Just got PADI OW certified

[LanceRiley]

Just got PADI OW certified. I have a total of 10 Dives on my belt. 2 of these are post OW certified dives. I usually dive with the company of friends. Most of them PADI DMs. I still don't feel comfortable diving alone with a buddy (who just got PADI OW certified with me) I don't feel confident that I can get back to where I started. or direct the boat where the current is heading.

do I need to take the advance ow class? or should I just have more experience?

 

[Simon-]

Get some more experience.

If you are diving with DM's, ask them to give you some pointers. You are a certified diver, they are not instructing you, merely giving you advice.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Lance and welcome to the world of diving!
What do you want to do?
We went from OW to AOW to gain more navigation practice and more deep diving training.
We did not have the opportunity to dive with DM's but were heading to MX with other divers for a trip.
We agreed my wife and I that the AOW coarse was the best option for us.

I would not have done it any other way!
I was a Rescue diver by that November!
Gaining experience is a must but when you dive often experience comes easier.
I did not exceed my mastery of skills my instructor is very anal and would not move me on till the skills were solid.
So I guess what I am saying it depends on you and your instructor.

I am always a fan of gaining experience but if you are diving often with DM then you mise well step to the plate when your skills are mastered to the next level.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[exposure]

In my view OW is a bit limited but we need to start by something, and that course is great. After my OW I flet exactly like you, I think it's a normal feeling. So continuing with the AOW is a really good point, then maybe the deep specialty and the navigation one. So with that you can dive everywhere with PADI. In the meantime, don't forget to dive for yourself between the trainings and add some more experience. Both training and experience will give you what you think is missing today. Congratulation, now you are at the beginning

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

Get some more experience.

If you are diving with DM's, ask them to give you some pointers. You are a certified diver, they are not instructing you, merely giving you advice.

Ask plenty of questions, I'm always trying to gain the knowledge from the more experienced divers. I'm recently certified also, but continued with my AOW and nitrox the same week, and deep within 2 months, I don't have any dive buddy's, right now, but would go to a confined area, say a lake or quarry, with some one that has the same experience as I, to practice on nav and other skills. nothing beats experience and confidence in yourself. my first 8 to 10 dives the boat was mored, so it really wasn't hard to get back to it. my most recent dives were more drift dives, and even with a dive master sometimes people did surface alone, and signaled the boat for a pick-up. The reasons for getting the advance and specialty certs was so when I'm trying to go on a dive I won't be limited by some resorts and boat charters as I try to gain my experience. I wouldn't do a dive in the open seas or a very large lake without a DM who knows the area.

 

[DMDavid]

Ask plenty of questions, I'm always trying to gain the knowledge from the more experienced divers.

I agree that you should look to the more experienced divers but be weary of the advice dispensed from some so-called experienced divers.

Over the years I have met divers that had hundreds of logged dives but were full of bad habits and really bad advice.



FB-Florida Scuba Diver

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you are not comfortable diving with a buddy on your own in the same places you trained the AOW class is a bad idea IMO. What specifically do you not feel ok with it? Is it Nav in general or certain areas of it? I definitely would not go back to the shop that trained you. It sounds like you did not get a good foundation. Before doing AOW I'd try to find a good underwater nav class. You have no business doing the deep dive in the AOW class with this level of discomfort.

I have recommended and taught the Nav class I offer to several people who will likely not take AOW and as a primer for those who will due to the focus on buddy skills, communication, and buoyancy and trim I put in the class. I also recommend rescue before AOW to most people; especially when they have not had any rescue skills in the OW class. (Tired diver tow is not rescue BTW IMO). For those who have had it in their OW class I have an entire dive in my AOW class to introduce rescue skills and buddy assisting.

Your feelings are all too common unfortunately. Abbreviated courses, insufficient time in confined water, and low task loading combined with short checkouts often result in the feelings you describe. Find an independent instructor that will work with you and tailor instruction to your needs. Try to stay away from dive centers when doing this unless you get a really good recommendation or when you interview the instructor you get a good feeling about their answers.

And you should interview the instructor as you would any employee and as if they were going to train your kids. I have an entire chapter on how to do that in my book as well as how to choose a shop to train with and when and what training to take.

 

[TMHeimer]

Jim's advice is good as usual. AOW right away is a much discussed SB topic, with probably 50% saying yes and 50% sayng no. Generally, I think it doesn't make too much difference whether you do AWO right away (I did, but felt pretty comfortable with a non-pro buddy), or get some experience first. Excellent idea going with your DM freinds at first.

 

[Peter Guy]

The OP wrote

I have a total of 10 Dives on my belt. 2 of these are post OW certified dives.

Interesting that you had 8 dives prior to getting your OW PADI cert which has a minimum requirement of 4 OW "checkout" dives.

Anyway, on to your question.

Everyone has a different comfort level while diving and everyone needs to "know your limitations." It is one thing to write "do diving to get more experience" and another to actually GET the necessary and appropriate experience while diving.

You write that you have some specific concerns which are navigation related. It is my firm belief that you will be better served by doing some dives with an instructor to work on those specific tasks rather than "just do diving to get experience." Whether the appropriate method is to do the AOW program (which has one UW Navigation specific dive) or to just hire an instructor to do some navigation lessons or to take the UW Navigation Specialty, I'll leave to you. Whatever you do, discuss at some length your desires with the instructor prior to starting whatever program you take.

For some people, it is best just to do diving so that they become generally comfortable with it. For someone like you, to me it sounds like more specific instruction is warranted.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

I agree that you should look to the more experienced divers but be weary of the advice dispensed from some so-called experienced divers.

Over the years I have met divers that had hundreds of logged dives but were full of bad habits and really bad advice.

FB-Florida Scuba Diver

I know what you mean, I work in a field where I have to think logical to solve problems. I try to research as much about the subjects as I can and get more from people with experience. With that said, if you watch, most of the time you can tell the ones that know what they're doing and the ones that are coat-tailing. We having a saying where I work, "just cause you been doing it that way for 30 years doesn't mean you been doing it right!!"