ThatsSomeBadHatHarry
Guest
Anyone have any suggestions for the next courses i should take...also in what order? AOW? Fundies?.......
OW...What's next?
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PaulChristenson
Contributor
ThatsSomeBadHatHarry:
PADI AOW is just an exposure to a variety of dives(5) deep and navigation required...
http://www.gue.com/Training/Standards/GUE_Standards_2003v2a.pdf
Prerequisites for Fundamentals Class
Must meet GUE General Course Prerequisites as outlined in Section 1.6
Must be a minimum of 16 years of age
Must be a certified open water diver from a recognized training agency
Must be able to swim a distance of at least 50 feet/15 meters on a breath hold
Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 14 minutes without stopping. This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal protection.
nolatom
Contributor
Take AOW after about 25 dives, then Rescue after about 50.
tjc
Guest
Dive. As much as you can. Get real comfortable in the water, and have good buoyancy control, then think about rescue first (they teach about stressors, which might be valuable for aow), then advanced.
Well, there's no where to go but down from here. 
I agree, dive a little first, maybe 20-30 dives to dial in your basic skills. Once you do that and feel comfortable in the water take AOW to get some exposure to different activities that might interest you (night, drift, photography, etc) then move on from there.
I agree, dive a little first, maybe 20-30 dives to dial in your basic skills. Once you do that and feel comfortable in the water take AOW to get some exposure to different activities that might interest you (night, drift, photography, etc) then move on from there.
Packhorse
Contributor
As tjc said, dive! and then dive some more.
I didnt do any specialties untill I got to 180 dives.
Once you get to 100 or so you should have developed your basic skills somewhat and have a good idea where if anywhere you want to take your diving. Of course if you are just doing it to collect cards then thats a diffrent matter.
The main reason i did my specialties was so I could dive deep & night & wrecks on charters. Although charters account for only 15% of my dives and hunting/ gathering accounts for the rest.
The next specialty for me will be stress and rescue. but im in no hurry to do it.
I didnt do any specialties untill I got to 180 dives.
Once you get to 100 or so you should have developed your basic skills somewhat and have a good idea where if anywhere you want to take your diving. Of course if you are just doing it to collect cards then thats a diffrent matter.
The main reason i did my specialties was so I could dive deep & night & wrecks on charters. Although charters account for only 15% of my dives and hunting/ gathering accounts for the rest.
The next specialty for me will be stress and rescue. but im in no hurry to do it.
Take fundamentals. Why?
1. You asked about it in another thread and seemed interested.
2. It will expose you to alot of different and useful gear.
3. Everything is done within openwater range.
4. The instructors are very, very good.
I took AOW right after OW and it was ok. In retrospect, I would have preferred to take fundies first since it focuses on skill development in the shallows. Give me a week and i'll tell you how it is.
-V
1. You asked about it in another thread and seemed interested.
2. It will expose you to alot of different and useful gear.
3. Everything is done within openwater range.
4. The instructors are very, very good.
I took AOW right after OW and it was ok. In retrospect, I would have preferred to take fundies first since it focuses on skill development in the shallows. Give me a week and i'll tell you how it is.
-V
daniel f aleman
Contributor
Forget GUE Fundamentals; for the same price take AOW, and Rescue after 25 dives or so - the latter two certfications matter.
I think it depends a little bit on you as an individual, and how you feel after your OW class. I went straight into AOW because I didn't feel remotely safe to dive without an instructor right after OW (remember, this is the PNW -- cold water, poor visibility, dry suit). The extra five dives really were necessary for me to get oriented and solidify very basic skills. The AOW dives were essentially just additional OW checkout dives, which one could argue I probably should have been required to do before passing in the first place.
If you feel as though your basic skills are OK, then my advice? Dive, and find a mentor. There are so many things you can address -- getting your weighting right, getting your weights distributed properly, working on not using your hands and improving your kicking efficiency, etc. Any good, experienced diver who likes to help can assist you with such things.
I've done AOW (already discussed) and Rescue, which was a good course and I would recommend it. I've also done Fundies, which was a superb course and a very good investment of time and money, but I don't think you get your money's worth out of it until your basic skills are reasonable. If you can't swim a pattern in 15 feet of water without losing buoyancy control, you aren't going to get very much out of the more challenging parts of Fundies. And, although the ideas of weighting, trim, and propulsion ought to be universal, the specific procedures for things like air sharing are equipment-dependent, and only really useful if you are going to adopt the Hogarthian configuration.
So that's my two cents' worth -- the biggest thing is to get in the water as often as possible and get progressively more comfortable with buoyancy control. Get your weighting right, and your weights distributed properly. Get some advice and support from a good, experienced diver (or more than one!) When you have enough experience, take Rescue, and consider Fundies if you are DIR-inclined.
If you feel as though your basic skills are OK, then my advice? Dive, and find a mentor. There are so many things you can address -- getting your weighting right, getting your weights distributed properly, working on not using your hands and improving your kicking efficiency, etc. Any good, experienced diver who likes to help can assist you with such things.
I've done AOW (already discussed) and Rescue, which was a good course and I would recommend it. I've also done Fundies, which was a superb course and a very good investment of time and money, but I don't think you get your money's worth out of it until your basic skills are reasonable. If you can't swim a pattern in 15 feet of water without losing buoyancy control, you aren't going to get very much out of the more challenging parts of Fundies. And, although the ideas of weighting, trim, and propulsion ought to be universal, the specific procedures for things like air sharing are equipment-dependent, and only really useful if you are going to adopt the Hogarthian configuration.
So that's my two cents' worth -- the biggest thing is to get in the water as often as possible and get progressively more comfortable with buoyancy control. Get your weighting right, and your weights distributed properly. Get some advice and support from a good, experienced diver (or more than one!) When you have enough experience, take Rescue, and consider Fundies if you are DIR-inclined.
TSandM says beat me to it. Her advice is right on. I'm not really of the DIR mentality, but I do dive Hogarthian. But I still think the Fundies class can be beneficial.
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