What really is an "Advanced Open Water" diver?
- Thread starter JW59
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Are you really denying this? Where are all these divers and ops getting the 18m OW limit and 30m AOW limit from? You think it's just a coincidence?
If you really need examples.
Let's start with the PADI AOW page:
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills...
Learn How to
Explore below 18m/60ft
Improve your buoyancy
Use a compass
Popular press
Why Should You Become an Advanced Open Water Diver? | RUSHKULT
You should know that each PADI certification comes with certain depth limits. The PADI Advanced open water depth is set to 30 meters or 100 ft vs 18 meters or 60 feet for the maximum PADI open water depth.
Dive Ops
PADI Advanced Open Water Course
Upon successful completion of your course you will become a certified PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. You will be allowed to dive anywhere in the world to a depth of 100 feet.
PADI Advanced Open Water Course | Coki Dive Center
This Advanced Open Water Course is designed to improve your dive awareness and help develop your skills beyond the PADI Open Water Diver. This allows you to participate in more advanced diving activities with a maximum recommended depth of 30 meters/100 feet.
I'm going to stop here, but there are hundreds more like this.
My point is that PADI is being quite straightforward about what the AOW is. Read what you wrote, quoting them: "The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills..."
No matter how many times you say it, that is NOT the same as promoting it as a course to make you an advanced diver.
Then you quote the popular press; for example Coki Dive Center says the same thing as PADI; it does not claim you become an advanced diver.
Yes, there is a difference between training limits and recommended limits for each certification. What some journalist I've never heard of in some publication I've never read says is hardly relevant, and definitely not compelling.
"allowed to dive to.. 100ft". "allows you to participate in more advanced diving activities with a maximum recommended depth of 30 meters/100 feet"
This is the type of hair splitting I was talking about. Nearly everyone who reads this is going to think that this means OW isn't allowed to go to 100ft. That's exactly the intention and exactly why you get statements such as the one from Rushkult.
BTW, these are from PADI-written templates, the same wording appears everywhere.
This is the type of hair splitting I was talking about. Nearly everyone who reads this is going to think that this means OW isn't allowed to go to 100ft. That's exactly the intention and exactly why you get statements such as the one from Rushkult.
BTW, these are from PADI-written templates, the same wording appears everywhere.
That's just dancing around. There's open water diver and there's advamced open water diver. How are most people going to interpret that card?
Only apologists are going to point to the "advancing skills" and claim rhat the verbage doesn't mean "advanced."
It is brilliant marketing is what it is.
Oh and remember that incident of 7 female Japanese divers left by the boat captain to refuel? The media reports that they were "experienced divers" as they had 50 some dives and MSD ratings.
More brilliant marketing.
It really doesn't help that you and others continue to sow confusion. How about trying to clarify rather than criticize?
What PADI writes is unambiguous. That some willfully misinterpret what is written is shameful.
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The fact is, AOW, or recent proof of deeper dives, may be required of some operators, to participate in some of their dives.
After I was recertified in Grand Cayman in 1997, 19 of my next 78 dives were >100 feet, albeit in the very forgiving environment of Grand Cayman. After taking AOW in 2004, I visited Key Largo and dived the Spiegel Grove and the Duane. I'm sure I could have qualified with recent deep dives, but showing AOW was the path of least resistance.
It's the way it works
After I was recertified in Grand Cayman in 1997, 19 of my next 78 dives were >100 feet, albeit in the very forgiving environment of Grand Cayman. After taking AOW in 2004, I visited Key Largo and dived the Spiegel Grove and the Duane. I'm sure I could have qualified with recent deep dives, but showing AOW was the path of least resistance.
It's the way it works
MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
I've met a number of people that felt they were advanced divers as they had their AOW. Very very few people get into the weeds of cert vs training vs recommended depth like we do. Or the parsing of "advancing your OW skills beyond" the OW class.
There is no hope of changing the name, but many divers think AOW means they are advanced because it is in the name and they do not read much further, nor notice all the non-pro cert levels that go way past it.
Among agencies' purely rec. classes: Rec. Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Deep, Deep Deco, Rec Trimix, Sidemount, Solo, Rebreather, Cavern, and Ice.
There is no hope of changing the name, but many divers think AOW means they are advanced because it is in the name and they do not read much further, nor notice all the non-pro cert levels that go way past it.
Among agencies' purely rec. classes: Rec. Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Deep, Deep Deco, Rec Trimix, Sidemount, Solo, Rebreather, Cavern, and Ice.
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