How do you choose your Advanced Open Water speciality

[brsnow]

Was there a DM or anybody with you?

No, just the instructor. He lead us to depth needed to achieve deep. He watched us for buoyancy. We did the skills in pool with different instructor. But lets be honest, during navigation for example I am paired with a diver right out of OW, how do they maintain buoyancy in shallow freshwater with little visibility? Your pair up, one swimming and one on compass. We did navigation and search recovery on our own.

 

[tursiops]

No, just the instructor. He lead us to depth needed to achieve deep. He watched us for buoyancy. We did the skills in pool with different instructor. But lets be honest, during navigation for example I am paired with a diver right out of OW, how do they maintain buoyancy in shallow freshwater with little visibility? Your pair up, one swimming and one on compass. We did navigation and search recovery on our own.

You did skills for what in a pool?

 

[brsnow]

You did skills for what in a pool?

Buoyancy, navigation, fin counting and such. Refreshed foundational skills. knot tying

 

[Bob DBF]

If I had been with people with similar skills, it might have been different. How can people with less than 10 dives actually navigate for example?

If the course material were covered, and the instructor went over it with the students, I don't see how there would be a problem with a 10 dive student navigating. I took AOW because I needed a card, but had learned the material years earlier, so I had plenty of bandwidth to watch. I don't know that the guy I was buddied with even had 10 dives, but when done had a good idea of the principles of navigation, what he was trying to accomplish, and could swim a compass course. I've seen divers with significantly more dives understand less.

It is too bad the people that ran your class were not more interested in teaching, but that has little to do with the students.

 

[tursiops]

Buoyancy, navigation, fin counting and such. Refreshed foundational skills. knot tying

I'm not sure I'm understanding yet.
You had one or more pool sessions where you did all kinds of skills that were part of the AOW dives.
And then you did five OW dives:
1- Deep was with an instructor; any skills on that dive?
2- Nav was you and a new diver; any skills? 100 ft on a side square? Etc?
3- Buoyancy was a dive with the new diver? Any skills?
4- S&R was a dive with the new diver; did you redo knots, do several search patterns? Use a lift bag?
5- What was your fifth dive?

 

[brsnow]

I'm not sure I'm understanding yet.
You had one or more pool sessions where you did all kinds of skills that were part of the AOW dives.
And then you did five OW dives:
1- Deep was with an instructor; any skills on that dive?
2- Nav was you and a new diver; any skills? 100 ft on a side square? Etc?
3- Buoyancy was a dive with the new diver? Any skills?
4- S&R was a dive with the new diver; did you redo knots, do several search patterns? Use a lift bag?
5- What was your fifth dive?

Altitude, that was the 5th, basically by default of location. No skills on deep, we did buoyancy at platform before deep. We did the square and such but on our own and in general that is outside of the skill set of a brand new diver. Our search and recover was locating the diver needing rescue for the rescue class going on. We used a lift bad in the pool and the 3 knots.

 

[brsnow]

If the course material were covered, and the instructor went over it with the students, I don't see how there would be a problem with a 10 dive student navigating. I took AOW because I needed a card, but had learned the material years earlier, so I had plenty of bandwidth to watch. I don't know that the guy I was buddied with even had 10 dives, but when done had a good idea of the principles of navigation, what he was trying to accomplish, and could swim a compass course. I've seen divers with significantly more dives understand less.

It is too bad the people that ran your class were not more interested in teaching, but that has little to do with the students.

I think they probably conceptually got it, but focusing on compass or counting kicks with no visibility and keeping Good buoyancy in shallow cold water is hard, especially if you have 5 or 6 previous dives all based on training.

 

[tursiops]

Altitude, that was the 5th, basically by default of location. No skills on deep, we did buoyancy at platform before deep. We did the square and such but on our own and in general that is outside of the skill set of a brand new diver. Our search and recover was locating the diver needing rescue for the rescue class going on. We used a lift bad in the pool and the 3 knots.

Your AOW class did not meet PADI standards. The shop should be investigated and probably decertified by PADI and the instructor should be decredentialed.
I have no patience with such crap.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I think they probably conceptually got it, but focusing on compass or counting kicks with no visibility and keeping Good buoyancy in shallow cold water is hard, especially if you have 5 or 6 previous dives all based on training.

That's why a line should be set up at a shallow depth (say 20 feet). I know that standards allow for an instructor to not be present in some dives, but I've never considered that to be in the student's best interest. Plus I don't think its safe.

 

[brsnow]

Your AOW class did not meet PADI standards. The shop should be investigated and probably decertified by PADI and the instructor should be decredentialed.
I have no patience with such crap.

I have had a couple meaningful classes since. I used a different shop for those. At the end of the day I needed the AOW card for a trip and was able to get it efficiently. I do have the required skills as well, just had them prior. It was a gold card as well;-)