Ops requiring AOW certs?

[Tony Wood]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to diving so I am just enjoying learning but I can equate some of what I have read here to another activity I have a lot of experience in, flying. The most dangerous pilots are not the new students or the really old high time pilots but at the point in the middle where you have enough experience to feel cocky and start skipping normal procedures and before you have had the experience of scaring the hell out of yourself for something stupid and start paying attention again.

I have been there and luckily my wife and I made it okay. Though admittedly my wife lets everyone know when ever they ask me about flying.

I plan on getting my AOW quickly because I will hopefully pick up good habits and procedures that make me a safer diver and better prepared to handle situations if they should arise not just with myself but my dive buddy or anyone else that happens to be with me in the water.

 

[Cr.padlo]

Valhalla Missile Silo recommends an AOW or be part of a deep cert for the dive. I say recommend because they rent the site out and let them make the call on who dives. I can understand requiring a higher certification for more difficult dives, but most of the certifications are just for the card...I have my AOW as I am pursuing my divemaster

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

On the Wisconsin (a wreck in Lake Michigan), DRIS requires both AOW *and* Great Lakes diving experience. It's 90-130 ft deep.

Curious about requiring Great Lakes diving experience. Would they accept wreck dives in the Puget Sound / Lake Crescent? My guess is that conditions would be similar.

 

[Marie13]

Curious about requiring Great Lakes diving experience. Would they accept wreck dives in the Puget Sound / Lake Crescent? My guess is that conditions would be similar.

I'd expect that would be similar enough. The tropical only divers, on the other hand...

 

[kelemvor]

Noticed the warning on another thread regarding some dive operators in Florida (and other places?) are requiring an advanced open water certification for certain dives regardless of the divers background or experience.

Which regions have you encountered this?

Relevant because I don't carry my "medium" level cert cards.

Vicariously relevant to my mother, OW since the 1970s, who doesn't see the need for an AOW cert and has yet to need one anywhere she's diving... Not sure it's worth it to her to buy a c card to gain access to some dive ops who only look at certifications if it isn't a common experience to be carded.

If it's truely an insurance liability issue I can understand but I'm surprised.

Regards,
Cameron

Rainbow Reef in Key Largo is one of these for sure. Actually, it's the only operator I've personally seen do this. Show the card or pay us for the class or pound sand (I'm paraphrasing, of course). I'm glad it wasn't me getting turned away, I was there to do my AOW checkout dives with a local instructor. I didn't get to complete the class because the captain ran the boat aground and sea-tow couldn't get it free. I've since dived with around 15 operators in various Florida locations. Many of the dives were definitely planned to depths well below 60' and none of other operators asked about AOW.

 

[drrich2]

In 2013 when I saw 2 divers turned down for a deep dive on a Rainbow Reef Dive Center boat due to not having AOW, the Captain did offer to look at their dive log books, but they didn't have them. The deep wrecks I remember doing over 5 days that trip were the Spiegel Grove (mostly) and the Duane (once). As much as I don't like the idea of 'Big Brother' telling me I can't do something, the Spiegel Grove is a deep wreck, most were diving it with 80-cf AL single tanks, and that wreck has racked up a body count over the years. Couple of young guys, can you imagine how their families would've reacted if one of them go stuck in a swim through & drowned? Or how their family's attorneys would've reacted?

Richard.

 

[Streydog]

In 2013 when I saw 2 divers turned down for a deep dive on a Rainbow Reef Dive Center boat due to not having AOW, the Captain did offer to look at their dive log books, but they didn't have them. The deep wrecks I remember doing over 5 days that trip were the Spiegel Grove (mostly) and the Duane (once). As much as I don't like the idea of 'Big Brother' telling me I can't do something, the Spiegel Grove is a deep wreck, most were diving it with 80-cf AL single tanks, and that wreck has racked up a body count over the years. Couple of young guys, can you imagine how their families would've reacted if one of them go stuck in a swim through & drowned? Or how their family's attorneys would've reacted?

Richard.

Had the 2 guys been diving with the same op prior to this? If not do you think the if they had demonstrated they had good skills on shallower dives they would have been allowed to do the dive?

 

[drrich2]

It was the 1st dive of the morning trip, and I hadn't noticed them before. For the Captain to be willing to look at their logs, he had to be open to the possibility of letting them do it. But I imagine that's a 'Captain's discretion' matter. One of the benefits of the AOW is it's more likely to be honored! These guys were fairly young; one was lean and the other quite fit & well-muscled; they looked physically capable but I don't know their prior experience!

If AOW (or better) is required for a trip, and you get on the boat without it or having an advance discussion with the dive op., what kind of judging & due diligence does that show? These guys didn't mention anything about having had a prior discussion about the issue; it came up on the boat.

Richard.

 

[Akimbo]

If AOW (or better) is required for a trip...

The "or better" part appears to be problematic since not everyone is versed on what certs require AOW as a prerequisite. For that matter, does anyone use the "Advanced Open Water" moniker besides PADI?

 

[kelemvor]

The "or better" part appears to be problematic since not everyone is versed on what certs require AOW as a prerequisite. For that matter, does anyone use the "Advanced Open Water" moniker besides PADI?

SSI does. NAUI does not (they use "Scuba Diver" and "Advanced Scuba Diver"). I don't know about others.