When to take Advanced O/W Training???

[garyfotodiver]

StSomewhere, you're preaching to the choir, and I didn't advise just "doing some dives". I think one needs help and advice. I just don't think the things you are talking about will come out of the typical AOW course. You were very lucky to have access to Fifth DX and their new program, but the OP is in North Carolina, I believe, and doesn't. What does such a person do to try to learn buoyancy and trim? I think the best route is to find an experienced diver who understands such things and get some coaching. Anybody who is here on Scubaboard has access to a ton of written information extolling the virtues of learning correct weighting, buoyancy control, and trim -- such a person just needs some practical guidance in accomplishing what he already understands to be desirable. And a lot of instructors will give you a blank look AT BEST if you ask for such guidance.

The biggest point I read into discussions like this one is simply: Too many new divers do not get the practical information they require to be safe divers from the basic OW course. This is partly the fault of the agencies, and of some instructors, but it is also the fault of the new divers themselves.

My advice to someone just starting out in diving is to get a mentor. I have always found someone willing to give time and expertise to me in any endevor (did i spell this correctly?) I chose. Then, after a reasonable number of dives, take the advanced coursed you like. You will get more out of the entire experience.

I still remember the name of my SCUBA mentor from 35 years ago; he runs a resort on Bonaire now.

 

[dleffert]

Like SadiesMom, I didn't feel comfortable enough to go out on my own to get more expereience after only 4 OW dives. For example, bouyance wasn't an intuitive thing for me and not something I felt I would "get" with experience but no coaching. I wanted to work more on bouyancy with an instructor - same for navigation, and my first night and deep dives. Just so happens I did them from a liveaboard, so those 4 and the boat dive got me an AOW card.

It wasn't about the quest for a new card, it was all about gaining more skills in a structured environment. Does the card make me an "Advanced" diver? Certainly not, but the course certainly made me a better diver - that and the other 20+ dives we did that week (experience).

Some seem to feel that a new diver should gain experience before pursuing AOW, presumably on the assumption that an AOW card will put an inexperienced diver in harm's way, but only the diver himself can do that by diving beyond his skills. It's the ego that trips people up, not the card or the course. Personal responsibility should be the rule for this one.

For me, it was all about gaining new skills. I don't dive locally (can't stand the cold) and I didn't expect I would get any valuable coaching from random buddies picked up at warm water destinations, so taking the skills dives was my way of accelerating my learning curve, on the way to becoming a more experienced and safer diver - and I wanted to do that sooner rather than later.

 

[Adobo]

Gene,

You should read StSomewhere's class report on a class he took called "Essentials of Recreational Diving". You can find it under:
http://forum.5thd-x.com/viewtopic.php?t=1099

I took this class with the same amount of experience as you have now. I had very much the same concerns you have around spending more time on skills like bouyancy and trim. IMO, this class is far more appropriate for a new diver than Advanced Open Water class.

The folks who teach the class are based in the SF bay area. You can take the class here and get an opportunity to dive in beautiful Monterey. Alternatively, 5thd-x does travel and deliver training to locations all over the U.S (and the world actually). That would require some additional divers in your area wanting to take part obviously...

Another alternative is to take DIR-Fundamentals. Personally, I think DIR-F is a wonderful class. However, I understand that the class was originally designed for divers looking to transition to technical/cave diving and may contain a lot of material that is not relevant and beyond a new recreational diver. From what I have heard, Essentials to Recreational diving is basically the same thing as DIR-F minus a lot of the tech related content. It is also taught more at the student's pace.