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Sham_ba_la

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Well come this Friday I'm going to be starting my OW Class and I'm very excited.. it's been a long wait it seems from when I signed up.. yet my thoughts are after getting my OW Cert I'm going to take an EFR course on 11/17 and then going to work on the Rescue Diver Certification and AOW after that.

What I was wondering is the AOW class really worth the time? I noticed some posts in the past from some people here that it's more of a waste of time, but isn't this needed to go further with my training and certifications? Also should I wait to get more actual dive experience before training more or just take the classes as I can?


D
 
I can't say much about how much dive experience you need or should have before going on to other classes, but what I was told is that you have to have AOW as a prerequisite for Rescue Diver. I was gung ho about getting Resuce but have to wait until I get my AOW next spring.

Hope it helps!
Laurel- The Frog Queen
:royal:
 
While you can take EFR any time, you cannot take Rescue Diver BEFORE you get your Adventures in Diving (AOW) certification, as AOW is the prerequisite for Rescue Diver.

Basically, AOW consists of 5 dives: Deep and Navigation are mandatory, while the other 3 are up to you and your Instructor. I highly recommend Peak Performance Buoyancy as one of the 3 electives, but that is personal preference.

BTW, any Specialty dives you do can be put towards AOW. For example, after you get your OW you decide you'd like to take the Navigation course. Well, the first dive of that Specialty counts towards your AOW. Same wih Deep and U/W Photo and... etc., etc., etc. So you can actually wind up getting AOW without even doing the course... it just takes a bit longer.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Have fun on you OW course! :thumb:
 
I don't know which agency you are certifying with but PADI requires AOW before rescue. In any case, IMHO you really should put in some uw time before heading off to either class, esp Rescue. My rescue class was pretty hectic and required you to be totally comfortable with your gear and in the water. Bouyancy control was a must. Do your self a favor and find a good experienced buddy and do some simple fun dives to get your weighting and bouyancy control spot on and then tackle rescue. You will get more out of both classes that way.
For what it's worth, over the years this has been discussed on the board and while the opinions vary all over the place, about 20 dives between OW and AOW seemed to be the most suggested.

Good luck on your OW.
 
Was a much longer and comprehensive course than those of today.
As I recall it was 12 weeks, classroom on thursday evening and diving saturday morning.

No nitrox as it was not even considered in rec diving those days.
Dry suits were rare except in commercial diving.
Heck, I was still diving a horse collar BC and no octo.

BTW the date on my AOW card is 4/26/81.

:D
 
pipedope once bubbled...
Heck, I was still diving a horse collar BC and no octo.

BTW the date on my AOW card is 4/26/81.

:D
Click to expand...


Wow, that's pretty wild... I've seen a few of those horse collar BC's around usually on walls as decoration in diving shops. I'm sure your probably glad all that has changed and gotten better..:)

D
 
pipedope once bubbled...
Was a much longer and comprehensive course than those of today.
As I recall it was 12 weeks, classroom on thursday evening and diving saturday morning.

No nitrox as it was not even considered in rec diving those days.
Dry suits were rare except in commercial diving.
Heck, I was still diving a horse collar BC and no octo.

BTW the date on my AOW card is 4/26/81.

:D
Click to expand...

What's sad is that many of today's newly certified divers probably read your post & think to themselves, "Geesh, I'm sure glad it's not like that anymore! How could I become a DM in two months that way??"

As a new diver myself (about 60 dives logged), BOY do I wish the training was similar to that you received 22 years ago. I was certified OW in '96 through a University course...26 hours of lecture over 13 weeks, 26 hours of pool time, and an open water weekend of 6 dives & 300min bottom time with 4 divers & 1 instructor. Loved every minute. Now, after several years of little diving due to hectic schedules & little vacation time, I'm back in the saddle & can't wait to gain more experience.

Jim
 
GoBlue! once bubbled...

What's sad is that many of today's newly certified divers probably read your post & think to themselves, "Geesh, I'm sure glad it's not like that anymore! How could I become a DM in two months that way??"Jim
Click to expand...


I hope by my last post you all didn't think I meant anything like what is mentioned above.. Believe me I would love to take a course that is much longer and teaches you more about diving, the history,etc rather than taking a course which is only 2 weekends but not much is avaliable that wouldn't be too far for me to drive to.

I think diving is a very interesting sport, being able to see another part of the world which is covered up by water... only thing I'm mostly curious about is those who started using the old equipment from the early 80's are you glad that the equipment used now is a bit more compact or do you prefer what you started out with?

D
 
Some people really love them especially for spearfishing.

The most important thing is the attitude of the individual.
A person who wants it can get quality training and learn lots more than the minimum.

I suggest taking a course, doing some dives, taking another course, doing some more dives, take another course, do lots more dives, repeat.

Remember, there is something to learn, something to enjoy and something wonderfull on *every* dive.
 
Sham_ba_la once bubbled...
I hope by my last post you all didn't think I meant anything like what is mentioned above.. Believe me I would love to take a course that is much longer and teaches you more about diving, the history,etc rather than taking a course which is only 2 weekends but not much is avaliable that wouldn't be too far for me to drive to.
Click to expand...

Nope! No inferences were being made about you at all; just a general observation of many attitudes that are out there.

And I agree - there are still many excellent instructors who tend to have a bit of an "old school" attitude, and for them I am very thankful.

Jim
 
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