Unclear on PADI Adv. OW Reqs

[oddible]

I've been getting some somewhat conflicting information regarding the PADI Advanced Open Water cert and I'm hoping that posting here will help me understand this better.

First, I am aware that there is an AOW PADI course. In this course you get 5 dives that may be considered the first dive of the 5 related specialties. Completing those specialties would still require taking those 5 courses.

However, I have also heard that if you have taken 5 specialty courses in 1 year and two of those specialties are Deep and Navigation, that you are not required to take the AOW course and just need to pay for the certification.

Is this true? If I'm planning on taking several specialty courses I'd rather not pay for the AOW course if it isn't required for the cert.

 

[Bronson]

to get the AOW certification you need 5 dives with the deep and navigation as required for the certification. The other 3 dives are not option for the certification. Sorry.

 

[Crowley]

If you have completed 5 specialties, including the Deep Spec and Nav Spec, you can be certifed as an Advanced Open Water Diver. So yes, as long as they were conducted appropriately, you can be certified AOW

Bear in mind the pre-requisite for the Deep Specialty is "Adventure Diver" or higher, which is any three Adventure dives (ie any three dives from the AOW course).

To confirm, this is a quote from the 2009 Instructor manual:

Similarly, Dive 1 of a related specialty may be counted toward the PADI
Adventures in Diving program.
Relationships between courses are done at the discretion of the instructor
conducting the particular specialty or advanced course. To ensure all performance
requirements are met, use of PADI’s standardized Specialty Diver
Course Instructor Outlines is mandatory when a relationship is drawn between
the PADI Adventures in Diving program and PADI Specialty Diver courses.
Note: PADI certified Specialty Divers wishing to return for certification as either an Adventure
Diver or Advanced Open Water Diver should have the appropriate PADI Adventure
Dive Training Record completed and signed for them by the original Specialty Instructor.
Doing so will assist the Specialty Diver in receiving advanced training credit for the first
dive of their Specialty Diver Course.

Cheers

C.

 

[rstofer]

That quote reads like stereo instructions.

If I diver has 5 specialties (Deep, Navigation, PPB, S&R and, let's just say, Boat) then a PADI instructor can recognize those dives and sign off on AOW?

The reason I am curious is that my grandson can't do the deep dives yet. However, he could take all of the other specialties and get more substantial training earlier than just waiting to take Jr AOW.

Richard

 

[Pearldiver07]

That quote reads like stereo instructions.

If I diver has 5 specialties (Deep, Navigation, PPB, S&R and, let's just say, Boat) then a PADI instructor can recognize those dives and sign off on AOW?

The reason I am curious is that my grandson can't do the deep dives yet. However, he could take all of the other specialties and get more substantial training earlier than just waiting to take Jr AOW.

Richard

Richard,

True, your grandson cannot do the Deep Diver specialty, but he could do all of the other specialties, assuming that he is at least 12 y/o and the training was properly documented (in his log book, preferably) an instructor could do the Deep Dive of Jr AOW and complete this certification.

Although Deep Diver certification requires dives beyond the maximum depth PADI allows for training Jr divers, the first dive of the the Deep Diver specialty (the one required for Jr AOW) can be conducted at/above 70 feet, the limit for Jr diver training.

If he later desired, your grandson could return to take the Deep Diver specialty once he is of age to take the course (15 y/o) and he and his parents feel that he is developmentally ready for the course.

 

[oddible]

Fantastic, thanks, one more clarification question then... I've heard that some specialties might not count toward Adventure or Advanced. I'm in the process of finishing up: Dry Suit, Underwater Navigation, Enriched Air. This should get me my Adventure cert then I'll go on to Deep and [something else, not sure yet - maybe Wreck or Photography]. Since the Nitrox class doesn't require a dive does this still count toward both the Adventure and the Advanced cert?

Also, a friend recommended the SSI center in town to do my EANitrox course as it goes a bit more in-depth. If I do the Nitrox course with SSI will this be a problem getting my PADI Adventure / Advanced using these 5 specialties?

 

[ScubaDocER]

This may be a foolish question but what is an Adventure diver and how does it differ from an Advanced diver?

 

[hg frogman]

That's not a foolish question.
PADI Adventure Diver = 3 "Adventure Dives".
PADI Advanced OW Diver = 5 "Adventure Dives" including 1 Deep and 1 UW Navigation.
Cheers
HG

 

[KJackson60]

Fantastic, thanks, one more clarification question then... I've heard that some specialties might not count toward Adventure or Advanced. I'm in the process of finishing up: Dry Suit, Underwater Navigation, Enriched Air. This should get me my Adventure cert then I'll go on to Deep and [something else, not sure yet - maybe Wreck or Photography]. Since the Nitrox class doesn't require a dive does this still count toward both the Adventure and the Advanced cert?

Also, a friend recommended the SSI center in town to do my EANitrox course as it goes a bit more in-depth. If I do the Nitrox course with SSI will this be a problem getting my PADI Adventure / Advanced using these 5 specialties?

The Nitrox Specialty does count toward the PADI Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certs. However, all specialty courses must be PADI courses to count towards those certs as well as the Master Diver cert if you are thinking about going that route. Hope this helps.

 

[ScubaDocER]

That's not a foolish question.
PADI Adventure Diver = 3 "Adventure Dives".
PADI Advanced OW Diver = 5 "Adventure Dives" including 1 Deep and 1 UW Navigation.
Cheers
HG

And these are after the OW cert? When I went through PADI in 1999 there was just Advance OW. What's the purpose of having both an Adventure and an Advanced certification?