What really is an "Advanced Open Water" diver?

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I took a Reef course at Jupiter Dive Center in 2013 run by Paul Humann and associates from Reef. It was a fantastic course, only second to the fish ID and behavior course I took from Jerry Ligon in Bonaire in 2008
 
As a PADI MSDT Instructor I teach PADI's AOW certification. This means that someone fresh out of OW class (4 open water dives) can do 5 more open water dives for a total of 9 open water dives and have a certification card that declares that they are an "Advanced Open Water" diver. I am sure that my fellow instructors will agree that this individual is not truly an advanced open water diver.

I am working on a presentation around this question so any opinions of what truly constitutes an Advanced Open Water diver will be appreciated! I have my own opinions of course but would love to hear from the ScubaBoard crowd.

Thanks for your input!

Long story short an advanced open water diver is likely most that post on this site.

Someone that is comfortable diving depths around 100ft deep and has efficient air usage. Someone that can dive in 3 to 5ft visibility in Monterey or off the east coast in some places also with almost nil viz. Someone that doesnt panic. Someone that has been in or around some hairy situations that makes you aware of everything around you. Someone that can dive cold water or warm, shallow as well as deep. Someone that is aware pre dive as well as in the dive of potential problems for themselves and other divers.

How many dives is that? Thats entirely up to the altertness and wisdom, the emotional intelligence of each diver.
 
What is the certification? From a diver's perspective, it's a card that many dive ops require before they'll let you go below 60'.

What should it be? IMO, the current course should be part of Open Water certification.


I disagree strongly. Brand new divers that are just learning to dive should never be taken down to 100 feet deep and dives where they are training you to find objects and do search patterns on the ocean floor. Especially when many of these classes and activities will cause brand new divers with no dives to blow through their entire tank of air in a few minutes.

If you teach AOW in the OW classes combined, even turning it into a two week ten dive class you are asking to get thousands of emergency out of air situations more than you do now. Extremely dangerous to train brand new divers AOW immediately and border line wreckless of any agency to do so.

Does it happen? Yea it does. I took my AOW after 15 dives. I didn't know any better. Would I recommend AOW starting dive 5 right after OW? God no. Even 15 dives no. We did our AOW in 52 degree water with about 15 to 20 ft of visibility. All of us in the class, all four of us had about the same amount of dives. All able body strong big men. And honestly I dont think any of us should have passed that course.
 
AOW != advanced diver in any language

It is a ridiculous term, up there with Master of nothing.
You need to read the fine print! :wink::D
 
I do not disagree that the name can be misinterpreted, or that some who take it feel they are now advanced.
But the marketing for the class, and the training material, and the training, make it clear that the class only advances one beyond OW by providing a sampler of each five specialties, to help the OW diver find something that they might want to follow up on to extend their skills and knowledge. You seemed to like Fish ID, for example; now go take the more complete training from a REEF.org trainer.
I agree. As I've previously said, we have (non-scuba) remedial classes for those who can't figure out AOW doesn't make you automatically advanced.
 
Please reread at least some of the many threads on this on SB before you rush off and say something you might regret. The point is that the card means advanced beyond OW, NOT that you are now an advanced diver. The name is ancient, and has not changed. Only the misinterpretation of it has evolved. PADI -- who did not invent the name -- explicitly says it just means advanced beyond OW. You are only going to add to the confusion, I fear. Your presentation ought to be about "what is an advanced diver." Trying to build upon a term that already exists, is already well-defined by the training agencies, and is already confusing, serves no one well.

Not that I feel strongly about it, of course.

I don't feel that your statement advances the discussion in any way. It sounds circuitous. Nothing in what the O.P. said was confusing. Your reply is.

His thread isn't "What is an advanced diver? His thread is diving into the subject of AOW. How many new members join this forum every year? how many Scroll through all the years old threads or even months? This is a discussion forum. Disagreeing with the O.P. and saying they should not ask the question they asked isnt reasonable. Telling them to make a different point actually seems antagonistic at least it looks that way to me.
It sounds like you have a problem with PADI naming their courses incorrectly.
 
I don't feel that your statement advances the discussion in any way. It sounds circuitous. Nothing in what the O.P. said was confusing. Your reply is.

His thread isn't "What is an advanced diver? His thread is diving into the subject of AOW. How many new members join this forum every year? how many Scroll through all the years old threads or even months? This is a discussion forum. Disagreeing with the O.P. and saying they should not ask the question they asked isnt reasonable. Telling them to make a different point actually seems antagonistic at least it looks that way to me.
It sounds like you have a problem with PADI naming their courses incorrectly.
Have you read all of this thread yet, or only page 1, on which you have commented twice?
 
I disagree strongly. Brand new divers that are just learning to dive should never be taken down to 100 feet deep and dives where they are training you to find objects and do search patterns on the ocean floor. Especially when many of these classes and activities will cause brand new divers with no dives to blow through their entire tank of air in a few minutes.
Maybe divers with only four dives should not be taken to 100', yet the prerequisite for AOW class is OW and no additional dives...

I'm of the 'The name is a clear implication for those that blithely choose to not read carefully", which is most people.

Ensuring that a careful reading shows "advance your skills", yet headlining it still as getting your Advanced Open Water Diver card, is trying to play it both ways.
 
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