more training

[eelnoraa]

I took AOW when I had about 50 dives. I have to say I was quite disappointed. Granded my AOW was one of those off the shell class organized by a LDS. So it is NOT a custom, taylor to my goal class. But at 50 dives, I really didn't know what my specific goal was even when someone asked. I just want to learn more skills so that I would feel more comfortable in water. What I got was basically 5 guided dives. So if you decide to go AOW route, be sure to talk to the instructor, define your goal of the class, and see if it can be deliveried. Having that said, I still don't know how likely would that happen. AOW has 6:1 student to instructor ratio, unless all 6 of your have the same goal, or the instructor is willing to reduce the student number, I still wonder how much can be done with the 5 dives with each focus on different topics.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It's real simple. Find an instructor that teaches small classes. We are out there. I don't take more than two for an AOW class. Standards don't dictate minimum class sizes. The instructor does. IMO taking six students in an AOW class is something I would never do. And I'd never take anyone on five guided dives that didn't convey real new skills and knowledge and call it an advanced class.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[chrpai]

I guess I was lucky in that my ow, aow and eanx were private 1:1. I think we had 3 students in rescue.

Those are the 4 classes that I suggest everyone should take. Other then that I personally suggest finding a great mentor / buddy and just absorb like a spong and dive dive dive to practice your skills.

I see no point in most specialities, master diver, dive master et al for most people.

 

[tphelps]

As a full technical diver and instructor, I would strongly recommend having lots of experience and training before considering a tec course. I did my Tec Deep in the Bay Islands and my instructor would not accept any students that had less than 100 dives (even though that was not the PADI pre-requisite).
But if you were considering a Tec INTRO course like your question suggests, then that is completely fine. I assisted my instructor with a couple of those, all they are is just to give you a sense of how "cool" it is to be a tec diver. In the future, I would recommend that you do your AOW then your rescue diver. Rescue is the most complex non-professional course that requires advanced buoyancy control and motor skills. Having more dives and experience would be very beneficial before you start your rescue course. Plus it makes sense because one of the pre-requisites for the PADI rescue course is the Navigation Adventure Dive which you can get from the AOW. Hope this helps!

 

[waterpirate]

tphelps
Is your dive count accurate???

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I took AOW when I had about 50 dives. I have to say I was quite disappointed. Granded my AOW was one of those off the shell class organized by a LDS. So it is NOT a custom, taylor to my goal class. But at 50 dives, I really didn't know what my specific goal was even when someone asked. I just want to learn more skills so that I would feel more comfortable in water. What I got was basically 5 guided dives. So if you decide to go AOW route, be sure to talk to the instructor, define your goal of the class, and see if it can be deliveried. Having that said, I still don't know how likely would that happen. AOW has 6:1 student to instructor ratio, unless all 6 of your have the same goal, or the instructor is willing to reduce the student number, I still wonder how much can be done with the 5 dives with each focus on different topics.

I just finished teaching an AOW class this past week-end. It was my biggest AOW class ever ... 4 students. But I had another instructor who regularly helps me with classes, so it was a 2:1 ratio. All of my students had between 20 to 50 dives prior to class, and had gone through a skills workshop with me prior to the class. We did not do 5 guided dives. In my class there are six scheduled dives ... and we'll do more than that if needed to achieve the class objectives. There are no "electives" ... each dive focuses on specific skills. All dives are conducted while hovering ... kneeling on the bottom is not allowed. Ascents up a line are done in a controlled manner, with stops that are made while hovering ... grabbing the line is not allowed. All dives emphasize good buoyancy control and trim ... you have to do the navigation course twice, so if you silt it out the first time around, you're going to have to live with the consequences when you go back through it the second time. This teaches the importance of good finning techniques ... which we also cover. Buddy skills are emphasized ... positioning and communication are essential for some of the exercises you'll be doing. Gas management isn't just taught, you have to calculate how much gas you expect to need for the deep dive, based on measurements we make during the class. You're taught how to use a lift bag, reel, and how to deploy a surface marker buoy from depth. Navigation isn't "out and back" ... you're sent on a complex route at the end of which you're expected to find your way back to the buoy line ... and you're shown beforehand how to do it. And for the final dive, you navigate a pattern while swimming midwater ... at a constant depth ... where you can't see the bottom. One dive buddy gets the compass, the other gets the depth gauge and bottom timer. You have to work together to complete the course ... all while holding a 20-foot depth. It seems difficult at first, but it teaches you how to maintain your buoyancy and awareness while focusing on a specific task ... a skill that's useful in many ways while diving.

Quite a lot can be achieved in an AOW class ... you just have to take it with an instructor who's not just looking to sell you a few guided dives ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[diverrex]

I just finished teaching an AOW class this past week-end. It was my biggest AOW class ever ... 4 students. But I had another instructor who regularly helps me with classes, so it was a 2:1 ratio. All of my students had between 20 to 50 dives prior to class, and had gone through a skills workshop with me prior to the class. We did not do 5 guided dives. In my class there are six scheduled dives ... and we'll do more than that if needed to achieve the class objectives. There are no "electives" ... each dive focuses on specific skills. All dives are conducted while hovering ... kneeling on the bottom is not allowed. Ascents up a line are done in a controlled manner, with stops that are made while hovering ... grabbing the line is not allowed. All dives emphasize good buoyancy control and trim ... you have to do the navigation course twice, so if you silt it out the first time around, you're going to have to live with the consequences when you go back through it the second time. This teaches the importance of good finning techniques ... which we also cover. Buddy skills are emphasized ... positioning and communication are essential for some of the exercises you'll be doing. Gas management isn't just taught, you have to calculate how much gas you expect to need for the deep dive, based on measurements we make during the class. You're taught how to use a lift bag, reel, and how to deploy a surface marker buoy from depth. Navigation isn't "out and back" ... you're sent on a complex route at the end of which you're expected to find your way back to the buoy line ... and you're shown beforehand how to do it. And for the final dive, you navigate a pattern while swimming midwater ... at a constant depth ... where you can't see the bottom. One dive buddy gets the compass, the other gets the depth gauge and bottom timer. You have to work together to complete the course ... all while holding a 20-foot depth. It seems difficult at first, but it teaches you how to maintain your buoyancy and awareness while focusing on a specific task ... a skill that's useful in many ways while diving.

Quite a lot can be achieved in an AOW class ... you just have to take it with an instructor who's not just looking to sell you a few guided dives ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Good for you. If I was closer I'd love to do one of your workshops, no cert necessary just training.

 

[Cross020]

I have been pretty lucky with my instructors. While we can be considered a big group (13 students) during my OW class. The classroom sessions were held apart depending on our schedule. The classroom session is held with 3-4 of us while the pool sessions were held with 3-6 students. My instructors are brothers (both instructors) so we always have 2 instructors in the water during the pool sessions. On the checkout dives, was the only time the whole group of 13 came together but were also divided into 2 groups. One group had 6 students and the other had 7. The 2 groups were never in the water at the same time. During every dive on the checkout dive, we had both instructors, their father who is a DM, their sister who is a rescue diver and another rescue diver who is also a DM trainee. This allowed them to pay as much attention as need to every student individually having 3 other experienced divers looking after the rest of the group.

They also teach the local police force a basic search, rescue and retrieval/recovery course which they gave us for free as a bonus for taking the OW course with them. This though was optional and no everyone on our big group opted for it. The course included night diving, search and recovery/retrieval and basic underwater navigation. Its sort of a watered down AOW which from what ive heard from people from other instructors, was acutally their AOW class minus the deep diving training.

After diving on and off for about 4 years, i started the the AOW class from my instructors. Though just one of them attended to me as it turned into a 1:1 class. The pool session was much tougher (i expected to breeze through it, but didn't LOL). I haven't done the checkout dives yet because of my work schedule but i plan to do it before the end of November, i think i improved my diving a lot with just the pool session. He also knows my interest in Tech Diving and squeezed in few pointers on how to do proper frog kicks, helicopter turns and back kicks.

I went on a dive trip Coron in Palawan and i really felt more comfortable in the water. I felt like i had more control and i have been practicing my helicopter turns and back kicks during safety stops and sometimes during the actual dive.


My point is, with the a good intructor, AOW can still be a learning and exciting experience. I hope to take a Nitrox class after AOW and then rescue and/or an intro to tech class. But i have no specific timeline for this. It call happen next year or spread out til 30 years from now LOL depending on how i personally feel that i am ready for the next step and an honest assessment from my instructor re: rescue or a qualified and a reputable tech instructor re: intro to tech.

The GUE Fundies seem like a very good training ground for people interested in tech or people who would like to be better divers, but being in the Philippines, the availability of the training plus the cost can be very prohibitive.