going Advanced

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

keralucu

Senior Member
Messages
1,015
Reaction score
0
Location
Beijing, China
# of dives
100 - 199
What's the general consensus on taking your advanced immediately after your OW? I know people do it straight away, but I think it would be good to do a few dives first. I'm going again in 2 weeks, originally to do the Advanced, but my sister, who is my dive buddy, says she wants to wait for a while. Just TOO excited about all this! :p
 
Your certs are mainly an acknowledgement that you have the THEORY behind advanced dives (increased depth etc) and have done a minimal number of dives to demonstrate this grasp of theory. However, it does NOT mean you are an advanced diver.

The theory and practice go hand in hand so, yes get your advanced whenever you feel you are ready, but don't believe you are automatically an advanced diver - this will ONLY come with practice.
 
Hey Keralucu & All,

Advanced Open Water (AOW) has no pre-requisites except that of OW. I always encourage my students and friends to continue with their training as SOON as possible. I started on my AOW, the day after I finished my OW. I was just really into it. I am a Dive Master now. The cool thing about this, is that there are NO times to "beat". Work at your own pace and HAVE FUN. You will dive more often that way... But by all means, continue your education!

Pete from Orlando...

 
In my opinion, give yourself some time. The skills that you have just learned need time and practice to improve apon. If at all possible, find a easy dive site nearby and spend some time getting use to being weightless and just being underwater. Practice your bouyancy control until hovering is almost second nature. While most of the skills learned in the AOW are extensions of the ones you learned in OW, the experience gained by some bottom time will make your advanced experience a lot more meaningfull.
 
Thanks everyone, for your help. I would never ASSUME that I was an advanced diver, and I'm sure it takes more than the 4 OW dives to get there. I think it's a good idea to practice a bit more of the buoyancy control as herman suggested, not to mention the fact that by doing a few more dives as OW it allows you to actually enjoy what you're seeing, rather than having to concentrate on learning new skills.

Cheers all, and see you again soon with more queries, no doubt!
 
Like NetDoc - the weekend after I finished my OW,I moved onto AOW. At the end of the dives, was I really an advanced diver? According to the standards, yes, according to my skill level, no. It was not until a lot more dives did I feel that I should call myself an advanced diver.

I liked taking it to get the flavour of what else was out there, plus around here (Ottawa Canada), most of the wrecks in the St Lawrence are considered "advanced". This is due to the fact that many of the wrecks are deep (beyond 60ft). With many of the wrecks also requiring a charter to get to them, boat captains frequently (more and more) ask for proof of c-level. Without the appropriate one, you don't get on.

Do it when you feel ready. Have fun
 
...no one will notice. ;-)

Actually, in clarification, I heartily agree with DivingGal. Getting that extra training and certification from my instructor did NOT make an "expert" in the field of diving. Very few really fill that description (including my instructor) in my estimation. Will you be more advanced then just a plain jane OW diver??? I should hope so! Are you a professional diver even? Not till you get to Dive Master are you even considered as such.

AOW was a way for me to get a few more supervised dives under my belt, before I started to find dive sites on my own. There were FAR fewer people in the class and so I got way more time with the instructor watching me. His critiques were great, and they helped me to start honing my skills. I did not reccomend the certs as "needed credentials" but mose as a way to further and accelerate your learning process. BTW, the Peak Bouyancy module would be a great one to start with.

Pete from Oralndo...
 
....mine is long and without fail gets caught in my mask straps every time I put it on. Without having to wear a swimming cap, is there some funky, special dive hair band that's available for people like me?? :p

I'm in a dilemma now - do I do AOW now or not? My main problem is time, because the place where I'm doing the course is a good 4 hour drive away from Bangkok and I don't get enough time off to be able to get there regularly... however, I have just realised that I have a lot more long weekends coming up than originally thought, so I guess I'll have a couple more fun dives as OW, then in a month or so go onto AOW. Sorted!

Cheers again, y'all. :wink:
 
Hey DivingGal - it must be pretty damn cold diving where you are. I can't imagine doing that right now when we're in the hottest month of the year and the bottom temperature where I was diving on Monday was 38 (Celsius - sorry, don't know Fahrenheit! but it was HOT). I could quite happily have ditched my wetsuit.

I'd love to hear something about your dives in Canada.

Cheers
 
.......25 dives under your belt before beginning your advanced training. That will get you enough experience to use as a reference point when discussing points during lectures. I'd also suggest shopping around for an advanced course that actually teaches a few things. If someone tells you 5 dives, keep shopping.

WWW™
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom