AOW in FL: Key Largo, West Palm Beach, etc.?

[PoolsOpen]

I agree that WPB is a bit more advanced than Key Largo.

Maybe you can stop at WPB first and do AOW there, then when you hit Key Largo you can dive the deep wrecks. If you're not AOW you will not be able to dive the deep wrecks in Key Largo.

Another option is to do AOW at Key Largo. You will gain confidence and skills doing 5 dives and hopefully 2 deep wrecks while there.

Once you go to WPB you can hire a guide for you first day of drift diving. It is a new skill but you will gain confidence after the 1st time you do it. Narcosis dive boat at WPB puts a divemaster in the water and you can just dive as part of the group and stay close to him/her..

 

[Key Largo Dive Center]

We're actually going to be closed those days to dry dock the boat and do it's annual maintenance. I'm so sorry.

 

[LandonL]

@Barnaby'sDad

A few of us teach on flexible schedules around Pompano/Fort Lauderdale. Here you have beach diving at LBTS which is great if the boats are not going out. There are however several dive ops in the area so almost always a boat with available seats.

2 days to do 'advanced' is really pushing it. One could certainly do the dives and the minimum required dives and skills in that time, but it would be pretty long days, and you really are not getting to an 'advanced' level in two days of training.

I am available in the area for flexible training schedules, or I would suggest Drew Dye at PDC, or Ryan Custureri at Aqui Watersports.

Cheers,
Landon

 

[gr8jab]

I did my AOW at Rainbow Reef. It was OK. I didn't learn a lot, but I had 50+ dives already.

If you just want the card, because some dive ops require it, go Rainbow Reef. You'll get it done quickly and efficiently, with minimal hassle. Your instructor will likely be an intern, who may (or may not) have much teaching experience.

I did my Self Reliant with Pete Murray (Scubaboard's owner). Only after that did I regretted the lost opportunity that was my AOW. From now on, I will seek out premium instructors like Pete. Unfortunately for you, he no longer lives in the Keys. But, he knows the Key Largo dive community well, and might give you a name.

Please don't get me wrong, I like Rainbow Reef, and still use them whenever I go down there.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I agree that WPB is a bit more advanced than Key Largo.

Maybe you can stop at WPB first and do AOW there, then when you hit Key Largo you can dive the deep wrecks. If you're not AOW you will not be able to dive the deep wrecks in Key Largo.

Another option is to do AOW at Key Largo. You will gain confidence and skills doing 5 dives and hopefully 2 deep wrecks while there.

Once you go to WPB you can hire a guide for you first day of drift diving. It is a new skill but you will gain confidence after the 1st time you do it. Narcosis dive boat at WPB puts a divemaster in the water and you can just dive as part of the group and stay close to him/her..

Schedule wise...that's not going to be an option for this trip. My brother already firmed up our accommodations in Key Largo for the early portion of my leave. If I hit WPB, it'll have to be after my time in the Keys.

I'm fine with that for my first trip down there. My most recent dives...the visibility was so bad that I wouldn't have seen a whale if it was 10' in front of me. I'll be blown away by the scenery around Key Largo, regardless of what depth I get to experience it from.

We're actually going to be closed those days to dry dock the boat and do it's annual maintenance. I'm so sorry.

Thank you for the heads-up on that. I would like some Dive Rite items, so I may stop by the shop...time permitting.

@Barnaby'sDad

A few of us teach on flexible schedules around Pompano/Fort Lauderdale. Here you have beach diving at LBTS which is great if the boats are not going out. There are however several dive ops in the area so almost always a boat with available seats.

2 days to do 'advanced' is really pushing it. One could certainly do the dives and the minimum required dives and skills in that time, but it would be pretty long days, and you really are not getting to an 'advanced' level in two days of training.

I am available in the area for flexible training schedules, or I would suggest Drew Dye at PDC, or Ryan Custureri at Aqui Watersports.

Cheers,
Landon

I'll keep that in mind, thank you. What I'm hoping is that if my brother heads home early on 1/15...I could (in theory) start a class around noon and...perhaps...knock out two dives that day. That could put the class length at 2.5 days, which might be a more reasonable expectation than two days.

Thank you for the recommendations.

I did my AOW at Rainbow Reef. It was OK. I didn't learn a lot, but I had 50+ dives already.

If you just want the card, because some dive ops require it, go Rainbow Reef. You'll get it done quickly and efficiently, with minimal hassle. Your instructor will likely be an intern, who may (or may not) have much teaching experience.

I did my Self Reliant with Pete Murray (Scubaboard's owner). Only after that did I regretted the lost opportunity that was my AOW. From now on, I will seek out premium instructors like Pete. Unfortunately for you, he no longer lives in the Keys. But, he knows the Key Largo dive community well, and might give you a name.

Please don't get me wrong, I like Rainbow Reef, and still use them whenever I go down there.

The main reason that I'm getting the AOW card is that it's required by dive operators for a lot of dives that I'm interested in. That being said...I want to get more out of it than just a certification card. That's the reason I went the route I did for my OW (independent instructor with a small class size).

 

[noj3333]

I'll chime in again... risking the fact that I'll sound like a RR fanboy I'd say you really should at least call them if you're going to Key Largo. It's the only operator I've used there, not by my choice though... this past week I wanted to explore some of the other shops, I contacted two different shops... one didn't have boats going out all week, and one never replied back to my online request.

With RR I'd only go with them if I could request my teacher... like I said I was just with them for a week, so I can suggest several good, VERY experience, people... Aqua, Jridin, Phil, James, Gia... they come to mind... the first four I named have been with RR for awhile, and are not some fresh high school grad who just started diving a few months ago.

With diving in Key Largo in January you'll more then likely end up on their boats anyways... they always have enough paying customers to go out, and they have big Newton boats. The other shops send divers to them when they're not going out... out of the 10 different times I went out there were 'other boat' divers on maybe 3 or 4 of our trips. RR also does a lot of training... again out of the 10 trips I did, I saw maybe 6 or 7 classes (Discover, OW, AOW, or Rescue). Almost all of them appeared to be 'private', more by chance then anything else... it's their slow season, so fewer divers in general, and fewer classes I suspect...

Again, all of this is just in my opinion, but call them, check on the above mentioned teachers, and at least hear their sales pitch (in addition to the other shops too)... They run a solid operation, at in January the boat will be far from a 'cattle boat' but rather a 42' Newton, with 8-12 other divers on it... whatever you chose, try to spend a day before, and a day after doing some 'fun dives'... it's worth it once you're there...

 

[PoolsOpen]

@noj3333
+1 on Aqua, Jardin, and James. These guys are squared away. Nothing negative on the other two, I just havent had the pleasure of diving with them...

 

[noj3333]

@noj3333
+1 on Aqua, Jardin, and James. These guys are squared away. Nothing negative on the other two, I just havent had the pleasure of diving with them...

Another great instructor I saw was Yardi...

If @Barnaby'sDad wants any specific info on the above mentioned instructors PM me...

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

@noj3333 , I appreciate that. At this point, I'm leaning towards doing AOW in/around Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach. Why? A few things:

1. It will likely be a while before I make it down to southern Florida again. I only have about a week and I'd like to check out more than just Key Largo on this trip.

2. We will have our own boat. I've been picking out potential dive sites for the past couple of days (my brother is handling picking out fishing spots). By the time my brother heads home on 1/15 and I'm on my own...I should have had a chance to hit most of the popular dive spots, with the exception of the deep ones, which I can save for next time.

3. I think I'd get more out of taking the AOW course at a new location with diving conditions that I have not experienced before (ex. Drift diving).

I appreciate the feedback that everyone has provided. I'm looking forward to my first diving vacation/trip.

 

[noj3333]

Enjoy that first dive trip, and please report back with conditions/ your experience... I've never thought of the Ft. Lauderdale area as a dive destination... maybe that'll change.