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Yes, that's an excellent approach, just be careful at the refreshment table.TSandM:Oh, we talk about it . . . Fundies!
To those considering an OW class...
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Besides finding a mentor or taking fundies another option would be to fly Thalassamania out to you and he'll fix you up.
Whatever you do, don't go back to the same LDS that caused the problem to begin with.
Whatever you do, don't go back to the same LDS that caused the problem to begin with.
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Heck, I'm moving out there this summer. You can have the friends' deal, come stay at the house, we'll dive for the weekend, no charge, boat and beer are your problem.
Carribeandiver:
PADI does not offer an AOW class, they have a program called Adventures in Diving, which may lead to a AOW certification if the diver so chooses. The intent is to introduce the diver to special experiences outside of the Basic OW Class. If you complete the Deep, Navigation, and any 3 Adventure dives, which does not have to include night, then you are "trained" to dive to 100ft, and do basic navigation, in conditions equal to or better than you experienced in the class.
Without weighing in on the overall "what's a newbie/geezer to do" quandry, here is a link indicating PADI does currently consider it an AOW course.
http://www.padi.com/padi/en/kd/advancedopenwater.aspx
The title of the page is;
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course Details
The following excerpts do not seem to indicate that PADI currently considers you "trained" to dive to 100ft, or navigate, or night dive if chosen as an elective.
...you make five dives and have the opportunity to try some of diving’s most rewarding and useful specialty activities...
These dives boost your confidence as you build these foundational skills.
A quick look at PADI Standards shows that in '01 (my IE) the minimum depth for AOW Deep Dive - 60ft (max 100ft), where as the minimum recommended depth of first Deep Specialty dive - 80ft (4 dives required - 1 minimum 100ft). Divers under 15yrs old are limited to max depth of 70ft (vs 100ft) on the Deep Adventure Dive and may not take the Deep Specialty.
AOW seems to be what they now call the class although they still call the manual Adventures in Diving.
It is possible that independent forums like this one helped modify inacurate wording but it is unlikely anyone would admit that and marketing is the most likely reason for going back to calling it AOW rather than AID.
http://www.padi.com/padi/en/kd/advancedopenwater.aspx
The title of the page is;
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course Details
The following excerpts do not seem to indicate that PADI currently considers you "trained" to dive to 100ft, or navigate, or night dive if chosen as an elective.
...you make five dives and have the opportunity to try some of diving’s most rewarding and useful specialty activities...
These dives boost your confidence as you build these foundational skills.
A quick look at PADI Standards shows that in '01 (my IE) the minimum depth for AOW Deep Dive - 60ft (max 100ft), where as the minimum recommended depth of first Deep Specialty dive - 80ft (4 dives required - 1 minimum 100ft). Divers under 15yrs old are limited to max depth of 70ft (vs 100ft) on the Deep Adventure Dive and may not take the Deep Specialty.
AOW seems to be what they now call the class although they still call the manual Adventures in Diving.
It is possible that independent forums like this one helped modify inacurate wording but it is unlikely anyone would admit that and marketing is the most likely reason for going back to calling it AOW rather than AID.
Well said, and the point I was going for was more that divers are not required to take all 5 dives, even though thats how shops tend to market it. They can take one or 5 or all 13 if they want. The AOW certification is required before you take Rescue, however, and i do consider my AOW certed students as "advanced" as compared to a new OW student, which is the intent. You can almost think of it as Part 2 of 3 of the OW path.
RS
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!liuk3:
Can you please summarize in one simple post for us all?
Texasdivechick
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Reading this post makes me feel secure in my decision to take the 16 classroom/pool hours plus 4 OW dives here at home BEFORE I left for my first dive vacation. I had the option of taking the resort course, but I have way too much respect/ fear of the ocean to risk being unprepared. My boyfriend, on the other hand, took the two-day resort course. I made a comment about my octopus and he didn't know what I was referring to. Kinda makes me wonder what else they didn't teach him.
I think my original post might have been misleading. From what I know, the difference in the record setting two day class and the one you describe isn't much (if you mean 16 hours total in class and pool, not 16 hours in each). Yours was probably just spread out over a longer period.
I believe the resort course is a completely different animal and doesn't result in an OW certification but I do believe there are full blow OW classes where the entire class less the certification dives can be done in a weekend and is probably a comparable amount of class/pool time.
Can any instructors out there describe the durations of the various offerings from the major agencies (PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI,etc)?
I don't want you to have a false sense of security here. Assuming you did the standard course, there is much you were never taught that used to be considered critical to safe and enjoyable diving (and still is by those of us unsatisfied with the current standards) such as buoyancy control, trim, SMB deployment and gas planning.
I believe the resort course is a completely different animal and doesn't result in an OW certification but I do believe there are full blow OW classes where the entire class less the certification dives can be done in a weekend and is probably a comparable amount of class/pool time.
Can any instructors out there describe the durations of the various offerings from the major agencies (PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI,etc)?
I don't want you to have a false sense of security here. Assuming you did the standard course, there is much you were never taught that used to be considered critical to safe and enjoyable diving (and still is by those of us unsatisfied with the current standards) such as buoyancy control, trim, SMB deployment and gas planning.
PADI does not make any statement with regard to course duration, except to say that we may only conduct three training dives on any given day (24 hrs). PADI Advanced Open Water is just 5 dives after successful completion of the knowledge reviews for the dives to be done. It is common to get the book the day before the first 2 or 3 dive day and finish the next day with 3 or 2 dives. Not counting reading the sections of the book pertaining to the dives to be done, training may be completed in as few as 2 days.
Theoretically, PADI Open Water Diver instruction could be done in 2 days. Knowledge Development I - III (& quizes), Confined Water sessions I - III (considered a dive), Open Water dives I & II, all on day one. Knowledge Development IV & V (quiz & exam passed), Confined Water IV & V (a dive), OW dives III & IV, all on day two. This is not to say that a student could complete the course in 2 days, as there is a Video or DVD to watch (complete with PADI continuing education pitches), reading the entire manual and completing each knowlege review, before sitting down with the instructor.
If there were 4 or less, inteligent, athletic, motivated students who all had big wave surfing &/or blue water hunting experience, they could probably complete the minimum requirements with a fast instructor in 16-20 hours (2 days), if they did the homework! Minimum and fast do not always a good diver make.
Theoretically, PADI Open Water Diver instruction could be done in 2 days. Knowledge Development I - III (& quizes), Confined Water sessions I - III (considered a dive), Open Water dives I & II, all on day one. Knowledge Development IV & V (quiz & exam passed), Confined Water IV & V (a dive), OW dives III & IV, all on day two. This is not to say that a student could complete the course in 2 days, as there is a Video or DVD to watch (complete with PADI continuing education pitches), reading the entire manual and completing each knowlege review, before sitting down with the instructor.
If there were 4 or less, inteligent, athletic, motivated students who all had big wave surfing &/or blue water hunting experience, they could probably complete the minimum requirements with a fast instructor in 16-20 hours (2 days), if they did the homework! Minimum and fast do not always a good diver make.
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