Most thorough AOW course in south Florida?

[danpass]

Pennekamp?

Florida Frogman?

?


I had done my OW with Pennekamp an djust wondering if there is a benefit to switching it up a bit for the next level.

 

[jar546]

It all depends on your instructor.

I am both a PADI and SSI instructor.

SSI's AOW has more merit because you have to take full specialty courses, unlike PADI which only requires "Adventure Dives" and SSI requires you to have a minimum amount of dives whereas PADI does not.

Regardless of the standards differences, it all comes down to the instructor and your desire/goals.

 

[danpass]

It all depends on your instructor.

..............

Regardless of the standards differences, it all comes down to the instructor and your desire/goals.

hence the question

 

[acteg]

I'm interested in this as well. I live in central FL but don't mind traveling a little bit for top notch instruction. Prefer someone who is analytical/engineer/perfectionist type that isn't afraid to hurt my feelings.

 

[Chugwhump]

If you have the time, and you are willing to spend the money, you can come out of an AOW class very prepared for a whole lot of Florida Open Water Advanced diving.
There are instructors that can educate you thoroughly out there, but they are the minority.
The big issue is that the business is overwhelmingly structured to allow most AOW students and cert holders to get their ticket punched for $250-$400 and go to those deeper dive sites.
This does not upset me, that's just the way the business must behave nowadays in order to survive.
In my not at all humble opinion, the class work (I was breaking down equations for Martini's Law, Dalton's Law, Boyle's Law, and Charles' Law at the age of 12) pool sessions (we swam laps for about 1/2 hour at the end of evey class for cripes sake) was so much harder in 1977.
It was a newer sport back then, the gear was not nearly as good as it is now as a whole.
I can state that for me, none of my training since has equaled that experience.
It was TOUGH!
OK, I was a punkie little 12 year old, but I had been in the water, read all the books, and was highly motivated to be a DIVER!
Most of the guys...yeah GUYS were former Navy divers and they were as a whole excellent teachers.
Not all of them though.

So, my advice is to just get some tips here, make some phone calls, be specific in finding a relic of a bygone age of an instructor, or one of their protoge's, and take the class.
Explain what kid of an AOW diver YOU want to be at the end of the class, and proceed accordingly.
BTW, I think that there are EXCELLENT dive instructors not too far from Orlando in Cave Country.
They are often people that got kinda' bored with the whole touristy "lookie-lookie a fishie" clientel, and have moved north to the land of the
he-man/woman divers up there with a real job, and like to instruct serious students on the side.

Chug
"Ohh...Lookie!!"
A fishey-fishey kinda-diver.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Pennekamp?

Florida Frogman?

?


I had done my OW with Pennekamp an djust wondering if there is a benefit to switching it up a bit for the next level.

My AOW class includes optional classroom sessions with video presentations plus one on one time with the instructor for lessons on your chosen adventure dives.

We conduct the training over three dive trips (6 dives) as opposed to 'double dipping' you on a dive like many do.

I also pair you up with the right instructor for the adventure dives you have chosen. For example, pointless me taking you out for UW digital photo as I don't even own a camera However, as a tec and advanced wreck instructor, I can teach you more in depth on wreck and deep than the standards demand. I cover gas management, equipment config, technique for high current, free ascents etc.

Fortunately, The PADI curriculum allows great flexibility for us to put environment specific, useful content into the class. Unfortunately for some instructors (often in resort destinations)it often means that there is no substance to the course as they have neither the time, resources or training to provide the value they would like.

 

[Scott L]

+1 for Silent World. With their tech diving background, proper trim and bouyancy control will surely be highlighted. That's what makes an advanced diver!

 

[bilsant]

Check with Cindy at Scuba School in Fort Lauderdale.

Check with Gold Coast Scuba in Lauderdale by the Sea.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

+1 for Silent World. With their tech diving background, proper trim and bouyancy control will surely be highlighted. That's what makes an advanced diver!

Thanks Scott! When are we getting you in a rebreather?

 

[Tug]

+1 for Silent World. With their tech diving background, proper trim and bouyancy control will surely be highlighted. That's what makes an advanced diver!

I'll toss another recomendation to Silent World. Last winter I was down in the Keys and I had bought my girlfriend at the time an AOW class with them. She enjoyed it and had nothing but good things to say. On the few trips that we were on the same boat I observed some of the class and it seemed to be well run and the instructor was knowledgeable.