PADI Advanced Open Water

[Keith.M]

After getting a fair amount of dives under my belt, I figured it was time to advance my training.

I wanted to get others imput as to what you should expect from the classroom work for the PADI AOW.

My issue is that I had my classroom work last night and left feeling very disappointed.

After purchasing the class and all the material, I was instructed to do the required reading and knowledge reviews prior to the class.

So I show up prerpared with 6 sections completed. Deep, Nav, Boat, "Search and Recovery", Night and Peak Performance Buoyancy.

I felt that what I received for a "class" was really just an orientation for this weekends dives. He did go ever each dive and what the plan would be for each one, but that was it. Took less than an hour.

I was expecting to go through each of the assigned sections, looking at each of the knowledge reviews and discussing anything that any student may have missed. I really thought it was going to be from 6:30 - 10:00 and instead was out of there before 7:30.

Was my expectation wrong?

 

[nimoh]

I think AOW is more about the experience than the academic work. You need to do the academic work to understand such things as what is narcosis, but the course is more about doing a deep dive and experiencing narcosis in a controlled environment, or doing a dive while using a compass.

If you had questions after going through the academic work, the classroom would be the place to ask, and sometimes that can drag the classroom session out, but since you showed up prepared, that is probably why it went so quickly.

 

[exposure]

Your expectation regarding the knowledge review is good. It is normal that he asked you to do the reading and the knowledge reviews prior to the class. Then, these Knowledge reviews have to be reviewed by instructor and he has to give you more information/detail on your wrong answers to make sure you understand every part of these knowledge reviews. This part can be very quick if all your answers are the proper one. Then the next step is to do the briefing for each dives.

 

[Keith.M]

OK, sounds good. I do think his briefings were good and I am well prepared for the dives. Definitely look forward to getting back in the water! It will have been a month!

 

[Peter_C]

Make your next class a UTD, or GUE class, and you will find per dollar spent you are getting more for your money. We spent hours and hours in the classroom going over gases, safety/deco stops, tables, minimum gas to get back to the surface, and lots of time in the pool practicing. Not one single dive was about how deep we could go, instead it was about diving as a team, learning proper buoyancy, air shares practiced over and over (Doing ascents while air sharing is rarely practiced by other agencies at least in the classes I have taken), along with other important tasks like shooting an SMB properly. Plus if no video is shot, how can you learn from your own mistakes? The video reviews really help make one a better diver. "I wasn't doing that", "uhh...yeahh...I see on the video now that I was". No one says you ever have to be more than a recreational diver, and UTD allows a jacket BC for the Essentials class, as long as you have a longer hose, and paddle fins to allow you to do the kicks you will learn.

 

[TSandM]

I think AOW may be the PADI class where the variations among instructors are the greatest. Some instructors put as little into it as possible; others view the class as an opportunity to add value, bring in new information, and remediate skills.

I can tell you that if you had taken the class from my husband, you would never have been out of there by 7:30!

 

[Keith.M]

Thanks Peter. The thing about that is that they don't seem to have that many classes and certainly not very local.

I am very interested in taking GUE Fundamentals. However... It seems it is only offered once a year? And this year had the ocean dive portion on Super Bowl weekend?

I mean I do take my diving seriously, but really? I have got to have some Super Bowl action.

No worries on the BCD. I have a back inflate, not a jacket. I also have all the pieces to complete my BP/W I was asking about here. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/buoyancy-compensators-bcs-weight-systems/440934-bp-w-questions.html

Next will be a new regulator set-up with a long hose and bungeed back-up.

 

[Peter Guy]

OP -- Thank you for writing about this. At the very least, you did have a full session with your instructor in which you went over your dives which is more than I got when I did my AOW.

On the other hand, it could have been so much more since you prepared for the following classes:

Deep -- great opportunity to introduce air supply management issues -- how much reserve do you need; what is your expected consumption; what usage strategy will you use; this is also a time to review NDLs and plan on how much time you will have and what will be your limiting factor -- NDL time or air supply; of course this is also a great time to discuss narcosis and its effects; lastly, it is a good opportunity to discuss why a Nitrox card is good to have

Nav -- this is the time to discuss/review compass usage and when it is more appropriate to plan on compass navigation vs. "natural" navigation

Boat -- there is so much that should be discussed here (in addition to what is "the head" and what is the name of the pointy end!) -- exit strategies; how to gear up on a boat; other forms of boat etiquette; getting back on a boat; tipping!; boat dive planning and how it differs from shore diving

"Search and Recovery" --I hope you discussed, and practiced, lift bag/SMB deployment -- and this is something that really needs a pool session before going to open water

Night -- this is the time to talk about light signals and passive communication; how to carry a backup light so that it can be easily deployed in case the primary conks out; what is the difference between a backup and primary light (might not be so much these days); different types of lights, primary and backup; critter activity night vs. day

Peak Performance Buoyancy -- this is one that cries out for both pool and video sessions -- at the very least some video showing what "PPB" is really all about (here is an example -- http://www.belowandbeyond.biz/Video/Buoyancy and Trim.mp4 )

OP -- good luck on your dives.

 

[Peter_C]

As TSandM points out mostly it is up to the instructors, and the ones that go over the top, like Peter ^ are far and few between.

Thanks Peter. The thing about that is that they don't seem to have that many classes and certainly not very local.

Nothing in Sac Town, but Monterey isn't that far away. I understand though that it requires a hotel room for you. I was able to commute home each night after the classroom/pool classes, but stayed in Monterey for the ocean dives. We split a room.

I am very interested in taking GUE Fundamentals. However... It seems it is only offered once a year? And this year had the ocean dive portion on Super Bowl weekend?

Email Rob L., Sue aka Susan B., and/or Beto aka Alberto N. and they can work on getting a class together. They are all good instructors and work as a team to teach. They teach a lot more than a class a year, but not only is a tailored class, they are also held when students request them within reason. You want similar teammates in your class. Meaning if you want to take it in a single tank configuration then so should your teammates.

I mean I do take my diving seriously, but really? I have got to have some Super Bowl action.

What is a Super Bowl

No worries on the BCD. I have a back inflate, not a jacket. I also have all the pieces to complete my BP/W I was asking about here. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/buoyancy-compensators-bcs-weight-systems/440934-bp-w-questions.html

Ha! and I posted into that thread. So what did you end up getting?

Next will be a new regulator set-up with a long hose and bungeed back-up.

Is there something wrong with the reg you have now? Might just need a couple of hoses, and a better reg than a standard octo if that is what you currently use.

 

[TSandM]

If you don't want to go all the way to Monterey for good instruction, you could look toward Reno -- fdog (and I believe also his wife) are instructors there, and I can guarantee you that any class you took from James would be thorough indeed!