Advanced Certification???

[Air Scooby]

I'm newly certified. I have 8 total dives. My dive shop is suggesting I go ahead and get the advanced certification. (And pay them to do it).

It's not too expensive and seems easy to get, but is it really necessary. Will dive operators refuse to take me on dives below 60-70 feet because I don't have it, esspecially since I'm new?

 

[Rookie_J]

i was certified in negril this past christmas. my first post certification dive was to 90'.

not sure about other dive operations.

I will be taking my Advanced shortly (on my way to rescue).

 

[DiveMaven]

We've been diving for over a year on our BOW certification and have never had a problem with anyone refusing to take us deeper than 60 feet. The only time we heard that we needed AOW was to dive the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo, and frankly after hearing about that dive, it's definitely not a dive for a beginner, "advanced" certification or not.

We're doing our AOW this year (soon) for the additional training (particularly the Peak Performance Bouyancy, the Navigation, and Deep) with an instructor that we like and trust. I'm one of those in the camp that think you should take AOW after you have 15-25 dives under your belt and are comfortable with your equipment and in the water, which is exactly what we're doing. But it's a very personal decision and I know there are many people who believe doing it right after BOW is the right choice for the additional supervised dives.

You just have to figure out what is right for you, but ultimately having additional training is always a good choice IMO.

 

[gstroupe]

More training is always better (IMHO) but I agree with DiveMe, before taking the advanced get comfortable with moving around in the water and with your equiptment first. This will help you focus on the new skills that you will be exposed to in the AOW class. For example, be comfortable with exactly how much weight you need when diving so that when you are in the AOW class you will not have to keep trying to tweak your bouyancy when performing navigation skills. Most important of all...have fun. Cheers.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

I'm newly certified. I have 8 total dives. My dive shop is suggesting I go ahead and get the advanced certification. (And pay them to do it).

It's not too expensive and seems easy to get, but is it really necessary. Will dive operators refuse to take me on dives below 60-70 feet because I don't have it, esspecially since I'm new?

Ah, must be PADI. It's kind of wierd to be able to get your AOW at only 8 dives. Anyways, with SSI, you can only get your AOW at 24 dives with 4 specialities.

In the end, I skipped both my Specialty Diver and AOW and went straight to my Master Diver (4 specialities + stress & rescue) after the 50 required dives. Mind you, SSI didn't charge me extra to go deeper with my OW to begin with.

My opinion is that there is no rush to go out for your AOW or go deeper immediately. Get comfortable with your diving first before you put yourself into a new situation. You are still learning your basics and getting comfortable at 8 dives.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

OK I got on a dive boat once and the questions asked were what level, how many dives and when was the last time I dove.

I was put in group A.

The guy behind me was OW only and have only a few dives, none of them within a few months.

He was group C.

Our leader took us into a beautiful cavern and the instructions were to stay off the bottom, we did. Group B entered the cavern after we left and someone in their group mucked it up enough that Group C never got to enter.

We all paid the same price.

Some operations won't take you on their boat if they've planned an advanced dive. Some will take you but charge you for a babysitter. Some operations could care less.

 

[616fun]

Don't look at it as 'Advanced' Open Water. Think of it more as 'diving with professional supervision.'

5 more dives isn't going to make you advanced, but it will help you be exposed to different diving environments (deep, night, etc) with someone trained to expose you to them.

 

[SteveDiver]

OK I got on a dive boat once and the questions asked were what level, how many dives and when was the last time I dove.

I was put in group A.

The guy behind me was OW only and have only a few dives, none of them within a few months.

He was group C.

Our leader took us into a beautiful cavern and the instructions were to stay off the bottom, we did. Group B entered the cavern after we left and someone in their group mucked it up enough that Group C never got to enter.

We all paid the same price.

Some operations won't take you on their boat if they've planned an advanced dive. Some will take you but charge you for a babysitter. Some operations could care less.

I agree...well stated. I took my AO in Hawaii after finding out that I could not dive the wrecks 108'. So, I paid for aow(NAUI), went to class and was able to do my deep dives that was incorporated into the class. In AOW I learned a lot and it was beneficial. Do not rush to get your AOW you have to be comfortable diving first. Diving education should not be rushed. I have a problem with divers that make a quick mad dash to become a DM or Instructor. You know the ones that make 8 dives a day in 10 feet of water for 10 minutes at a time? I have met one person that did this and he was bragging about how fast he became a DM. To me it is ridiculus and he was more concerned with the so-called certification then actually having the experience needed. I am in no hurry to become a DM or Instructor when I do get there I will have the experience. People that cheat the system is like a surgeon that has a degree but never did a surgery...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Don't look at it as 'Advanced' Open Water. Think of it more as 'diving with professional supervision.'

5 more dives isn't going to make you advanced, but it will help you be exposed to different diving environments (deep, night, etc) with someone trained to expose you to them.

Depends on who you take the course with. If you took it with me, you'd come out with some real skills, including ...

- how to develop a dive plan, and execute that plan during the dive
- how to determine how much air (or nitrox) you breathe at a given depth
- how to develop a dive plan based on the amount of breathing gas you have available
- how to control your buoyancy to do mid-water ascents and safety stops without the use of a line
- how to use breathing techniques to control your buoyancy during the dive
- how to descend and stop without touching or mucking up the bottom
- how to communicate with, and work with, your dive buddy
- how to recognize common diving problems and respond to them before they become diving emergencies
- how to navigate underwater using a combination of compass and natural navigation techniques
- how to deploy a surface marker buoy, and under what circumstances you'd want to deploy one
- how to locate an object lost on the bottom, and retrieve it using a standard open-cell lift bag

Those techniques may not make you an advanced diver, but I guarantee they'd make you competent to plan and execute your own dives in variety of diving environments, and do it in a safe and controlled manner.

The dive instructor who's going to sell you the class as nothing more than a few supervised dives is selling you short ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[elliptikal]

I personally feel everyone should become atleast stress/rescue training certified if they plan on diving often and without assistance of a professional. I'm not too concerned on what the dive boats think I can't do, I'm more concerned knowing what I can do.

You're responsable for your own life in the end so the more training the better. I also would like to know I can help other diver in need if the dive goes bad for any reason. I could not sleep at night knowing a few extra days of training could have saved my buddy if something happened.

I enjoy continuing my certifications and everytime I pick someones brain who's more experienced then myself I learn so much.