Advance Open Water/ Nitrox certification

[ltlax]

I recently got my open water certification in February and planning another diving trip in the Caribbean. I like hear some thoughts on how important it is to get an advance open water certification or a nitrox certification.

 

[Wijbrandus]

How many dives do you have? (No profile info).

I went on to my AOW just two dives after completing my OW certification. I feel I wasted an excellent learning opportunity, because I was too new to have a clue, and spent my time worrying about myself and my gear rather than learning what I was supposed to. I had to really focus on catching up.

I just did my nitrox course. It was pretty tough, but my head hurt from all the stuff I learned. I've yet to actually go diving on it, I haven't even recieved my card yet. You won't get the maximum benefit out of Nitrox though unless you are already reaching your NDL. The main benefit of Nitrox is an increase in allowed bottom time, with quite a few tradeoffs.

 

[ltlax]

How many dives do you have? (No profile info).

I went on to my AOW just two dives after completing my OW certification. I feel I wasted an excellent learning opportunity, because I was too new to have a clue, and spent my time worrying about myself and my gear rather than learning what I was supposed to. I had to really focus on catching up.

I just did my nitrox course. It was pretty tough, but my head hurt from all the stuff I learned. I've yet to actually go diving on it, I haven't even recieved my card yet. You won't get the maximum benefit out of Nitrox though unless you are already reaching your NDL. The main benefit of Nitrox is an increase in allowed bottom time, with quite a few tradeoffs.

I haven't dove since my OW certification. Since I just did my OW, I was wondering if taking the AOW would improve my skills.

 

[herman]

Diving with a good buddy (one who actually knows what good diving looks like) is your best bet. Take the time to practice proper weighting, trim and buoyancy control then do AOW. Doing a few simple dives near home in a quarry or even a pool before heading off on your trip is a good idea, esp if you can find an experienced diver (DM even better) to go along with you.
As for Nitrox, that may be something you want to consider depending on what you intend to do on your dive trip. If you are doing 1 or 2 reasonable dives a day Nitrox is not a lot of use. If on the other hand, you are doing a liveaboard and are doing 4-6 dives a day for a week, then Nitrox may be a good idea.

 

[Firebrand]

The answer is Yes & No - The AOW course will give you the tools (education) you need to be a better diver, but it won't give you the experience. I would specifically ask about finning techniques when you reach the search & recovery portion of your AOW in order to keep the visibility clear. Also, the number of dives you have in your log book does not necessarily reflect if you are ready for your AOW or not. Rather, a good indicator is, "How comfortable am I with the skills I learned in my OW course?" If you are quite comfortable with those skills, then I say, go ahead and take your AOW course. If you log more than 25 dives before you take your AOW, you may not learn as much from the AOW course. I would practice your buoyancy skills on every dive of your AOW course. Try to use the least amount of weight possible to maintain neutral buoyancy. You will have a much easier time in the water.

Nitrox benefits you in two ways; increasing your bottom time, and reducing the amount of time off-gasing between dives. However, it limits your maximum operating depth (MOD) depending on the richness of your particular blend. (Example: on 32% O2, your maximum operating depth is 110 feet - you'll cover the "why's" in your Nitrox course) I've heard that some people who dive Nitrox still use their computers set to regular air, (as long as they aren't diving to the MOD) to have an added level of safety, reducing the possibility of getting the bends, but I set my computer to my Nitrox blend every time I dive with it.

As for me, I just recently completed both my AOW and Nitrox courses and found them to be very beneficial. However, I grew up skin diving, and could swim since I could remember, served as a lifeguard in college, and I'm VERY comfortable in the water. If you are still a little nervous in the water, the AOW course is NOT a way to overcome that fear. It won't magically give you comfort in the water, if that is what you are seeking. I hope this helps your decision.

 

[yknot]

I haven't dove since my OW certification. Since I just did my OW, I was wondering if taking the AOW would improve my skills.

Yes and no. AOW is basically an introduction to techniques and equipment that you weren't exposed to during OW. To successfully pass most AOW classes you won't have to have mastered any of the new stuff, just become familiar with it and make a couple of dives per specialty. Take night diving, for instance, if that is one of the classes being offered with AOW. You likely didn't do any night dives or use a flashlight underwater during OW so anything taught in that regard will be new info for you, but do you think you will be proficient in night diving after a couple of supervised dives?The idea with AOW is to expose you to some more options as to your diving with the intention of diving more often than you have been. The classes will have value in that you will be reqired to make another 12 or so dives, which should improve your skills. On the otherhand, are you ready to set and follow a compass course while trying to manage your bouyancy?

 

[RonFrank]

I recently got my open water certification in February and planning another diving trip in the Caribbean. I like hear some thoughts on how important it is to get an advance open water certification or a nitrox certification.

If your diving skills allow you to relax in the water, have relatively good buoyancy without having to work hard on it, and pay attention to the depth, air, your buddy, and the surroundings you will likely benifit from AOW now. If when finding/reading your gauges you drop 10' loose your buddy, get turned around, and then forget if you need to add or dump air to get back up you should dive more before AOW. IOW's make sure you are comfortable with your diving and gear as AOW requires one to focus on things beyond that. Important things like removing screws and washers from bolts at 80' and reassembling them in record time!! :11:

BUT, keep in mind that it's the wrong time to be at 80' for the first time, have an issue, and be with a buddy who is clueless on how to deal with a newer diver with an emergancy at 80'. IMO it's MUCH safer to be doing your FIRST deep dives WITH an instructor. They are dedicated to YOUR safety, vs. a buddy who while maybe he's an OK diver, is not rescue certified, is NOT aware of other divers in the way an instructor is TRAINED to be, and may or may not be able to help you out, or even recognize you need help.

BTW, buoyancy and comfort are GOOD things to learn IN A POOL. It's MUCH harder to maintain Buoyancy at 12' then it is a 25'. I did several pool dives between my OW checkout, and my next dive. It DEFINATELY made me a better diver.

Good Luck

 

[RonFrank]

You likely didn't do any night dives or use a flashlight underwater during OW so anything taught in that regard will be new info for you, but do you think you will be proficient in night diving after a couple of supervised dives?The idea with AOW is to expose you to some more options as to your diving with the intention of diving more often than you have been. The classes will have value in that you will be reqired to make another 12 or so dives, which should improve your skills. On the otherhand, are you ready to set and follow a compass course while trying to manage your bouyancy?

At night you will have to do an out and back (PADI), so can you maintain your buoyance, focus on the compass, use the flashlight, and get back to where you started For the Nav dive (which I believe is required) you will have to do squares and triangles, but not at night, and we did this with our buddy who monitored depth.

I'm still working on those NAV circles Man are they a beoch!!

 

[friscuba]

Do you know your instructor? Maybe they could give you an idea if you are ready for the AOW class. Everyone progresses at different rates. I'm working with a guy right now who, today on dive #2 of his OW class, was able to do a motionless 3 minute hover on his safety stop (I don't require the hover, just mentioned doing the safety stop and when we got to 15' he started doing it using breath control only, I wasn't about to stop him since he was doing so well) - he's the exception, but I bet IF I wanted I could walk him through the entire AOW navigation skills in the parking lot prior to dive #3 and he'd nail it better than most of my Advanced students. He's got to so some more basic stuff and get himself certified first. Some people really need more dives to get themeseves to where the class will really pay off.

The AOW certification is a great way to get more experience and exposure to other types of diving under supervision, but it's not the end all... Have some fun. Get yourself some experience, if your instructor knows you and thinks you are ready, then there's no reason not to take the class. If he recommends you get some more experience first, then it'd probably be a good idea to do so.

First and foremost, look at your own comfort level. If you are not totally comfortable with it, just dive for some fun first and get yourself comfortable. The class can come later. Both classes are a good idea, especially if you are planning on doing a lot of diving, difficult diving, or unsupervised diving in the future... but you shouldn't be in a rush.

Have fun,

Steve

I recently got my open water certification in February and planning another diving trip in the Caribbean. I like hear some thoughts on how important it is to get an advance open water certification or a nitrox certification.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I recently got my open water certification in February and planning another diving trip in the Caribbean. I like hear some thoughts on how important it is to get an advance open water certification or a nitrox certification.

I wouldn't sweat it, unless you plan on going deep (i.e. deeper than 18 meters). Much of the AOW is gained via reading the PADI Adventures In Diving book, you can pick up one or the crewpack on ebay for cheap and read it on the plane to the Caribbean.

Just relax and enjoy the Caribbean, absorb the OW knowledge and skills, work on buoyancy control, breathing, ascents, descents.