Refresher Course Followed by AOW?

[java]

Hi,
I took an open water course 5 years ago and have not done any SCUBA since. I am woundering if a one hour refresher followed by an AOW course is the way to go. This was suggested by my LDS. I have done skindiving often and am a fairly good swimmer and am very comfortable in the water (was a lifegaurd for 7 yrs).

I would appreciate any comments.

Thanks

 

[art.chick]

See how that 1-hour refresher goes, then decide. You will need to re-learn equipment assembly, signals, air-share, emergency swim ascent, buddy ettiquette, readjust buoyancy, & guage monitoring. Then there is thinking about ascent rate & safety stops and tables. These things are all easy in themsleves, and the added confidence of being a strong swimmer will help.

It may not be about how difficult the skills are; it is more about how accustomed you are to performing a skill without having to think too much about it. I am having a hard time imagining this taking a mere hour; I'd estimate a 3-hour pool session based on what I have seen & assisted with. Depending on how the instructor teaches, you may have time to make up for some of the stuff u have forgotten in AOW.

5 years is kind of a long lapse. Just be honest with yourself & get a feel for how fast this guy teaches. If it's just one of those OW classes where u watch a video by yourself anyway, his advice may be aimed at trying to save u money.

 

[ToddK]

I took AOW a year after OW, without any diving in between. The first dive was compass navigation, and I really struggled due to not having good buoyancy control. The rest of the class was a lot of fun, and I walked away a better diver.

I think taking more classes after OW is defintely a great way to go- there is so much to learn, and the 4-5 dives that the OW class provides just isn't enough diving.

 

[SubMariner]

Java, you are right about it being a good idea to take a refresher course prior to the Adventures in Diving (aka AOW) course. It's not mandatory, but it IS a very good route to take.

Prior to taking the Adventures in Diving course you will be required to do a "Scuba Tune Up". This consists of a written test (diving knowledge like the Recreational Dive Planner) plus completing the Skills Circuit in confined water (to check your watermanship).

Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Take care, eh?!

~SubMariner~

 

[exnewwavedivers]

I took AOW a year after OW, without any diving in between. The first dive was compass navigation, and I really struggled due to not having good buoyancy control. The rest of the class was a lot of fun, and I walked away a better diver.

Although not wrong, it would have been better if say a diver in your situation would do other elective dives in the AOW as the first dive, such as naturalist, or even peak performance buoyancy. It would have made your navigation dive a lot better because you already had a prior dive doing something else to get used to diving again.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

to me the sskills review or tune up is the way to go to makeyou feel more comfortable in the water , then you will be more at ease in the advance class

 

[MikeFerrara]

The instructor is responsible for making sure you have the requisit skills and knowlege for the level of training you are taking. If it has been too long since OW and you haven't dived at all since you may require more than a Scuba Tune Up. The Scuba Review would be a minimum and may or may not be enough.