Diver Training, Has It Really Been Watered Down???

[TMHeimer]

Say the student is an Adventure diver, takes the Deep specialty, how long will the separate adventure dives count towards AOW. If it is a year, the first dive from the Deep would expire for using it for AOW, which would explain the comment.

Unless it was a Deep adventure dive to start with.



Bob

I THINK I follow you Bob...... Such silliness, no?

 

[Scuba Scott]

My sons did a deep specialty and were told it expires after one year unless they complete AOW. Not an adventure dive whatever. They were given a piece of paper card.

Referral card for part of AOW to include the deep dive?

 

[boulderjohn]

PADI says you can enrol in Deep course with Adventure Diver or higher. But nothing there about having to finish AOW within a year, so the paper card thing is still in question.

Think this one through for a moment.

Although the Adventure Diver course does exists, it does not even merit a place in the table of contents of the PADI instructor manual. It is a subset of the AOW course. It requires the student to complete 3 adventure dives and the AOW knowledge reviews for those dives. AOW requires only 2 more adventure dives, including the deep dive and the navigation dive, and the knowledge reviews. Why on earth would anyone stop and get the Adventure Diver certification when it only takes 2 more dives to get the AOW? The answer is simple--age. Junior divers cannot do the deep dive. If they get the Adventure rating, though, they can go on and get Rescue Diver, which would otherwise be forbidden to them. So there will be a very tiny subset of people who will have a good reason to get the Adventure Diver certification.

Once those people are old enough, they people can indeed go on and get the Deep Diver Certification without getting AOW. If they were to do it (and I wonder if anyone ever has), they can count the first dive toward the AOW certification. They would need one blinkin' dive after that to get AOW. Somehow in the next year, they would have to find the time to do one knowledge review and one dive.

How often do you think think that has emerged as a problem?

 

[TMHeimer]

Think this one through for a moment.

Although the Adventure Diver course does exists, it does not even merit a place in the table of contents of the PADI instructor manual. It is a subset of the AOW course. It requires the student to complete 3 adventure dives and the AOW knowledge reviews for those dives. AOW requires only 2 more adventure dives, including the deep dive and the navigation dive, and the knowledge reviews. Why on earth would anyone stop and get the Adventure Diver certification when it only takes 2 more dives to get the AOW? The answer is simple--age. Junior divers cannot do the deep dive. If they get the Adventure rating, though, they can go on and get Rescue Diver, which would otherwise be forbidden to them. So there will be a very tiny subset of people who will have a good reason to get the Adventure Diver certification.

Once those people are old enough, they people can indeed go on and get the Deep Diver Certification without getting AOW. If they were to do it (and I wonder if anyone ever has), they can count the first dive toward the AOW certification. They would need one blinkin' dive after that to get AOW. Somehow in the next year, they would have to find the time to do one knowledge review and one dive.

How often do you think think that has emerged as a problem?

Thanks for the info. I didn't think of the Deep dive not allowable for the youngsters. I was almost in that situation on the FL panhandle in 2006. Started AOW in the Springs, but needed 2 more dives (including Deep) to finish AOW before we left at the end of 3 winter months. The instructor doubted their boat would go out before we left, so he said I could just get Adventure Diver. Fortunately, they did go out like 2-3 days before we had to leave the condo. Otherwise, my life would've been very different.........

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

There is always the option of doing 3 specialties to become an adventure diver. Then there is no clock.

 

[cneal]

There is always the option of doing 3 specialties to become an adventure diver. Then there is no clock.

That is what Sheila and I did. After Open Water we did one certification a year. When we completed three (Peak Performance Bouyancy, Navigation, Nitrox) we had a local instructor send the paperwork in for Adventure so there wouldn't be no questions for Deep. Then after one more specialty we had the paperwark sent in for AOW, did not take an AOW course. After taking Rescue we had the paperwork sent in for Master. No course.

While it took a long time I would recommend that progression to anyone. A lot can be learned by the additional dives for each specialty, with the exceptionof Nitrox which no longer requires supervised dives.

 

[Bob DBF]

Why on earth would anyone stop and get the Adventure Diver certification when it only takes 2 more dives to get the AOW? The answer is simple--age. Junior divers cannot do the deep dive. If they get the Adventure rating, though, they can go on and get Rescue Diver, which would otherwise be forbidden to them. So there will be a very tiny subset of people who will have a good reason to get the Adventure Diver certification.

Why not get jr AOW which is upgraded to AOW at 15, without any other dives being made?

Besides, I would bet it is probably cheaper to get AOW than set up 5 different adventure dives.


Bob

 

[boulderjohn]

Why not get jr AOW which is upgraded to AOW at 15, without any other dives being made?

Besides, I would bet it is probably cheaper to get AOW than set up 5 different adventure dives.


Bob

Children at that age can only qualify to take junior adventure diver. You have to a deep dive to get AOW.

 

[TMHeimer]

That is what Sheila and I did. After Open Water we did one certification a year. When we completed three (Peak Performance Bouyancy, Navigation, Nitrox) we had a local instructor send the paperwork in for Adventure so there wouldn't be no questions for Deep. Then after one more specialty we had the paperwark sent in for AOW, did not take an AOW course. After taking Rescue we had the paperwork sent in for Master. No course.

While it took a long time I would recommend that progression to anyone. A lot can be learned by the additional dives for each specialty, with the exceptionof Nitrox which no longer requires supervised dives.

The nitrox course I took in '06 required 2 dives back then, but the instructor was not with us. I THINK that was the standard. We had to show him a dive profile and then tell him we did it. Of course we did the dives (why not, gas/tanks were included in cost), but I guess he just trusted that we actually did them. My thought back then was maybe the instructor should have to be with us in case we killed ourselves.

 

[tursiops]

To me 5 additional dives does not make some one advanced.

I'm frankly getting a little tired of seeing people write this; I'm never sure whether it is misunderstanding, intellectual laziness, or PADI-hating. The AOW is advanced beyond OW, that's it. it does not purport to make one an advanced diver. It could just as well be called After Open Water, or Addendum to OW. PADI says, "It's titled PADI Advanced Open Water Diver because it advances your diving knowledge & skills."

I'd think a PADI instructor would understand that and not keep repeating misleading and inflammatory garbage.

Rant over. "Strong message to follow."