SSI AOW versus Deep diving speciality

[scubadada]

The only cert I've ever been asked for by an operator other than OW and nitrox, is AOW. Do operators routinely recognize the equivalency and accept SSI Advanced Adventurer?

 

[stepfen]

AOW as most think of it, 5 adventure dives which must include Navigation and Deep, is the same as SSI Advanced Adventurer.

and

Advanced Adventurer is the SSI equivalent to PADI AOW.

As said for PADI's AOW one has to do deep - hence with an AOW card the diver can dive down to 100ft/30m.
Interestingly for SSI's Advanced Adventurer deep and navigation are not required (the diver can choose any 5 specialties) - hence the two cards are not always equivalent.
I became aware of this "detail" only because a friend of mine is doing SSI AA this weekend and he showed me the requirements.
We used to dive with 2 instructors and as a group we have done ~100ft dives together several times hence he was thinking to choose something more useful (i.e. new) to him instead of deep. I insisted that he'd better do deep and have it written on the card to avoid potential future problems with operators etc.

Initially I couldn't believe one could do AA without deep. I wonder why they do it this way.

 

[Bob DBF]

Interestingly for SSI's Advanced Adventurer deep and navigation are not required (the diver can choose any 5 specialties) - hence the two cards are not always equivalent.

It is interesting that the equivalency charts I've seen brought up show them as equilivent. Of course there is no ISO or WRSTC standard for AOW so I guess there is nothing to be equilivent to, and could be the reason SSI has a completely different AOW program than other agencies.

How it's done, in practice, may have more divers taking nav and deep than not, I would hope.


Bob

 

[rick00001967]

And thanks for the offer, although I actually mean Dutch waters, like water/lakes in the Netherlands and not Dutch Lake, near Canada

haha i was reading without my glasses on. that will teach me. i read that you lived in Duluth which is n minnesota usa. haha

 

[Pat85]

If the history and science interest you, I can't recommend Deco for Divers enough. It's by Mark Powell, and if you're interested in technical diving he has a book about that too.

Cool, seems like a good read. Thanks for the recommendation, I could even find it in my Dutch webshop,so I ordered it!

 

[RogueClimber]

This is SSI's description of Advanced Adventurer

This program allows you to experience five different open water dives from five SSI Specialty programs without requiring you to complete the entire Specialty. If you are unsure of your next step, this is the perfect way to advance your dive skills and experience, and to identify which Specialty programs interest you. You will earn the SSI Advanced Adventurer certification after completing this program.

Attention: The Advanced Adventurer certification is not counted towards the AOWD Recognition. To achieve one or more specialty certification(s) for the AOWD, you may decide to complete one or more of these specialties. Your dives from the Advanced Adventurer course will of course be counted.

To me this does not sound like an equivalent to PADI AOW but just a sampler to learn what you want to do next. SSI AOWD requires completing 4 specialty courses and 24 open water dives. The next step after AOWD is Master Diver which is adding Rescue and a total of 50 dives.

​

 

[athigunk]

This is SSI's description of Advanced Adventurer

To me this does not sound like an equivalent to PADI AOW but just a sampler to learn what you want to do next. SSI AOWD requires completing 4 specialty courses and 24 open water dives. The next step after AOWD is Master Diver which is adding Rescue and a total of 50 dives.

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Is that not how PADI AOW works? 5 introductory dives, one on each specialty? Aka, sample platter

 

[athigunk]

Really? It confuses me...I thought the SSI Advanced Adventurer was more like a, how to say it, a ' sample platter' for trying out different specialties, rather than allowing a diver to actually classify for more than the 18m (if deep diving was chosen as one of the five samples).

That is what it is. If one of the selected specialties is deep diving then you can go to 30m upon certification.

 

[Tribal]

The only guided dives I ever did are a few dives of 3 different LOBs in Egypte.
They just ask your C- card and insurance and after that they threat all AOW and similairs the same. Max depth is 40m or whatever your PPo2 says it is.

 

[Bob DBF]

The only guided dives I ever did are a few dives of 3 different LOBs in Egypte.
They just ask your C- card and insurance and after that they threat all AOW and similairs the same. Max depth is 40m or whatever your PPo2 says it is.

In other locations dive ops restrict divers maximum depth to the recommended maximum depth of the certification, OW 60', AOW 100', Deep 130'. It may be driven by the dive op's insurance carrier, or just an easy, not necessarily accurate, way to assess the experience of the diver.



Bob