49 replies to this topic

[Diverbrian]

Congratulations!

Actually, it IS possible to not get an AOW card on the minimum dives required of the course. We get one or two students per year that have issues (typically on the deep portion) and force the instructors to tell them that they have to do another dive with the instructor before the card is issued.

Enjoy your new card and keep your eyes open to learn more! One of my instructors is full cave certified and still refers to himself as a newbie. That leaves him humble!

[Terri]

Way to go Mishelle!!!

[Basslet]

[TheSassyRabbit]

Way to go Mishelle!

[Walter]

Brian,

SSI's Advanced program is not comparable to AOW. Apples & Oranges.

Ray,

She's making real progress in her swim class. Diving will follow successful completion of her swim class very quickly, I'm sure.

[ScubaHawk]

congrats!

[Funewgy]

It's official, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. I bit on the thread title...hook, line, and sinker.

You win...on the AOW c-card and the ruse.

[Goin'Down]

congrats

[leaudaustin]

SSI's Advanced program is not comparable to AOW.  Apples & Oranges.

As someone that's planning on obtaining SSI Advanced Open Water Diver continuing education rating in a couple of weeks, I thought I'd try and see what those apples look like (in this scenario, PADI is apples and SSI is oranges .

Looking at the PADI description on it's website, it looks like it is similar but, at a minimum, requires fewer dives. (And it sounds like it could be that each PADI specialty dive involves less instruction than what SSI calls a "specialty course," but that's conjecture based on the limited info I see available: PADI apparently just needs one dive per specialty and calls them "adventure dives" rather than "courses.")

So, it looks like if someone thinks "AOW" means meets the min reqs of PADI, then SSI should nearly always qualify (though you could potentially do an SSI without Nav or Deep diving, though I'd guess that that would be unusual), but the reverse would not always be true.

(Of course, my ob-disclaimer, I'm just comparing minimums for the agency ratings and trying to see how they compare when people have expectations about what the ratings mean -- particularly what PADI destinations are expecting when they say they want AOW for some dives. It's not a statement about quality either way.)

[Walter]

Looking at the PADI description on it's website, it looks like it is similar but, at a minimum, requires fewer dives.

I haven't read the website description, but I have read the standards. They are nothing alike.

SSI doesn't actually have an Advanced course, PADI does. To obtain an SSI Advanced rating, you need to complete X number of SSI specialty courses and have logged a minimum of 25 dives. If memory serves, you must have the Rescue certification. Once you've completed the requirements, you can the apply for the Advanced card. This is similar to PADI's Master Diver rating, which also has no course, but does require 50 dives instead of 25.

PADI's AOW requires no specialty courses, but does require 5 dives. There must be one deep dive and (I'm working from memory here, so I could be off on exact details) one navigation dive as well as 3 additional dives picked from a list that includes, night, low visibility and others that do not come to mind. They have recently started calling these 5 required dives "specialty dives," probably because they can count toward specialty certifications in those areas should the student want to go that route. While it is a course, the academics are a bare minimum.

Other agencies also have Advanced and Master Diver courses, some have more than one.

NAUI's Advanced course is similar to PADI's but requires 6 dives instead of 5 and includes more academics.

YMCA actually has 2 different Advanced courses. Their AOW is virtually identical to PADI's while their Silver Advanced requires in depth academics and 10 dives. I consider the Silver Advanced course the only widely available course that is truly advanced.

LA County has what is probably the best advanced class anywhere in their Advanced Diver Program. Anyone living in southern California should seriously consider taking the Advanced Diver Program.

NAUI's Master Diver Course and YMCA's Gold Star Master Diver Course are both excellent courses for those not interested in becoming professionals, but are interested in learning more about diving. They include instructor level academics. I don't have either set of standards in front of me, so I'm not going into detail of the requirements.

[Mishelle]

Let me say this:

AOW is not just a walk in the park. It was not just five easy dives. I did ask, and I am not sure if:
1. Those who responded did not get their AOW from PADI
2. It has been so long that you forgot
3. The requirements have changed


First, we had five chapters to read and Knowledge Reviews that we had to turn in.
We did go over the reviews as a group before we turned them in. Obviously.

Dive one was Buoyancy. Now I am certain that this is a regional thing, but I had to get a 7mm suit for this course. I have NEVER used a 7mm suit, nor do I ever hope to again. But for the practicality of this course it was needed for the depth dive. Therefore it was used for the entirety of the course.
Now if you dive either a skin or a swim suit or a 3mm.... it makes a huge difference!
I made the comment that Jesus must have worn a 7mm suit when he walked on water because OMG! It was a pain in the but not to continuously not float on the surface of the water! Of course, once you start weighing down (BC, reg, tank...) it does become a bit more easy, but still a PITA nonetheless!

Dive Two was Navigation. Now if you are not super familiar with compasses.... Find out before you go! We wore just the overall portion of the 7mm for this because it was hot on the surface.... this did change buoyancy. In this dive we had to do 100ft line and count kicks, and then time it. And we did this several times to get a good average figure. (I have a fin curse....more on this later) Then you have to nav a square with a buddy. This sounds simple in theory, but not so much when the visibility is just a foot or two.

Dive Three was photography. We discussed camera care, O-ring care, etc. This was the easiest dive of the course for me. I love taking pictures!

Day two brought me recovering from sun burn from being on the quarry from 830am to 430pm...and yes, I wore sunscreen! It also brought a very sore body that was not use to a 7mm suit and the weights it needed to sink that thing! (My suggestion to the makers of Titanic.... 7mm neoprene!)

Dive four was depth dive. We talked about the changes as you go to depth (color, temp, Narc...) I chose to do the task which was to unlock a combination lock. I was given the lock and combination at the surface. No big deal We also had to do a safety stop. This dive required us to put on gloves and a hood. This is more buoyancy issues. (I think I have buoyancy issues in general! LMAO!) We looked at a color spectrum at 60' to see the change of colors , a sample of neoprene so we could get a better visual of compression. I rocked that lock! lol The deco stop gave me nothing but grief!

Dive five was a wreck dive. By this time of the day vis was just BAD! We dove an armored truck... and I found no money! What was up with that??? lol Anyhow we measured the wreck with our kick cycles, and had to find various safety issues. I had to redo my deco stop here. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 7mm never again!

I do have to say my instructor was awesome! He was very helpful and really did an outstanding job! His wife was our Social Director and they make a great team!
I am very hard on myself my nature and by military upbringing. This was a major factor for me because in a household where failure was not an option, I was making myself more frustrated if I did not do my dives or tasks as I thought I should. But my instructor really was great about making me laugh about it instead of being too hard on myself.

So as DrBill says, it is NOT just five easy dives. Be prepared to work and work hard!

Rescue is next.....

[Perkolater]

Thanks for the detail Mishelle. Sounds like you were out at Blue Springs last weekend after all. Wish I had known, I would have stopped by to say hello. Oh well, maybe next time. Glad you got it done. Can you believe how COLD it gets on deep dives in that dang quarry??

Since all I have used when I dive so far is 7mm wetsuits, next weeks trip to Florida should be a blast!

Thanks again for the info on the AOW dives... I hope to get that cert done shortly after returning from Florida.

[Cold_H2O]

Rescue is the hardest class you will ever love.
Sounds strange but it was the class that proved to me that I had major dive skills. Also the class that convinced me that I would dive for the rest of my life.

You thought AOW was tough. Get ready, Rescue is even tougher. The suiting up from shore after watching someone yell for help and "go down". The surface swim so your assistant on shore can quide you to the desent point of the "victim". The search and recovery. The getting this guy back to shore, while doing assisted breathing. (and my favorite part) getting your 6' tall "victim" out of the water and onto the shore so you can do CPR. Whew... tiring..

THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU DID ALL OF THE ABOVE AND DID IT WELL...

Get out there and get your Rescue Cert. It will be the best thing you ever did. Lots of hard work but worth it all.

I learned so much about ME and MY skills. I walked away a much better, more confident diver.

And yes a gal who is only 5'1" can carry a 6' tall guy out of the water and onto the shore. I am still angry with my instructor for that pairing. He did promise me next time I take my Rescue cert. I can get a shorter buddy.

Edited by gis_gal, 02 August 2005 - 07:18 AM.

[GentDiver]

Walter... Strange because I actually have an SSI advanced card (and no I did not take the rescue part of the course). So the long and short of my comment is SSI does have an AOW.

Mishelle - Congrads!!!

Scott

:lam:

[WileEDiver]

Looking at the PADI description on it's website, it looks like it is similar but, at a minimum, requires fewer dives.  (And it sounds like it could be that each PADI specialty dive involves less instruction than what SSI calls a "specialty course," but that's conjecture based on the limited info I see available: PADI apparently just needs one dive per specialty and calls them "adventure dives" rather than "courses.")

This is an inaccurate interpretation. To clarify:

The 5 "Adventure" dives that are made in the Advanced course (along with the academic portion of the course), may be counted as the first dive of the corresponding specialty course(s) (which have 2, 3, or 4 dives, depending on the specialty course in question) and vice versa, at the discretion of the instructor.