"Advanced Divers Only..."

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GameChanger

ScubaBoard Supporter
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
468
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Location
Frisco, TX USA
# of dives
500 - 999
I see this a lot with various Dive-Ops for certain dive trips and I have always been curious as to what it really means.
I have posted an example from Aldora in Cozumel. MX.

There are many other Dive-Ops who have this "requirement".

So, what exactly does "Advanced Divers Only" mean or require?
I do not believe an AOW certification makes you an "advanced diver". The various certification agencies clearly state this for their AOW courses. Is it a GUE Fundies card?

Is it subjective? Is it the number of dives? I would argue that I can be a daily recreational single-tank diver in warm shallow tropical water and never acquire any advanced diving skills.
Is it based upon your dive log? Is there a test?

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I think the last line in the ad answers your question.
" and you must be diving with us for a few days prior..."
Dressel's requires 50 dives before taking you to Punta Sur but I wouldn't call it advanced. Just a little deeper than usual.
 
This question has been debated perhaps 500 times on ScubaBoard, so you may want to search for past threads for differing points of view.

The Advanced Open Water certification was created in the mid 1960s by Orange County in California and then picked up by NAUI. The goal was to give divers a taste of different kinds of diving in order to pique their interest and keep them diving. They had noticed that many divers got OW certification and then dropped out. Back then, OW and AOW were pretty much it for dive certifications, so it really was the advanced course. Since then, countless far more advanced certifications have been created, but that half-century old name remains.

Many dive operations require the AOW certification or equivalent for diving the more advanced dives. By doing this, they imply that greater level of difficulty and create an objective measure of the diver's ability. By objective, I mean that the dive operation will not be making a subjective judgment but will instead use a certification provided by someone else as a measure. That way, if you have a problem because of your lack of skill, it was not their fault for faulty judgment. In many cases, it is a requirement of their insurance.

In other cases, they will require that certification and require some form of checkout dive in which they do use their judgment. That is what is happening here.

In general, the word "advanced" in the requirement means "advanced enough to do this dive and pay us to do it," not "ready for the diving hall of fame."

EDIT: I meant LA County, not Orange County.
 
...The Advanced Open Water certification was created in the mid 1960s by Orange County in California and then picked up by NAUI...
Did you mean LA County?

Advanced means whatever the operator says it does. Sometimes it's having AOW. Or, it could be a number of "recent" dives to some depth is sufficient. Sometimes a certain number of lifetime dives is required. A number of dives under certain conditions, cold water for instance, may be required. Sometimes it is a checkout dive, experience with an operator, or previous experience with an operator. One would think that experience would be verified in some way, such as a dive log. Whatever they say.
 
In this case it basically means the ability to keep your act together under less than ideal/challenging conditions. And it is determined by them as they watch you dive.
 
In my area it means:

* You're going 3 digits deep
* You WILL be approached by sharks - look at your gauge.
* Forget your awesome SAC rate-it's meaningless when things get crazy down there.
* You'll need some steels cause those little tin can's won't cut it
* You'll surface a mile from where you got dropped in. That $9.99 3ft noodle won't work
* You need a reel or something with 30ft of line on it.
* No Air, No 36%.....Gotta be 32 or 28
* You're not going to avoid turning on the deco button on your computer
* Your 15 year old conservative Suunto isn't good enough
* Probably need someone to vouch for you if your 1st time.
* If you're late to the boat, then you were distracted {Distracted divers are bad}
* It's not valet, carry your own tanks.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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