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Just do not do the mask specialty, or people will laugh at you!
I am going for my AOW soon,what electives are the most useful?
- Thread starter GulfDiver77
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Debay777
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All of the advice above is good. We were lucky enough to have a special AOW class for law enforcement/EMS workers so there were tons of extra dives invovled. Of course, withour background, the specialties were pretty much chosen as night nav and SAR. We will have done enough of the extra dives in Night, Nav, And SAR that we will actualy be able to get our certs for those specialties. I spoke with our instructors about why we didnt do the Peak Buoyancy and they offered to help me out on the side if I wanted it. always ASK ASK ASK!! Personaly, and I know this is a dead horse, so please dont kick it too may times, Peak Buoyancy should be REQUIRED for BOW. i know i have scraped my knees and sat on sea urchins, and im sure other divers have nailed the fire coral and other fun stuff because of poor buoyancy control. Weigh out the elective you WANT vs the elective you NEED. Most of the electives REQUIRE perfect buoyancy control, so to me that would be the one to choose.
Deep & Navigation are a must.
For the elective dives I'd do Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB), Night and one other.
For the one other i'd go for wreck or search & recovery.
For the elective dives I'd do Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB), Night and one other.
For the one other i'd go for wreck or search & recovery.
For the electives, I'd definitely do night and Peak performance bouyancy. Nitrox may be a few extra $, but is well worth it.
SteveFass
Contributor
What are you people talking about? The deep dive was a waste. Here's the lesson. If you dive deep you will suffer from nitrogen narcosis. Now mail me a check.
You have less than 25 dives per your profile, so you'll likely get the most out of peak performance boyancy, assuming you have a good instructor. Ask about diff fin kicks too. Make him/her watch you and give you feedback on your trim and kicking. You may even find out you aren't using the optimum amount of weight.
Second best is navigation. It gives you confidence that you can find your way home. Wreck was a waste.
Ask questions and Have fun!
You have less than 25 dives per your profile, so you'll likely get the most out of peak performance boyancy, assuming you have a good instructor. Ask about diff fin kicks too. Make him/her watch you and give you feedback on your trim and kicking. You may even find out you aren't using the optimum amount of weight.
Second best is navigation. It gives you confidence that you can find your way home. Wreck was a waste.
Ask questions and Have fun!
split0101
Contributor
I did the deep, navigation, peak buoyancy, wreck, and night.
The navigation section was cool just to be able to find your way back navigating a square and triangle. The night was pretty cool since it was a totally new environment. The wreck and deep were ok, nothing to special there. It was kinda funny since on the deep dive we had to tie a bunch of knots to see if we were getting narc'd, as it turned out we did the exercises faster underwater then on dry land. I think the water temperature had something to do with it. It was in the brisk 50's at 90ft diving wet, and we just wanted to go up one thermocline to warm up. I think the peak buoyancy was the least beneficial. I already have a bunch of dives (25+ at the time) before I took my AOW so my buoyancy was pretty solid.
We had a really cool instructor so he made the exercises fun, and as soon as we finished them, he let us hang out and do our own thing which was cool.
The navigation section was cool just to be able to find your way back navigating a square and triangle. The night was pretty cool since it was a totally new environment. The wreck and deep were ok, nothing to special there. It was kinda funny since on the deep dive we had to tie a bunch of knots to see if we were getting narc'd, as it turned out we did the exercises faster underwater then on dry land. I think the water temperature had something to do with it. It was in the brisk 50's at 90ft diving wet, and we just wanted to go up one thermocline to warm up. I think the peak buoyancy was the least beneficial. I already have a bunch of dives (25+ at the time) before I took my AOW so my buoyancy was pretty solid.
We had a really cool instructor so he made the exercises fun, and as soon as we finished them, he let us hang out and do our own thing which was cool.
As stated you have to do Deep and Nav.
I would tell you PPB (you use it everydive) we did it as the first dive of the AOW class it helps get the diver used to the site/gear and we did it in full deep gear so there were not any suprises the next morning when we did your deep dive.
S/R it really works your nav skills and teaches you to use knots and lift bags.
Do night too when you go on trips its always fun to night dive.
If your intrested in doing Wreck Diver take the full class and do Nitrox dives (if you can) more work on gas planning that way.
my 2psi
I would tell you PPB (you use it everydive) we did it as the first dive of the AOW class it helps get the diver used to the site/gear and we did it in full deep gear so there were not any suprises the next morning when we did your deep dive.
S/R it really works your nav skills and teaches you to use knots and lift bags.
Do night too when you go on trips its always fun to night dive.
If your intrested in doing Wreck Diver take the full class and do Nitrox dives (if you can) more work on gas planning that way.
my 2psi
Sjassi
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Navigation and Deep diver are crucial, but for the third choice i would recommend, The current diving option if you live in areals with a lot of current ( Like scandinavia and such)
Night diving is a fine choice aswell, since it's very common, and a truly unique experince.
Night diving is a fine choice aswell, since it's very common, and a truly unique experince.
Aside from the mandatory deep and UW navi, I would get night, wreck (if there are any in your place), drift or add a bit extra for an EANx specialty.
I'd suggest AVOIDING boat diver, marine life ID and the like.
These really aren't anything more than a normal dive. If doing a course may as well learn some new skills as well - the above wont do that.
Depending on your dive skills but PPB may or may not be worth it. I like search and recovery.
Deep if you want a 40m cert is nice. Wreck really isnt that great.
These really aren't anything more than a normal dive. If doing a course may as well learn some new skills as well - the above wont do that.
Depending on your dive skills but PPB may or may not be worth it. I like search and recovery.
Deep if you want a 40m cert is nice. Wreck really isnt that great.
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