More Dives or AOW??

[shoturtle]

Most diving in Maldives is done with a local dive operation, and you will have a guide. And as most of the dives are not more then 20m or 60ft, I would stick with enjoying the diving and getting some more dives under your belt. Unless you are planning to do a deep water dives, your OW will do find in Maldives. Take you time and enjoy your trip.

 

[TSandM]

You don't really say if you are planning on doing some local dives BEFORE your trip, but if you haven't been in the water since last September, I would highly recommend some local diving or even a refresher course. Eight months is a long time to go without being underwater, and you don't want your expensive trip marred by problems related to being out of practice.

I don't know what the diving is like in the Maldives, but I have friends who traveled there, and the boats they went out on (not diving) were very marginal and conditions were sometimes challenging. Hopefully, that won't be the case with the dive ops, but I doubt you can count on the kind of intensely escorted, used-to-novice-diver experience you might have in Cozumel or Hawaii.

 

[scubadiver888]

Hello again all, with my second post - I'm really enjoying the place and it's going to expand my knowledge so much!

My question, in seeking opinions really.....

I completed my PADI OW in September last year, and only performed the required dives, and one additional dive.

I am now travelling to the Maldives in June, and wonder what peoples thoughts were on what I should concentrate on.... getting dives under my belt, or going directly for AOW - if that is even possible?

Right now, I'm on the lines of just getting more dives under my belt. It should help to boost my confidence as a diver, I get to use underwater time for seeing the things I choose to go to the Maldives to see instead of doing skills, and it means I don't have to spend some of my relax time in a classroom.

But that's just me.... however, I would really appreciate all your opinions on the subject.

Thanks to all in advance,

Everyone is different. Why do you want to get AOW? If it is just for the experience in a controlled environment, talk to a dive shop and see if they will let you tag along when they do the open water training for new divers. Let them know you just want to practice your skills. Some shops might let you just tag along so long as you are not going to be asking for instructor time. If you want instructor time, shops usually let people audit for $50 to $75.

Personally, I am still OW. I'm going for AOW this summer. I could have gotten AOW a while ago but I figured there is plenty to see at 60 feet. I'm pretty comfortable with all the OW skills now, I have good bouyancy and my air consumption is not an issue (I used to run out of air, now I run out of time). I figure get really good at the OW stuff and then focus on the AOW. Additionally, do you know what skills you want to pick for your AOW? If you don't, the instructor will pick them for you and it might not be the ones you really want.

On the other hand, you could get the AOW right away. This way you can go on the more advanced dives if you are feeling okay with it or opt out if you don't feel confident.

 

[Boxcar Overkill]

Some people don't believe the training you get in basic OW is sufficient to make you a safe diver right out of certification. In their opinion, AOW doesn't really make a diver "advanced", it finishes off what you should have learned in basic open water.

If you agree with those people, then you should go ahead and take AOW as soon as possible - not because it makes you advanced but because it makes you safe.

Other people, as noted above, think you should get some dives in before you move onto AOW.

Either school of thought is defendible.

 

[TekDiveGirl]

I completed my PADI OW in September last year, and only performed the required dives, and one additional dive.

I am now travelling to the Maldives in June, and wonder what peoples thoughts were on what I should concentrate on.... getting dives under my belt, or going directly for AOW - if that is even possible?

Right now, I'm on the lines of just getting more dives under my belt. It should help to boost my confidence as a diver, I get to use underwater time for seeing the things I choose to go to the Maldives to see instead of doing skills, and it means I don't have to spend some of my relax time in a classroom.

But that's just me.... however, I would really appreciate all your opinions on the subject.

Thanks to all in advance,

Sass, thanks for your post - I aint in a hurry, but as I dive infrequently, I wondered if it could be a good way to expand my skills in a controlled and meaningful way???

My thoughts are along the lines of building up confidence with the basics first...

Do you have anybody locally who has a lot of experience who is willing to dive with you? Take you under their wing so to speak and mentor you?

If not then I would recommed the AOW class only because you are diving with an instrctor in the water with you. I think after that you would be safer before going and doing some dives on your own. You could learn some new skills and refresh what you learned in OW.

You really never got the chance for the OW training to fully sink in with only 1 dive after OW so long ago. Diving in the Maldives is not easy diving. You should be prepared.

 

[Roko]

FWIW, don't think of AOW as another "notch" on ye olde scuba tank, but rather as more guided learning experience. You can do the PADI AOW in stages, you just need to do five adventure dives to get it.

If you get a chance to do something like a night dive as an adventure dive through one of the dive shops there, you can do that as the first step (Actually, that's what I did as my first on in Thailand), or any other intresting dives that could count towards AOW.

My best advice on going this route, though, is maybe try diving with the dive company first before you venture into a more complicated adventure dive.. Get to know what kind of staff they have there, and how much they "care" about instruction to new guys like us. If you get an instructor who takes you but doesn't really care, you're not learning much except from the book. If you get an instructor who cares, they'll be more attentive to you and give you more advice/tips/tricks..

As others mentioned too, try to do some non-course dives too, and just enjoy it! Good Luck!

Roger

 

[1_T_Submariner]

My suggestion is to do some dives and get more comfortable. Worry about AOW later. If you have the card and not the experience you might get in over your head.

Have a great time.

 

[Melicertes]

I'd also recommend that you do the AOW before you go. Some places are real PITAs for certain dives if you do not have your AOW c-card to prove you are capable (whatever that means by just looking at a piece of plastic) of diving a particular dive.

Get the OAW cert so you are covered for this but more importantly go find a decent instructor who understands and will accommodate your need for gaining more confidence and who will make sure that you do not just meet the bare minimum standards to get the AOW cert. Someone who would actually spend the required time with you in the water to make sure you are up to speed to go diving with confidence. You might even want to consider simply posting here in SB to find out if there is not perhaps an instructor in your area who would take you under his/her wings to mentor you while you do the required credit dives for the AOW cert and then dive some more just for the heck of it.

 

[Buoyant1]

Dive! I did about 40-50 dives from OW until AOW and was confident getting my card!

My buddies evaluated my skills as they dove with me and slowly introduced me to depth, navigation and even a night dive. They gave me tips and I was able to slide through PPB with ease. (search and recovery was just fun looking for crap in the quarry)

I took AOW because some ops require you to have it for specific dives....but diving is experience!

Dive all you can, take courses when you can...it's all good!

 

[Damselfish]

June, huh? I think I'd get off the computer and go diving, whether you just dive or take AOW, or heck do both if you can. But reading closely, I think you're asking what you should do on your trip, not before your trip?

Where exactly are you diving in the Maldives? Maybe someone will have an idea of conditions when and where you're going. What does the operator say? How many dives a day do you expect to be doing and how many days? If you are on a liveaboard and have the opportunity to do lots of dives it might be worth doing AOW sometime during the trip. If you are doing a week land based and only doing a couple dives a day, maybe better for your vacation and gaining experience to just dive.

We did a liveaboard in the Maldives. That particular trip at least was far from newbie diving. And they didn't even ask for C-cards. (We went with a shop that chartered the boat, so may not have been a typical experience.)