Ops requiring AOW certs?

[Marie13]

SSI Advanced Open Water is four complete specialties and 24 dives, so it is not the same as PADI AOW, which is just one dive from five different specialties.

The name is the same but the training and experience is not.

Bob

SDI Advanced is set up the same.

 

[Bob DBF]

They are suited up on the West coast so they can assist during rescues, but function as diver tenders and deck hands most of the time.

On large but unknown, except for sailors, job of a deckhand is being a lookout. A rescue cannot be made if no one sees a problem. Having never taken a boat diving specialty, I don't know if they stress how to, and the importance of, keeping a lookout.

On a trip to the Channel Islands in SoCal, I was bs'ing with the DM. I was scanning the water behind him and spotted a diver come to the surface acting "different", I told the DM, he looked than got in the skiff and went over and pulled the diver out of the water. He had the BC dump valve fail, blew through his air, tried to stay on the surface and finally dropped weights just before the DM arrived. It was a lobster trip so his buddy was loose and didn't show until he ( or his buddy, it was not really clear ) dropped the weights. It could have turned out much worse.

The irony, the diver was in the group of seven divers I was invited to go out lobster diving with, on this first of a half dozen trips. It was his last.


Bob

 

[Edward3c]

SDI/TDI, BSAC, and CMAS don't.

BSAC has Advanced Diver, see here. Qualified to:
A BSAC Advanced Diver is defined as a diver who is comprehensively trained, experienced and responsible and who can manage and supervise:
• a wide range of adventurous and challenging diving activities
• branch diving expeditions to explore unfamiliar locations
• branch diving activities including dives utilising developing technology and techniques

While Advanced Divers do not necessarily need to be qualified to use emerging technologies themselves, they need to know sufficient about them to understand how to safely incorporate them within branch diving

 

[Akimbo]

BSAC has Advanced Diver, see here...

Just to be clear, the issue isn't competency or equivalency. The problem is when another agency's name doesn't exactly match AOW or Advanced Open Water. It's bad enough when a PADI diver is turned down because they show a PADI card where AOW is a prerequisite.

 

[Storker]

Just to be clear, the issue isn't competency or equivalency. The problem is when another agency's name doesn't exactly match AOW or Advanced Open Water. It's bad enough when a PADI diver is turned down because they show a PADI card where AOW is a prerequisite.

I keep all my c-cards in my logbook binder. In the unlikely case that an op requires a lower level card than my highest qual, that won't be a problem. For me, that is.

My current highest c-card is PADI RD. I'm planning to take CMAS 3*. Will it bother me if an op won't recognise that card? No, because I'm also carrying my PADI AOW, RD and dry suit specialty cards. I don't plan on doing any dives beyond those certifications.

 

[kafkaland]

The "or better" part appears to be problematic since not everyone is versed on what certs require AOW as a prerequisite. For that matter, does anyone use the "Advanced Open Water" moniker besides PADI?

I had once a weird experience with that one. The dive boat required AOW. As usual, I showed my highest card, IANTD Full Cave. And they told me that they really need to see AOW instead. Fortunately, I had that card on me as well.

 

[Centrals]

I carried my IANTD Technical Nitrox card all the time. So I can tell the operator that I am a tec diver as well as nitrox certified.
BTW, IANTD is no longer offering Tech Nitrox course.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I had once a weird experience with that one. The dive boat required AOW. As usual, I showed my highest card, IANTD Full Cave. And they told me that they really need to see AOW instead. Fortunately, I had that card on me as well.

Reminds me of the anecdotes of divers being refused a nitrox fill when they showed a trimix card. "Then just give me 0% helium" goes the story.