PADI AOW Question

[Jack Manning]

Can I use previously taken courses toward PADI AOW? Some courses I have already taken are also the elective ones for AOW. For example, I already have Navigation, Enriched Air and Wreck. Can I just take the AOW e-learning and the Deep Dive and another specialty to earn AOW certification? It isn't really clear on the website.

Thanks!

 

[Raphus]

You can use some of your specialtys and let them count as a aowd dive. So if you got 4 specialtys including navigation you can earn your card with theorie only and the deep dive.


Or you can choose some new dives and have fun. Depends on what you want. Talk with your diveshop. Some will probably not do the deep dive with you,until they saw you in the water. At least i wouldnt.

 

[Jack Manning]

Thanks for the quick response. I have some trips coming up and I want to take a few classes during those trips and figured I could work toward the AOW at the same time without taking away from the dives with my son and daughter!

 

[VikingDives]

Actually, the info above is wrong. The only specialty you can use as credit toward AOW is (from the PADI Instructor Manual):

Specialty Diver Courses to Advanced Open Water Diver Course

Dive 1 of a standardized PADI/AWARE Specialty Diver course may credit toward the related Adventure Dive in the Advanced Open Water Diver course if the diver has completed the relevant knowledge review (or vice versa).

Generally, your AOW dives can be credited toward specialties though.

SSI (IIRC) and SDI have ways to become advanced with specialties, you might want to look at those agencies if they are available to you.

 

[tursiops]

Actually, the info above is wrong. The only specialty you can use as credit toward AOW is (from the PADI Instructor Manual):

Specialty Diver Courses to Advanced Open Water Diver Course

Dive 1 of a standardized PADI/AWARE Specialty Diver course may credit toward the related Adventure Dive in the Advanced Open Water Diver course if the diver has completed the relevant knowledge review (or vice versa).

Generally, your AOW dives can be credited toward specialties though.

SSI (IIRC) and SDI have ways to become advanced with specialties, you might want to look at those agencies if they are available to you.

But most of the specialties are in fact standardized, in particular Navigation and Wreck. Enriched Air has no in-water skills so I don't count it toward AOW. He said he'd like to do the elearning for AOW ----that will include the knowledge reviews for Nav and Wreck, which he'd had to do anyway to get the specialties. The point is he has the complete specialty, not just dive one, so the quote from the IM is irrelevant.

He should be able to do the Deep adventure dive, plus two other adventure dives, add in the Nav and Wreck full specialties, and complete his AOW.

 

[Raphus]

Actually, the info above is wrong. The only specialty you can use as credit toward AOW is (from the PADI Instructor Manual):

Specialty Diver Courses to Advanced Open Water Diver Course

Dive 1 of a standardized PADI/AWARE Specialty Diver course may credit toward the related Adventure Dive in the Advanced Open Water Diver course if the diver has completed the relevant knowledge review (or vice versa).

Generally, your AOW dives can be credited toward specialties though.

SSI (IIRC) and SDI have ways to become advanced with specialties, you might want to look at those agencies if they are available to you.

The courses,which are standardized, can be used as the aowd dives. I dont see, why my info is wong?

If he got a s&r specialty he can count them as one adventure dive. Same for navi and other standardized courses. So please explain me, what exactly was wrong in my statement.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Imagine you have a nourishing soup simmering away for post dive heartiness

Do you really want to share the same burner with seared filet mignon

Well do you?

 

[Scraps]

I understand why there’s confusion regarding the OP’s question. AOW is usually the gateway to specialty courses.

OW divers take AOW either to get a card that lets them on charters requiring the AOW cert or, which is a published intent of the course, to sample different adventure dives to decide which specialty they want to pursue.

I’ve never had the question come up. In fact, I don’t think I’ve never taught AOW to a student who had previously earned any specialty certs other than Nitrox.

 

[VikingDives]

The courses,which are standardized, can be used as the aowd dives. I dont see, why my info is wong?

If he got a s&r specialty he can count them as one adventure dive. Same for navi and other standardized courses. So please explain me, what exactly was wrong in my statement.

Your information is wrong because it is in conflict with PADI standards. I posted the standard straight out of the instructor manual.

You can count AOW dives toward specialties, but not the other way around. Specialty dives, conducted in specialty courses (except for AWARE) do not count for PADI's AOW.

You could do the deep, nav, S&R, Wreck and PPB specialties and get all five cert cards and NONE of the classes would count toward AOW.

If you took those dives in AOW, they'd count toward dive one of each specialty though.

 

[VikingDives]

But most of the specialties are in fact standardized, in particular Navigation and Wreck. Enriched Air has no in-water skills so I don't count it toward AOW. He said he'd like to do the elearning for AOW ----that will include the knowledge reviews for Nav and Wreck, which he'd had to do anyway to get the specialties. The point is he has the complete specialty, not just dive one, so the quote from the IM is irrelevant.

He should be able to do the Deep adventure dive, plus two other adventure dives, add in the Nav and Wreck full specialties, and complete his AOW.

He's talking about taking specialties and applying the dives from the specialty course to the AOW, which isn't permitted by standards.