Why do Advanced Open Water?

[ajames54]

AOW is mostly needed for tight-*** boat ops who want to cover their *** a little more... Otherwise, its good for new divers who want a little more time with an instructor..

My two cents..

I'll second that...
I only had one person ask before I got the cert and it kept me from doing a dive that was easier than many I had done.

That being said I got a LOT out of Peak Performance Boyancy
.. a good instructor is key to all of it.

 

[LittleBug]

I really think that it shouldn't be called Advanced Open Water. I think that name gives you the impression that you should be getting a whole lot more out of it than you actually do. Maybe Open Water II would be a better name for it. I mean, it's really just intended to refine the skills you learned in Open Water, right?

That being said, I really loved the Peak Performance Buoyancy dive when I did my AOW. It drove home a few more tricks to help me balance myself out under water a bit better. Learning the different search patterns on the search and recovery dive was a lot of fun too. Husband and I actually applied those very techniques when we helped a lobsterman recover a lost trap.

 

[Guba]

I believe the question (is AOW worth it) depends much upon timing. Personally, I went through the AOW after being certified about a half year and twenty-something dives. At that point, I was experienced enough to be completely comfortable with my gear and the routines, yet the AOW took me toward new experiences and levels of competency. Had I had 100+ dives with good partners, it most likely would not have taught me much. As it was, it was a fine step up and prepared me nicely for the Rescue Diver course which I took after gaining another 20 or so dives.

 

[waynel]

I've taken the same path as Guba. Got my AOW after a half a year and 20 something dives. I took it because I believe you can't get enough training regardless of the activity, scuba, work, etc. More and more boats in Miami and the Keys are asking for either AOW or at least 50 documented dives in your log book. Situation is totally different when you leave the USA. I'm going on a trip where a couple of OW students are doing checkout dives on a shallow reef for two days and then are joining the rest of the group on 80 ft. drift dives for the rest of the week. When OW divers say they have plenty of deep dives in their book, you can bet most of them were done outside the USA. American lawyers are deadlier than sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

 

[Sandtiger Steve]

Thanks for all your feedback. Most of my dives have been international, so i don't even have a good log book. Only in the US, as many have pointed out, does one run up against the insurance issue to such a large extent (and therefore double the price for a day of diving).

it would be great to have 10-12 more hours of instruction. It doesn't seem worth it to just essentially pay for just to have an AOW card...
thanks
SS

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Thanks for all your feedback. Most of my dives have been international, so i don't even have a good log book. Only in the US, as many have pointed out, does one run up against the insurance issue to such a large extent (and therefore double the price for a day of diving).

it would be great to have 10-12 more hours of instruction. It doesn't seem worth it to just essentially pay for just to have an AOW card...
thanks
SS

AOW can be a complete waste of time or a complete learning experience ... depends on how the instructor has structured the class, on your prior experience, and on your specific learning objectives.

Different instructors have different approaches to the class. Some are skills-based, others are experience-based. Some advise students to go into AOW straight out of OW, others advise some experience first to develop a level of comfort with the skills you learned in OW. Some strictly adhere to the agency "minimum" requirements, others put extra skills or dives on the agenda.

It's a good class to sit down and have a long talk with your instructor first ... before signing up (I'm doing that tonight with four prospective students).

BTW - if you are taking AOW just so you can proceed to Rescue, perhaps you should consider switching to a NAUI curriculum. NAUI doesn't require AOW in order to take the Rescue class.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Walter]

Neither does YMCA.

 

[reefugee]

The only reason I am going to take the AOW is because I want to take the rescue course, and eventually dive master.

for me, it's a necessary step towards the one class i really want to take - rescue.

i'm also looking forward to doing the 10000000m deep dive portion of the aow.

 

[The Horn]

I took the course, now I'm done taking courses. Spending my money on gear and diving. Practice is where it is at. Depending on what you are looking for OW was going to be it for me until some charters wanted a higher card. I'm done now. I have no ambition to teach or supervise or throw cards around. As "good" as rescue may be I have read the manual and can work out the in water.....I was the victim for some guys rescue course.....felt good to drag the instructor down...hehehehe

 

[cfelliot]

.....My AOW class has 12-14 hours of classroom, a 2 hour pool session and a required minimum of 400 minutes of dive time during the class dives....

One big question I have though is that you must have to charge an arm and a leg for almost 24hrs. of course/dive time???