mentoring relationship, did a lot of self study and eventually took if "just because".

"Time" as in the 3 months you mention is irrelevant. However, if one hasn't done 2 dozen dives in 2 years or so it can be hard to get off the starting block.

I'm gald the PPB instructor got your weights right. Unfortunately you should have ended OW knowing how to do that yourself. I hope you ended up with the skills to continue to check your weighting as you change or when there is a change in your gear. It sounds like you are aware of many of the puts and takes.

Pete

 

[RJP]

For me, it was the next weekend after my OW evaluation dives. I got caught up in the marketing hoopla & didn't eeeven realize it until much, much later. Now that I have seen excellent instruction & the need for experience vs the absolute bare bones courses,.... I do have to ask,... How can one be an advanced diver with only 9 dives (4 OW evaluation dives + the 5 dives for Adv. OW) & never without an instructor present???? Even though that was the route I took,... I was by far NO advanced diver,.... Period. :blinking:

I can see a new diver being confused by the "advanced" moniker, but how is it that an instructor thinks that AOW could or should produce an "advanced" diver? The name of the course is "Advanced Open Water Diver" which is like saying "Advanced Intro To English Literature." Open Water is the most basic scuba diver certification, so an "advanced most basic scuba diver certification" clearly would not make one an "advanced diver" just as taking the second semester of English Literature freshman year would not prepare someone to do a doctorate at Oxford.

 

[rhwestfall]

8 years (1988 - 1996) and a whole bunch of diving..... didn't even know about it, and my initial YMCA training covered just about all of it (book material - 100%), and just diving here on Lake Erie and the Niagara River filled in everything for dive experience...

 

[ladyfishdvr]

I just did my AOW cert which was dive 9-14 for me. I learned a lot from these dives. It seemed a natural extension of OW. I don't know how advanced I am, but I am a better diver for having those dives. It depends on the person and their comfort level and what they bring into it. I felt comfortable taking the AOW class. I have had two really great instructors who have taught me very well. I am by no means an advanced diver, but I have a better understanding of diving skills that I did not have before taking AOW.

 

[dfx]

Saying "divers should chalk up a fair number of dives before they can appreciate what they'll learn in the advanced course" is like saying "students should do a fair amount of math after Algebra I so they can appreciate what they will learn in Algebra II."

Algebra is pure theory. Diving is some theory, but mostly practical skills.

 

[DCBC]

I never took an Advanced Diver program. The progression back then was from Diver to Instructor. When profit came into the picture, the Diver training program was divided into Diver, Advanced and Rescue. Instructor was divided into Divemaster, Assistant Instructor and Instructor. As Agencies emerged, they each changed the certification names to suit their own particular training philosophy.