First year of diving

[Zoomer]

Question for all of you that have been diving for more than a year. From the time you got OW certified until one year to the day of your cert, how many dives did you have? Did you take AOW within that first year?

Just curious.....

I have my OW cert, got it in October but haven't really had the opprotunity to dive much (weather, finances, work, etc) so I am curious whay others first year experiances where.

Thanks

 

[MaxBottomtime]

104 dives, but didn't take AOW until I had around 600 dives.

 

[ItMustBeJames]

I think I did about 7 dives (including my 4 OW dives) in my first year. I didn't do AOW until the following year when I got out of the local quarry and down to Cozumel.

That said, I'd recommend doing AOW as soon as you are reasonably comfortable in the water. In my humble opinion (read: 'This isn't meant to start yet another AOW debate'), AOW will teach you the second half of what you really need to know as a beginning diver.

 

[Buoyant1]

Don't have my log with me, but it was around 10, and I didn't take AOW until this past summer.

The first year I had a friend that lived in Key West, and I was a dive snob who didn't do any quarry diving since I had fairly frequent access to the Keys..the second year I said screw that, and bought a 7mm.

I still don't get out as often as I'd like to, but I'm going as often as I can.

I haven't been wet since I got back from a trip to the Keys in November, but the weather up here is getting better, and I figure I'll be in the water by the end of this month early next if it stays! Give it time, you just got cert'd in October...whole spring and summer ahead!!

 

[MentalMarine]

I have around 49 or 50 dives I think, I dont have my log with me at the time. I didnt really start diving untill late last year so that number would have been higher. ya know..school...PFFTTTTT, takes times away from diving! I have my AOW as well.

 

[robint]

Me about 25 dives including my AOW and a few specialties like Deep. My hubby got about 35, AOW and Rescue.

That year was expensive though as we bought all our own gear plus our daughters gear, she got 16 dives that first year. The next year we got double the dives and my hubby completed his Divemaster and started working for the dive shop.

It is easier to get dives in if you belong to a dive group or have an active dive shop like we had.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Well I haven't been certified a year yet (July 15, 2007 certification date) but I've done 23 dives so far and I hope to have around 40-50 by my one-year mark. I did my AOW immediatly after OW (two weeks later), and I did nitrox last month. I hope to Equipment Specialist this month, and then over the summer do Peak Performance Buoyancy, Wreck, and Rescue. I'm not sure how many of those will get done before the official one-year mark.

I've been out of the water since the last week of September, but I'm going to get in 6 dives at the end of the month (cruise to Southern Caribbean), then DUI demo day at Dutch Springs in May, and hopefully around June the water will be warm enough for a 7 mm.

 

[Zoomer]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have been in my pool more times than I can count now since my OW cert, just practicing skills, cleaning the pool, etc.... I have taken the Nitrox course and am signed up for AOW for the first weekend in April. I have had lots of opportunities (invites) to go dive just haven't done it. Figured I'd get my AOW first before I start going with the group of guys that spearfish... going to watch and learn, get more comfortable in the water before I try it.

 

[seaducer]

I did around 20 to 25 dives, including AOW that first year. I have dove more every year since...

 

[Rec Diver]

My first year of diving; 93 Logged dives

Specialty Courses;
Boat Diving
Computer Diving
Deep Diving
Dry Suit
Equipment
Navagation
Night / Limited Visibility
Nitrox
Stress / Rescue
Wreck Divng

Diver Classification; Master Diver