Peak Buoyancy Specialty Course

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Guess it depends if the person has interest in the Rescue Diver class.

Why? Getting a PADI AOW card by completing 5 specialties (including nav and deep), is a better way to go. Even though the performance standards are not challenging, it still gives a lot more than a single try dive per specialty. If you find instructors who excel at particular specialties, then you might actual have a fair bit of skills improvement. Finding them does take work.

 

[tursiops]

Guess it depends if the person has interest in the Rescue Diver class.

There is no requirement for AOW prior to doing Rescue. The only prerequisite (other than being at least 12 years old) is the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive. (EFR is also required, but can be done as part of the Rescue class.)

ETA: corrected in the two posts below.

 

[Martijn]

There is no requirement for AOW prior to doing Rescue. The only prerequisite (other than being at least 12 years old) is the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive. (EFR is also required, but can be done as part of the Rescue class.)

Navigation adventure + 2 others

 

[tursiops]

View attachment 737130

Navigation adventure + 2 others

Oops, yes. Sorry.
I was trying to say that AOW is not necessary, but Adventure Diver is....and the only required dive is Underwater Navigation. The other two could be nearly anything....so long as they ar Adventure Dives and don't have some other prerequistes (for example, Deep and Wreck have Adventure Diver as a prereq).

If one really wanted to do Rescue without AOW, then it would only take the Nitrox specialty plus two adventure dives: (1) underwater navigation adventure dive, and (2) Rescue adventure dive. The latter can also give some credit toward the Rescue course itself.

 

[Bob DBF]

Guess it depends if the person has interest in the Rescue Diver class.

PADI has requirements for Rescue, some other agencies don't.

Why? Getting a PADI AOW card by completing 5 specialties (including nav and deep), is a better way to go.

With AOW used as a gateway cert for some dive ops, it may restrict one's boat diving for a while, until all the courses are taken.

 

[tursiops]

Why? Getting a PADI AOW card by completing 5 specialties (including nav and deep), is a better way to go. Even though the performance standards are not challenging, it still gives a lot more than a single try dive per specialty. If you find instructors who excel at particular specialties, then you might actual have a fair bit of skills improvement. Finding them does take work.

I agree with the five specialties, but getting AOW first doesn't prevent you from getting the specialties later. It might even help you choose five that suit you best.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I agree with the five specialties, but getting AOW first doesn't prevent you from getting the specialties later. It might even help you choose five that suit you best.

Why waste money?

For the specialties there are not that many skills based ones that will make you a better diver.

This is true of all agencies.

 

[The Chairman]

This is true of all agencies.

The worth of a class has little to do with the agency and everything to do with the instructor. YMMV.

In retrospect, it has a lot to do with the student as well.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

The worth of a class has little to do with the agency and everything to do with the instructor. YMMV.

In retrospect, it has a lot to do with the student as well.

I don't think that's true of GUE, UTD, or ISE. Possibly RAID. Those agencies don't have the same discrepancies between instructors.

 

[tursiops]

For the specialties there are not that many skills based ones that will make you a better diver.

Some specialties are designed to let your learn more about the ocean, or to let you be helpful to the ocean. Being a better diver is just one possible goal of a specialty; there are others.