AOW & Nitrox course - What to expect?

[Disco King]

Hi,

I have an upcoming liveaboard to Socorro, Jan 2019. I plan to take an AOW and Nitrox course (in Cabo San Lucas) to improve buoyancy and dive better in current.

Would you please let me know how a good solid AOW and Nitrox class look like? I am contacting a few local shops and it will allow me to pick the right shop.

Based on initial info local dive shops sent.. One recommended to upgrad the AOW to Nitorx course (they offer Nitrox as part of AOW specialty dives you can chose from and with extra cost they can upgrade it to a Nitrox certificate course), the other said take a 'seperate' nitrox class.

Do you recommend Nitrox for Socorro? What are pros and cons of Nitrox dive? Someone suggested not doing nitrox in Socorro as he would occasionally go deep following sharks (unintentionally).

 

[Marie13]

Why don’t you do the nitrox course at home before your trip? It’s a few hours doing the e-learning with a few hours in the shop reviewing what you learned and learning how to analyze tanks. It shouldn’t require any dives.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Nitrox is an Elearing course, then go over any theory you’re unsure of with your instructor, and carry out the practical of analysising 3 cylinders, labelling them and completing the paperwork. There is also a small exam. Or you can read the book and carry out the knowledge reviews. There is no diving requirement.

If your doing AOW on a liveaboard, your only going to be able to do the dives available in the locations you visit. If buoyancy is something you want to improve on, you may want to take a separate class. I run my PPB over 2 days with the first really sorting out the fundamentals the second day you get to put the skills into practice.

My own AOW was rubbish, so I make sure that as an instructor my students learn, rather than going through the motions

 

[JackD342]

My understanding is AOW can be quite different depending on agency - I know PADI, but not the others. So, there’s that...

Yes, do the EAN before the trip (PADI eLearning?) and get the card. You will use it. Once you understand it, you might find yourself using air on the first, deeper dive or two of the day, and then EAN afternoon and night. If you really try to do all the diving you can on a live aboard, your profiles might be more limited on air than you want.

If you want to have EAN count towards PADI AOW, you have to do a formalized dive to have it count. Can’t just count the cert you received using EAN simulated dives. But you’re not really learning anything new that way, so only consider that If you find they don’t offer a 5th dive that appeals to you.

Any thoughts of doIng any other Specialties on the trip? (Night, Deep, Peak Performance Bouyancy, Fish ID, etc...) If so, a PADI Specialty can count towards your PADI AOW. You can’t count one from another agency.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

As @Marie13 already suggested. I'd recommend getting nitrox at home as it is purely academic. Inadvertently exceeding your MOD is an awareness problem, that can be addressed in a number of ways.

I don't know where you are in the US. I'm assuming a diveable body of water is not conveniently close? (or possibly just conditions you have no interest in diving) Is that why you want to train during your vacation? In general, I think the basic courses should be done at home, including courses like GUE fundies (from which you will benefit the greatest).

I'd only travel to train with specific experts for specific topics that require a high level of experience and skill, like Andy Davis, Tomas Michura, Sami Paakarinen, Steve Martin.

 

[rongoodman]

You really do need Nitrox for your liveaboard trip. Without it, you'll be bumping up against the NDLs when doing mutiple dives over multiple days. Depending on the boat's policies, they might want AOW for the deeper dives. Beyond that, what you'll get out of a random AOW course is pretty much of a crap shoot. I'd look into getting some training before you leave, even if it's just in a pool. Knowing where you are would help people here recommend instructors for you. There are some really good courses around that you'll never hear about otherwise. For example, if you're in the NYC-Hartford area, Scuba Shack in Rocky Hills, CN, does a nice class called Core Principles, which is the next best thing to GUE Fundies, taught at a more relaxed pace.

 

[Disco King]

Makes sense! The shop in MX I contacted proposed 1 Nitrox dive as one of the specialty dive options so I did not know it is just theory. Thanks!

Why don’t you do the nitrox course at home before your trip? It’s a few hours doing the e-learning with a few hours in the shop reviewing what you learned and learning how to analyze tanks. It shouldn’t require any dives.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Makes sense! The shop in MX I contacted proposed 1 Nitrox dive as one of the specialty dive options so I did not know it is just theory. Thanks!

There is some hands on (doing the calibration and measuring an enriched air cylinder) that require you to meet an instructor in person.

With regards to the AOW course. Do you dive a BP/W? If so, I'd really recommend taking GUE fundies instead (or similar). Even if you don't earn a recreational pass, you will improve dramatically as a diver.

 

[Disco King]

Wow. You land on little doubt I had - I was not sure how "one" specialty dive as part of AOW improves buoyance. My open water was rubbish (I just bought the certificate without knowing what I was doing). So I wanted to ensure I get quality of education on my continuing education

My buayncy has been perfect until I started to wear 5 mm. I usually dive in 3mm, warm water. It got massed up last summer when I first wore 5mm in South Komodo. My body wanted to float at each safety stop while it sinks at the bottom. So I was not able to increase weight as there was no happy medium.

I was planning to do AOW before my liveaboard starts (not on liveaboard). While it will be a good idea to do it where I live, there is no open water dives at this time (lake is the only option in summer here). It sounds like my best bet is taking eLearning then do practicedives when I get to Cabo San Lucas which is my first and last open water scuba diving location.

Appreciate your advice.

Nitrox is an Elearing course, then go over any theory you’re unsure of with your instructor, and carry out the practical of analysising 3 cylinders, labelling them and completing the paperwork. There is also a small exam. Or you can read the book and carry out the knowledge reviews. There is no diving requirement.

If your doing AOW on a liveaboard, your only going to be able to do the dives available in the locations you visit. If buoyancy is something you want to improve on, you may want to take a separate class. I run my PPB over 2 days with the first really sorting out the fundamentals the second day you get to put the skills into practice.

My own AOW was rubbish, so I make sure that as an instructor my students learn, rather than going through the motions

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Wow. You land on little doubt I had - I was not sure how "one" specialty dive as part of AOW improves buoyance. My open water was rubbish (I just bought the certificate without knowing what I was doing). So I wanted to ensure I get quality of education on my continuing education

My buayncy has been perfect until I started to wear 5 mm. I usually dive in 3mm, warm water. It got massed up last summer when I first wore 5mm in South Komodo. My body wanted to float at each safety stop while it sinks at the bottom. So I was not able to increase weight as there was no happy medium.

I was planning to do AOW before my liveaboard starts (not on liveaboard). While it will be a good idea to do it where I live, there is no open water dives at this time (lake is the only option in summer here). It sounds like my best bet is taking eLearning then do practicedives when I get to Cabo San Lucas which is my first and last open water scuba diving location.

Appreciate your advice.

Maybe you can train with Luke Inman (lukeinman.com) before you get on the boat? While I haven't met him in person nor seen him teach, I've heard very good things about his dive op from some equally retentive instructors like me.

An AOW course can be really valuable if the instructor requires you to master the skills instead of checking off that you completed them. When I taught in the PADI system, I chose the adventure dives (PPB, DSMB, and night). The PPB adventure dive was a gatekeeper. My student who is now getting a GUE technical fundies pass took about 5 tries before being allowed to continue on. If your buoyancy and trim are not of sufficient quality, the navigation, especially during the night dive, are going to be a mess.

And don't beat yourself up about a bad OW course. You don't know what you don't know. You and I could possible argue back and forth on who had the worse class! Oh the violations......