Advanced Open Water Disappointment

[tursiops]

I’ve been told this several times and realized- my classes were private. So I keep imagining it being only one AOW student by themselves w/o an instructor

The instructor will be your buddy on a private class. He cannot send you off alone

 

[scrane]

For me AOW is all about the ticket that is, good or bad, admission to a lot of boats.

 

[kaylee_ann]

The instructor will be your buddy on a private class. He cannot send you off alone

right. but I thought OP or someone in the thread had mentioned the instructor basically leaving them to their own devices

 

[tursiops]

right. but I thought OP or someone in the thread had mentioned the instructor basically leaving them to their own devices

On some AOW dives, the instructor can indirectly supervise, usually meaning watch from the surface, boat, dock, while the buddy pair goes off and does the dive.

 

[Forbin's Descent]

right. but I thought OP or someone in the thread had mentioned the instructor basically leaving them to their own devices

May be what i mentioned. The instructor from my LDS will let a newly certified AOW diver take a AOW diver in training on the dives while he deals with the OW water class on the platforms. I didn't think that was good but apparently it meets the PADI standards.

 

[kaylee_ann]

May be what i mentioned. The instructor from my LDS will let a newly certified AOW diver take a AOW diver in training on the dives while he deals with the OW water class on the platforms. I didn't think that was good but apparently it meets the PADI standards.

sounds maybe like that. that's ridiculous. don't you have to be a DM or instructor assistant to do that?

 

[tursiops]

The instructor from my LDS will let a newly certified AOW diver take a AOW diver in training on the dives while he deals with the OW water class on the platforms. I didn't think that was good but apparently it meets the PADI standards.

sounds maybe like that. that's ridiculous. don't you have to be a DM or instructor assistant to do that?

I'll try explaining this again.
Some AOW/specialty dives allow indirect supervision by the instructor; that means the instructor does not have to be on the dive with the student, but needs to be available if needed and in charge and ready to dive, etc.
Some AOW dives do NOT allow indirect supervision; notably Deep or ANY dive deeper than 60 ft.
So what ForDes saw might have been perfectly within standards, depending on the dive. Two certified students going off together on a dive, one of them doing the skills associated with whatever training they were doing, the othr being a buddy.

Whether indirect supervision is a good idea or not is a separate question.
The two issues are safey and training.
Safety is probably not compromised for shallow dives where the new skill involved in the dive is minor. An example might be Fish ID or U/W Photography; buoyancy is about the only issue.
The training aspect of the dive might be able to be evaluated just fine after or during the dive with indirect supervision; an example is dive #2 of the Navigation class. The student has to swim a given course and direction to find a hidden slate that has on it the next course and direction; this goes on for several slates; the last slate might say, "go home." so keeping track of where you are during the "treasure hunt" is important. That dive can be observed from the surface quite well, by watching bubbles. So indirect supervision works for that dive, so long as it is at less than 60 ft.

However, it is my opinion that even if the instructor is not required to be with the student, it works out possibly better and never worse to be there. Except for the final solo dive of the course. I think that needs to be a solo dive...because solo diving is a head trip....so I like to do that one with indirect supervision.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

However, it is my opinion that even if the instructor is not required to be with the student, it works out possibly better and never worse to be there. Except for the final solo dive of the course. I think that needs to be a solo dive...because solo diving is a head trip....so I like to do that one with indirect supervision.

I'd follow my solo student underwater to ensure nothing happens to them. What if they were to encounter an entanglement hazard and are able to free themselves? In the Puget Sound, they will have a tough time seeing me if I don't turn on a light and hang back 10 feet.

 

[Corby B]

I did my AOW in Cozumel and there was much less instruction than I had anticipated. I did about 15 dives with that outfit during the trip, but the only specialty dive that came with any instruction was the navigation dive, and that instruction was minimal, probably in part because I was already comfortable with a compass. About half of the dives would have qualified as a deep dive, but I couldn't tell you which one counted for the AOW since there really wasn't any instruction. I read the whole PADI AOW book during the trip and completed all of the knowledge reviews but nobody ever looked at it or went over it with me. I don't even know what the other 3 specialty dives were that I got to officially sample for my AOW. I'm guessing the outfit signed off on some random combination like drift, boat, buoyancy or naturalist/fish ID. I got the impression that vacationing students often want laid back instruction and outfits like this one don't mind being overly casual with it all.

 

[tursiops]

I did my AOW in Cozumel and there was much less instruction than I had anticipated. I did about 15 dives with that outfit during the trip, but the only specialty dive that came with any instruction was the navigation dive, and that instruction was minimal, probably in part because I was already comfortable with a compass. About half of the dives would have qualified as a deep dive, but I couldn't tell you which one counted for the AOW since there really wasn't any instruction. I read the whole PADI AOW book during the trip and completed all of the knowledge reviews but nobody ever looked at it or went over it with me. I don't even know what the other 3 specialty dives were that I got to officially sample for my AOW. I'm guessing the outfit signed off on some random combination like drift, boat, buoyancy or naturalist/fish ID. I got the impression that vacationing students often want laid back instruction and outfits like this one don't mind being overly casual with it all.

Please name the dive shop/instructor and send your report to PADI training. If people don't speak up, this kind of crap will continue. You got screwed; don't help others get the same treatment.