Bingo. Regardless of why, their boat, their rules. BYOB or AOW. I know which is cheaper.
Question Skipping AOW
- Thread starter landlockeddivingdoc
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Bob DBF
Contributor
That's why I picked up my AOW 29 years after OW, hell, that's why I pickerd up my OW card after 17 years of diving, sooner or later I knew I would across a knucklehead that wouldn’t understand that I was a diver when I talked to them, and I wouldn't get a fill.
Get your card, it will save you some grief in the future as people will get more paperwork oriented.
Most ops that want to see an AOW card couldn't care less about the person's skill and knowledge levels. As Tracy said earlier, they are doing it because their liability carrier wants it.
Think of it as a "Get out of jail free" card.
They can use this when the person with 10 dives and an AOW card jumps on a boat and gets dropped on the Spiegel Grove and gets to 90ft and the current is ripping. They get swept away, found a few hour later scared out of their minds, and decide to sue the op for allowing them to do the dive. Or their heirs sue the op when they don't get found.
The lawyers will point to the AOW card and say "He has an AOW card! He was trained."
Even though many AOW courses are nothing but a money grab with too low entrance requirements, no actual education, and no minimum exit requirements.
Bob Bailey (NW Grateful Diver) on here, used to teach an AOW class that was the inspiration for the one I developed for my students and describe in my second book.
We taught classes that required a minimum level of skill just to start the class. The dives were not up to the student, required significant classroom time, and actually imparted new skills and knowledge that, at a minimum, gave people enough information and skills to do the dives while at the same time, giving them the knowledge to say "I'm not ready for that yet." And most importantly, if you didn't meet our exit requirements, you didn't get the card until you practiced enough to meet them.
Most training doesn't do that.
At the recreational level anyway. All good tech classes make damn sure you know that those dives you did in training gave you a foundation and you need to work your way up to the limits of your card.
At shops right now there are people who probably should not be out of the pool, being sold an AOW class for their vacation trip that requires it to allow them to do some of the dives.
Doesn't matter that they have no business doing the class. And that they will barely make it through the dives with their hands being held by the instructor. The immoral and unethical shop will take their money, sell the card after a few quick dives, and send them on their way. With the FALSE confidence that they will be fine.
There are a few instructors from every agency that will make you bust your ass to earn that card. They are few and far between. But they are out there. Finding one is the challenge.
It's why in my book "SCUBA: A Practical Guide to Advanced Level Diving" I wrote several chapters devoted to how to find one of these classes, how to interview the shop/instructor, what to look for in terms of dives and classroom, and what skills/knowledge you should have before signing up and paying any money.
If you do this, the class may be well worth the time and money.
Think of it as a "Get out of jail free" card.
They can use this when the person with 10 dives and an AOW card jumps on a boat and gets dropped on the Spiegel Grove and gets to 90ft and the current is ripping. They get swept away, found a few hour later scared out of their minds, and decide to sue the op for allowing them to do the dive. Or their heirs sue the op when they don't get found.
The lawyers will point to the AOW card and say "He has an AOW card! He was trained."
Even though many AOW courses are nothing but a money grab with too low entrance requirements, no actual education, and no minimum exit requirements.
Bob Bailey (NW Grateful Diver) on here, used to teach an AOW class that was the inspiration for the one I developed for my students and describe in my second book.
We taught classes that required a minimum level of skill just to start the class. The dives were not up to the student, required significant classroom time, and actually imparted new skills and knowledge that, at a minimum, gave people enough information and skills to do the dives while at the same time, giving them the knowledge to say "I'm not ready for that yet." And most importantly, if you didn't meet our exit requirements, you didn't get the card until you practiced enough to meet them.
Most training doesn't do that.
At the recreational level anyway. All good tech classes make damn sure you know that those dives you did in training gave you a foundation and you need to work your way up to the limits of your card.
At shops right now there are people who probably should not be out of the pool, being sold an AOW class for their vacation trip that requires it to allow them to do some of the dives.
Doesn't matter that they have no business doing the class. And that they will barely make it through the dives with their hands being held by the instructor. The immoral and unethical shop will take their money, sell the card after a few quick dives, and send them on their way. With the FALSE confidence that they will be fine.
There are a few instructors from every agency that will make you bust your ass to earn that card. They are few and far between. But they are out there. Finding one is the challenge.
It's why in my book "SCUBA: A Practical Guide to Advanced Level Diving" I wrote several chapters devoted to how to find one of these classes, how to interview the shop/instructor, what to look for in terms of dives and classroom, and what skills/knowledge you should have before signing up and paying any money.
If you do this, the class may be well worth the time and money.
MidOH
Banned
AOW may be weak, but you can add value to it.
Use a different shop than your OW. Build another relationship with another shop, and experience a completely different quarry or dive site.
Use a different shop than your OW. Build another relationship with another shop, and experience a completely different quarry or dive site.
I did AKR on OW and did every single dive that week.
The requirement by an operator for AOW to go below 60ft is all about liability insurance.
That is why you will encounter it in the USA more often than in Asia.
On the subject of cert card "equivalence" with dive shops, some truly don't understand, I was once refused Nitrox because my padi app was having a " bad day" so all I could show was my SDI Advanced Nitrox Card which clearly states " qualified to use 22% to 100% oxygen"
The Muppet checking me in just did not understand. Go figure that one out.
That is why you will encounter it in the USA more often than in Asia.
On the subject of cert card "equivalence" with dive shops, some truly don't understand, I was once refused Nitrox because my padi app was having a " bad day" so all I could show was my SDI Advanced Nitrox Card which clearly states " qualified to use 22% to 100% oxygen"
The Muppet checking me in just did not understand. Go figure that one out.
Cthippo
Contributor
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