AOW necessary?

[lionfish-eater]

Only time I have needed the AOW was in Florida.

The difference between Coz and So.FLa. is that in coz you are in a marine park and must be accompanied by a guide who's job and reputation depend on you getting back safely. In Fla. the dive boats are taxis to the reef. They rarely have a guide in the water unless you pay for a private guide. You are expected to be able to handle whatever conditions you are diving in on your own, no babysitter, no one watching to see if you mount your reg backwards or jump without fins on. Requiring AOW shifts the responsibility of qualification away from the boat operator.

 

[Skittl1321]

I think the AOW cert only matters if you're diving with an operator that offers AOW training for a fee...

I wonder how many Coz operators work like that. I've dove with two operators who both offer AOW courses to interested divers. But they don't restrict those without it to 60 foot dives and no swim-throughs. Their only interest isn't in selling courses, though I think the instructors are good enough that the course would have value.

Last trip I dove with a woman who was AOW. She didn't know it was possible to add air orally to her BC or why her computer kept beeping at her . There was something else she didn't know that was incredibly shocking but it's been long enough that now I can't think about it. Later in the trip we found out that she had never dove without an instructor before thetrips- she was AOW with 9 dives: 4 in OW, 5 in AOW...

The DM spent more time overseeing her than me. And if you've dove with me before, that kind of says something. (I don't have AOW, and since I won't go below 75 feet I won't ever.)

 

[emoreira]

Two thoughts.
- If the operator takes you to do deep dives without being certified as deepdiver (part of the AOWD), I would not feel comfortable nor confident with that operator.
- If you take the AOWD and you feel that the course contents and the instructor gives you nothing, then the Instructor and the dive school you've chosen were not correct. You should have chosen a better dive school and better instructor.

 

[Mossman]

Two thoughts.
- If the operator takes you to do deep dives without being certified as deepdiver (part of the AOWD), I would not feel comfortable nor confident with that operator.

Then you wouldn't feel comfortable or confident with any of the dive ops in Cozumel or, for that matter, most everywhere else I've traveled.

 

[emoreira]

Then you wouldn't feel comfortable or confident with any of the dive ops in Cozumel or, for that matter, most everywhere else I've traveled.

The dives I did in Cozumel were with an operator from Playa and they did ask me my certification level and log book.
The local dives I do, the operators I use do know my dive history.

 

[asherlc]

What about nitrox certification? I.e. if I read the books and get trained but don't pay for the PADI card, will they let me dive nitrox?

 

[emoreira]

If I'm an operator and you have no Nitrox card I wouldn't give you a Nitrox tank. How can you certify that you read the book ? With the card.
After all, the cert card only has a minor cost compared with the total cost of a dive. If you don't have enough money to pay the card, you are in the wrong sport.

 

[gr8jab]

Two thoughts.
- If the operator takes you to do deep dives without being certified as deepdiver (part of the AOWD), I would not feel comfortable nor confident with that operator.

I though that AOW only included the first of four dives required for the Deep Diver Specialty. That means that AOW is just an intro to Deep Diver (and several other) specialty.
​

 

[Bob DBF]

What about nitrox certification? I.e. if I read the books and get trained but don't pay for the PADI card, will they let me dive nitrox?

Nitrox is the only card I've ever been actually been asked to show.


Bob

 

[emoreira]

I though that AOW only included the first of four dives required for the Deep Diver Specialty. That means that AOW is just an intro to Deep Diver (and several other) specialty.
​

AOWD, depending on the certification agency, is formed by 4 specialties with CheckOut dives (actually SNSI requires 5 specialties). Each specialty requieres 2 CheckOut dives. To get the AOWD card, all the specialties have to be Checked Out. So, to get the AOWD card you will need 8 or 10 dives.
At least, PADI, SSI and SNSI (those I do know) requiere 2 CheckOut dives for each specialty. Don't know of other agencies, but shouldn't be different, as any specialty card is valid in any agency.