Continuing Education... Your thoughts?

[TheRedHead]

After OW class, I felt competent to dive in the conditions in which I received my training. I dived with my buddy (who was 10 dives ahead) in a quarry and in the Keys. The quarry was easy in spite of poor viz because you couldn't really get lost, no currents, surge or having to find a boat. The Keys presented more navigational challenges because some of the sites were spur and groove formations making it more difficult to keep track of your position and then find the anchor line. It was shallow enough to surface and take a bead on the boat. I then went to Belize, Roatan and Cozumel and gained a lot of experience.

When we took AOW after 60 or 70 dives, our instructor tried to challenge and task load us. We did the deep and navigation dives first. The 3rd dive was PPB where we practiced buoyancy exercises and were challenged to naviage while maintaining neutral bouyancy (not moving up and down the in the water column). On the 4th dive, we had to map a wreck which tied everything in. It was deep - 100 feet to the sand - so we had to manage gas. We used nagivation techniques measuring the wreck with armspans. We had to log this data and draw a map while underwater. The last dive was a night dive where we had to navigate with a compass while maintaining buoyancy and using the flashlight.

I think a diver grows in skills and confidence with a combination of classroom and experience, particularly experience where you're not dependent on a DM or instructor.

 

[bclancey]

I plan to dive a few more times before taking my AOW course, because I learn better with a little more experience with the basics.
We are also lucky, because we access to cold water, ocean dive sites with flat bottoms to prevent runaway descents while trying to figure out buoyancy control. I can work on trim, buoyancy and navigation with my son -- who is moving at the exact same pace as me -- in a relatively safe environment.
My reason for taking is AOW is to be able to take Rescue Diving -- which I think would be the most important certification to receive.
However, I was surprised when my LDS said I could get my Master Diver cert by October or November of next year. I would have thought you need to have a minimum number of dives under your belt before getting any of the various certifications. I would have expected to need another dozen or more dives before qualifying for AOW and certainly something approaching 100 logged dives before being able to get your Master certification.
Maybe this is the case. Maybe this is not.
But, if it only takes money to advance while clutching your instructor in the water, then the certification levels cannot mean much.

 

[Gary D.]

I’m going to keep this simple.

From the time I started in 62 until now I have never stopped training.

This year alone I have spent almost 3 full day weeks training and getting re-certified. By the end of the year we should be over 3 weeks.

Should it stop? Never!

Gary D.

 

[spectrum]

It wasn't meant at a shot to any diver but to the dive training industry. I think as I stated that is mis-sold as extended OW.

My wife and I are examples. Once certified I felt good to go in shallow (20-30') fresh and salt local water that I knew well from skin-diving. She would not have led such dives but together (her and I) and alone (no other divers) we were fine and had good dives.

If she had been getting certified solo without a trusted and more confident buddy she would have wanted additional direct help be it from a mentor, hiring a DM to shadow a few dives or end up doing AOW. At that point the prime AOW specialties (deep & night) would not have served her well. She would have made the dives and gotten a confidence boost but would have been diving way past her foundation. She liked navigating from the get-go.

As you gleaned and as I said the AOW early on approach works for many and I'm happy for all of you. Just remember that this sport has an enormous drop-out rate and I have to ask what percentage of the rate is due to divers going home with a C-card but feeling toatlly inadequate to dive?

As a wise LDS owner is fond of saying what works for you works for you.

Pete

Spectrum, I'm sure you don't mean this as a "shot" to myself or the people who posted that taking AOW shortly after their certification helped with their confidence. There is a big difference with not comfortable enough diving with other inexperienced divers after a whopping 4 dives and someone who is "hesitant".

Also, I didn't say, nor did the other posters that they had inadequate training. Actually, I think my OW training was excellent. As I watch other divers, some with significantly more "experience" than I have, I am convinced my OW & AOW training was excellent.

To your point as I said in an early post maybe the problem is calling it "Advanced". I like the poster who called it OW2. You're closing statement seems to support this position.

In this and other threads where diverse opinions are encouraged, we need to be careful we don't make gross generalizations.

 

[spectrum]

I would have expected to need another dozen or more dives before qualifying for AOW and certainly something approaching 100 logged dives before being able to get your Master certification.

Next time you see him or her ask how many dives and diversity of experience are required to become an instructor. I've read some amazing answers to that one too!

Pete

 

[mcclete22]

I started working on my AOW right after my OW cert. Main reason was I wanted to learn all I could and try to get more experience. I felt like I could dive after my OW, but I wanted to be a better diver and continue to learn all I could. I also started going with the local dive club for experience. I wanted more knowledge, more experience, and more comfort. I also am interested in the rescue diver course. Did taking the AOW make me a better diver? Not really, but it helps move you in that direction I think.

 

[joe rock]

Next time you see him or her ask how many dives and diversity of experience are required to become an instructor. I've read some amazing answers to that one too!

Pete

Pete, in this and the previous post you make some very good points. What does it take from an experience standpoint?

I was lucky in picking a great LDS and getting two awesome instructors. Actually, the LDS owner (and my AOW instructor) is the regulator, not the accelerator. The agency and the instructor really do make all the difference don't they? Instructor even more than the agency. The questions are not only the motivation of the "student" but the motivation of the instructor too.

As I said in my original post, part of the problem is the interpetation of the "Advanced Course".

The following is directly from NAUI website:

"Let your underwater adventure continue! Apply your scuba skills as you explore new dive sites and activities under the supervision and training of your NAUI Instructor.... Gain more confidence and capability. Begin to consider the direction diving will take you, as you go for everything it has to offer.
The Advanced Scuba Diver course is an enjoyable certification course... certified divers who desire additional training, have moved from one diving area to another and desire local orientation, do not have, but wish to obtain, NAUI certification, or who desire orientation to a variety of diving sites and conditions. "

That actually described me pretty well after OW

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

The old axiom is often stated: A good diver never stops learning. I took AOW hand-in-hand with my OW course, because it was cheaper that way, and in one road-trip to Florida, I was able to get all of my cert-dives out of the way. By no means was I experienced enough to be confident with my gear, any odd situations, equipment malfunctions, or anything other than diving around in a swimming pool.

Actual experience is the only thing that can make a diver more confident, and a better diver. It's a little like playing the piano: Practice, practice, practice, and each new skill builds on those that came before.

I'm looking into a Nitrox course right now, and eventually will request training to become a DM.

As for buoyancy and not being able to get down: This is a problem common to newbies. When you're in the water, make sure you flood your wetsuit with water. Open the collar of it, or pull the neck open and let it flood. When you're ready to descend, do it in a standing position rather than head-down. Many BC's have an air dump on the right shoulder strap. Dump all of your air, and then make sure you exhale FULLY AND COMPLETELY. Providing you are otherwise properly weighted, you should slip right down, and once you're beyond 20', you'll stay down anyway. If you're too light, the danger comes at the end of the dive, when you need to make your deco stop and your tank is more buoyant because it's been breathed down. Personally, I always try to dive a little on the heavy side... Good luck.

-Frank

 

[TSandM]

I really want to offer on this thread, on the subject of continuing education, that one of the most valuable things that a new diver can do is to find a good mentor. I have been extraordinarily lucky in having been adopted by someone who has spent a great deal of his own time giving me tips and thinking up exercises for me to help with my major issues. That kind of one-on-one help is absolutely invaluable . . . and I think probably available in a lot of places where there is an active diving community, if you look for it and ask. It's my impression that divers enjoy seeing novices who have a good attitude and are eager to learn, and that a lot of people are willing to help.

Of course, I have the world's best mentor . . .

 

[spectrum]

It's my impression that divers enjoy seeing novices who have a good attitude and are eager to learn, and that a lot of people are willing to help.

TSandM you're not kidding, hats off to mentors. I too have been lucky enough to dive with several seasoned divers who were willing to share and advise.

On my 6th dive I remember feeling like I was getting the hang of buoyancy control but felt far from competent. This mentor made a few suggestions about changing my weight placement and the change on the next dive was astounding. On a scale of 10 ranging from where I started to where I wanted to be I went from a 4 to an 8+.from the first descent of the next dive! I was dumfounded.

I think I've been able to help some fellow divers just because of all i have read here and in a cyber sense ScubaBoard is a form of mentoring. I have no professional aspirations in this sport but if down the road I can be appreciated as a mentor by a few newer divers I will consider myself sucessful.

Pete