100' before aow... how and why?

[adurso]

When I first went to 100 feet and beyond there was no such thing as "AOW"...

Why? To see a U Boat before the U Boat locations became common knowledge

 

[Lopaka]

I honestly don't ever see myself taking an AOW course.....snip.....
I suspect the only class I will ever take after this is Rescue Diver, though I suppose a Nitrox class may be down the line

FWIW, I think AOW or equivalent is required for Rescue, and possibly EAN by most agencies. At least it was 10+ years ago.

AOW is no big deal, and the navigation part should be mandatory for all divers, not just an elective. You won't always have a DM to lead you around.

 

[catskill diver]

in my short diving life - I have seen AOW divers who could not find a white horse in a green field and even certified divers who couldnt set up their own gear !!
You are only as good as the instructor who certified you and the dives you have made - taking all things learned; applying them, remembering them and diving within YOUR comfort zone. My first OW dive was to 90' with many beyond, feeling very comfortable with myself and my ability.

There was no box on your questionare that was appropriate. Cat

 

[ereediver]

This is an intersesting thread. Everyone seems concerned about that mythical 100 foot mark. I have 5 years and just under 70 dives . I know not a blazing number, but I have been in everything from temps of 80 degrees to 39 degrees. Viz from 100 feet to 6 inches, fresh and salt, from shore and boat, in current, surf and waves. What I have not been is to 100 feet. 80 is my max. Why because thats where the bottoms have been. If I lived somewhere else I guess that might be different.
I did answer the pole because I did take AOW before I got below 60 feet. That glass still did not give me as much information and "confidence" as diving with the people I dive with. Plus I took it upon myself to take it slow and learn in steps. My point here is; whats the big mystery of under 60 feet. In most cases there is plenty to see, and you can see it longer above 60 feet. Of course if you have to get below 60 feet to see anything, your in a diffrent situation all together

 

[novicediver]

My first ocean dive my senior year in high school was to ~85 feet and this was 1988. I don't remember the recommendation of the time. I was with my marine biology instructor a dive instructor from the school I was attending and a few other teachers from the classes. I didn't think anything of it at the time and I am not sure it was such a big deal now.

 

[TMHeimer]

With 6 total dives (incl.checkouts) I waited 2 1/2 months of our 3 months in winter while snowbirding on the Fla. Panhandle for ANY boat to go out. The instructor on board (not mine) asked if I felt comfortable to go to 75 feet. I said yeah I guess so, and I went.

 

[novicediver]

There really isn't anything magical about 60' vs 80' vs 100'. Conditions vary so greatly that have nothing to do with the depth. My own .02 psi is that time be spent on situational awareness and how to recognize trouble before it starts rather than some arbitrary number on your depth gauge.

 

[Aigtbootbp]

I made my first 100ft dive with just my OW, I looked all around, didn't see any of the Scuba police so I went for it.
I survived.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

I know DD didn't ask for feedback on the poll, but personally I'd have included:

"Never broken the recommended depths limits set by my agency."

 

[fjpatrum]

FWIW, I think AOW or equivalent is required for Rescue, and possibly EAN by most agencies. At least it was 10+ years ago.

AOW is no big deal, and the navigation part should be mandatory for all divers, not just an elective. You won't always have a DM to lead you around.

Actually the PADI requirement is "Adventure Diver", which may mean AOW or not. I'm a little unclear about that but I think "adventure" is a step towards AOW.

Rescue Diver Primary and Secondary Care Courses - PADI Scuba Diving Training Organization

Either way, I suspect any shop I went into would allow me to take the class though they may request a "checkout" dive before hand. All the shops I've spoken to had number of dive requirements but nothing else and many said if I wanted to take it with less dives they'd just do a checkout of my skills to make sure I wasn't going to be overwhelmed by the class. That might be breaking the standards a bit, but in this case, I think that's not a problem.

Requiring extra certifications before rescue (other than CPR) is akin to saying you have to go through high school before you can be allowed to read, in my opinion. It's just plain stupid. In my opinion, rescue diving should still be part of the basic OW course, but since it's not, I think every diver should take rescue before AOW. Especially before deep specialties and the like, where chances of "mishaps" increase by a fair margin due to the possibility of being narc'd.

I think anyone who didn't get at least a rough idea of how to navigate in OW was shortchanged. I have exactly 4 dives with a DM leading me around (2 during my training) and plan to have very few more in the future. I'm sure I'd learn something valuable in an AOW course, but honestly I'd rather just dive with more experienced divers and learn from them. Any "theory" I can (and do) learn on my own, I don't need someone to read it to me. Questions I have get asked here, which so far has provided far more enlightening responses than any single instructor can provide, no matter how good the instructor.