NAUI AOW class

[smorneau]

I just signed up for my NAUI AOW class and picked up the class materials. I have a few questions. Looking at the book I noticed there are no review questions. Is there an NAUI AOW exam?

Per advise here at SB I waited for my AOW. I have put 50 OW dives in this summer and feel really good with my gear and drysuit. I want to get allot from the class. I have been really fortunate, I have done allot of my dives with the instructor that I will be doing my AOW with. I have already done several deep dives, night dives, and even a few non penetration wreck dives with low viz with the instructor. He is new to the area and is need of a buddy, my luck!

I already have my Nitrox and Drysuit certifications.

I plan on doing Navigation, Night, Deep, Salvage, Search/Recovery, and Wreck for my dives.

I would like to put together a list of activities and goal I would like to complete during the class to get the most out of it.

I am looking for some suggestions. I plan to do some trim work, SMB deployment from depth, reel work, lift bags, gas management and planning, and controlled accents.

Any help on things that I should be looking for or request during class would be helpful.

I am looking forward to my class and gaining new skills.

Thanks


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[g1138]

I've never observed the structure of another NAUI AOW class other than the one my instructor teaches.
Would you be willing to post an update on how the class went after it is over. I'd be really interested to hear about it.

Only suggestion I can think of giving right now is to have fun and don't stress out too much about learning all these new things.

 

[dmcutter]

Honestly, based on what you've already done I can't imagine that you'll pick up much more in your AOW. We worked some with a lift bag, running a reel, and following a line in a blackout mask. I suppose there are outfits that will only let you do certain dives if you have your AOW card so you will at least get that out of it.

 

[annasea]

I did the NAUI AOW a couple of years ago and from what I recall, there was no exam. Have a great class.

 

[smorneau]

As a little backround: I took my OW this past spring and I signed up with a shop that was only about a mile form my house. I thought it was great because of the convenience. What a mistake! The classes were mundane, we only went over the review questions but never anything more. The pool time was weak, the instructor was using standards below what was required by NAUI.That is when I discovered SB and it really opened my eyes to what I should expect from the course.

When we stared doing our check dives is when I knew the training I was receiving was sub par at best. During our check dives no attemt was made to do any skills in the water. There were up to 20 students in the water at a time, all on different check dives with one instructor and a couple of DM. We would dive from a boat launch and no flag would ever be used. A student almost got hit by a boater. We would be buddied up and told to swim from point A to point B and back. I believe it was my 4^th check dive, the instructor asked me to lead two students who were on their first dive out into 30ft around the cove in the ocean. On my 5^th dive I went out with another student on his 3^rd dive and a certified diver on a lake, about half way to our turn around the other student paniced at 20ft and could not surface, when we finally got him to the surface he could not keep air in his BC and was swallowing water and panicing. We thought his dump valve was malfunctioning. At that point I made the decission to pull his weight from his BC to keep him from sinking. As it turned out he kept pushing the wrong button on the inflator and was dumping the BC. Everything turned out ok, but things could have gone very badly. That is when I made the decission not to dive with this shop anymore.

I decided to take my drysuit class through a different shop (SSI), the instuctor was new to the shop and both SSI and NAUI. I explained to him what had happened duing my OW class. I have been diving with him a few day a week since. Most of the dives I have done that would be concidered advanced, I was being led. Of course some discussion always took place on what I should expect or to anything special I should do given the dive. But they were not meant to be instructional dives, but rec dives with some instruction.

Due to the lack of instuction I received in OW and wanting the AOW card so I can do some more advanced dives when on vacation without being given a hard time and turned away. I decided to go for it.

The instructor knows me well in the water and is willing to go the extra distance to advance my skill set beyond the normal AOW class. I was just looking for some input on things that we could do beyond the minimal course requirements because I have already met most of the basic requirements and have six dives to complete and want to be challenged.

 

[smorneau]

Maybe I should have put that last post in Whine and Cheese!

 

[manni-yunk]

No test for the NAUI AOW.

We did a lot of underwater compass navigation. (with practice sessions on land with a towel over your head) - basically being able to find structure by following a certain heading. Starting at a point - then returning to that same point.

We did shooting a bag from mid water, from depth, from a wreck( wrapped under structure to avoid drifting) etc.

We did a lot of reel work for navigation. First in the quarry - then in the ocean.

The class was a small ratio (3 to 1) so a lot of attention was available for everyone.

Of course some gear config worj to taylor our diving to what we wanted.

My shop knew we were mostly setting up for private boat diving - so the instructor came with us and did a lot of work on anchoring and tying in, and some on emergency procedures


We did a lot of Ocean work for the advanced class with only 1 day of quarry work. I though it was a great class - but, again, ours was sort of custom taylored for us.