Getting the most out of Padi AOW

[Frosty]

PADI AOW isn't really a course in itself - though PADI offers it that way. It is the first chapter and the first dive from 5 specialties. There isn't even a place to sign in the PADI log book that you've completed AOW, just the 5 specialty dives. The nice thing about this is exposure to some different aspects of diving, but the name is very misleading (after 5 dives you are now "advanced").

Hmm dang thats confusing then -given that your padi "licence" changes from ow to aow.
Ahh well I guess worst case senario I'll have dived at a new location and thats never bad

 

[oddible]

Where did you get this information? I just looked at the PADI website, and it doesn't say that. It says you have to have "Adventure diver", which when clicked on takes you to the AOW page. It says nothing about full deep or anything else (much less wreck) to take the rescue course.

Yeah, right after I posted I realized I botched that and edited my post - looks like the time of my edit and the time of your post are the same

EAN / Nitrox doesn't actually have a specialty dive and even the full specialty doesn't count toward AOW (as there is no dive associated with it).

 

[Frosty]

I thought I'd follow up on this one having just come back from the dive trip
To say my wife and I have become dive addicts would be an understatement.
We had arranged a trip to Rarotonga over easter for my wife to get her OW certification and me to improve my diving whilst getting my AOW. It wasn't planned that way but it turned into a full on dive trip.
We chose the guys from Cook island divers and I can't rave enough about how well those guys looked after us.
We turned up on their doorstep in the morning and explained to Greg and Ian (the owner and chief instructor) what we hoped to get out of our courses.
Because my wife has done in essence a series of DSD dives and my diving skill was unknown the decision was made that we would do a "shakedown/assesment" dive.
The dive was off a semi inflatable boat and was fantastic It was an easy sightseeing trip with 15-20m vis and tonnes to see. But even so my instructor was already questioning me about my boat diving knowledge and was watching everything I did.My wife had an easier time (go figure) just rolling off and having an easy dive.It turned out though that he was very well aware of exactly what she was and wasn't she was doing.
My wife still had to go through the full OW course which meant a bit of a boring day in the pool for her showing she knew how to perform the basic drills.
For me meanwhile it turns out I'd just done my first AAW dive (boat) with no issues.
Deep and PPB were utterly fantastic dives. The aim of the dive was covered off clearly and for deep I did explain I'd like to feel what being narked was like (diddn't happen but we went deep enough to experience it). PPB was like a great tuneup Nav was a great laugh. After I'd done the swim out n back and done a square my instructor did his very level best to spend half an hour getting me totally lost whilst I did my very best to not get lost.
Sneaky bugger took me out into a bit of a "desert" and by showing me a variety of tiny objects tried to get me disorientated. Lucky for me he basicly failed.Ok er I found the wrong anchor line but was out by only 30 feet over 1500 feet so still an easy surface swim. The other dives were equally fun and educational.
I can honestly say my diving has improved hugely from the intense time with an instructor/mentor and gosh darn it we had a great time.
I got through my AAW but more importantly I got a huge tune up of my diving skills.
To say I got a lot out of these dives would be a massive understatement
My wife I must say was a bit bored because she was repeating skills she had already practiced but now she has her OW ticket.
My opinion there is that it was good to nip any potential bad habits in the bud and because its not me or my (very experienced DM) freind she took the feedback more seriously.

We got back to NZ and already have booked our next diving adventure.

 

[TMHeimer]

AOW: (AND specialty courses): My mantra is take what makes you a better and safer diver. The choices are obvious, but your options are what the LDS offers.

 

[goonsquad]

Have fun and learn what you can, I didn't think my instruction was all that fabulous but I read the chapters, paid attention, and had a few good dives.
That said, it will more than likely be the last time I get instruction from that shop.

 

[DevonDiver]

Yeah, right after I posted I realized I botched that and edited my post - looks like the time of my edit and the time of your post are the same

EAN / Nitrox doesn't actually have a specialty dive and even the full specialty doesn't count toward AOW (as there is no dive associated with it).

This is getting quite confusing.

Why not leave the 'advice' about course standards and procedures to the pros? There's plenty of active PADI instructors on the forum who are very familiar with the course structure, procedures and agency standards. Any info they give will be up-to-date, and in line with the latest instructor manual and PADI member updates.

I am sure there is lots of valuable info you could provide based on your experiences on the AOW as a customer/student.