- Messages
- 93,378
- Reaction score
- 91,608
- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
I agree that the OW is somewhat like driving. But I look at it more that the OW is like the learners permit, and AOW would be your license. Once you have your permit, you can go out on the road, with a licensed driver (more experienced buddy) and practice your skills
The sad reality is that if you come out of OW with less than reasonable skills, you won't get any better in AOW ... you'll simply find yourself stuggling with the same problems in different conditions.
Exposure and practice are all well and good for improving ... but you have to have a reasonable foundation upon which to improve. OW is supposed to be providing that foundation.
For those who find yourself in the OP's situation, I offer this advice ... do whatever it takes to get comfortable with your OW skills before signing up for AOW. The latter class is often used ... unfortunately ... as a means to acquire "skills" you should have gotten during OW, but didn't. The reality is that most people who go that route end up coming out of AOW feeling like they didn't learn anything (because, really, they didn't).
In general, you should always get comfortable with what you learned in one class before proceeding to the next ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)