AOW Electives

[lucidblue]

AOW certification is next on my list after buying gear. Hopefully I can get certified by the end of August.
I'm really looking forward to learning more. Trying to decide what my elective
dives will be. The class definitely includes the deep dive, underwater
navigator and night dive. I believe they throw in a 6th dive at the shop I'm going through, so I get
to pick 3. Thinking about wreck diving, peak performance buoyancy and
multilevel.

I'm sure everyone has opinions on which electives to take... I'm all ears.

[TxHockeyGuy]

If multilevel is what I believe it is, I wouldn't bother. Your computer, provided you are diving one, will track all of that for you. I would also consider search and recovery as a specialty. It is only a matter of time until you have to go looking for something, usually a dropped mask or snorkel, and learning about search patterns does make it easier. Underwater wreck can be fairly interesting so I'd stick with that pick. As for your third, do they offer a scooter specialty? If they do those can be a lot of fun.

[medic001918]

I don't know where you live, but if you ever plan to get into diving a drysuit that might not be a bad specialty option for you. Search & recovery would be good and will teach some useful skills. Or maybe even the photography class if you have any interest in getting into that?'
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>I have to agree with HockeyGuy though, the scooter class would be a blast. That might just lead to me having to have a scooter. And if I have one, well the Mrs. has to have one too so we know how that goes. And scooters aren't cheap.</DIV>
<DIV>
Shane</DIV>

[lucidblue]

Thanks everyone. THG they do offer the scooter, so maybe I'll put that in place of something.

Medic, I would love to take the photography elective, but we dive in a quarry so I'm thinking I'll wait on that one. Actually, another local shop does the entire photography specialty at an aquarium, so I'd probably just go with that.

[TxHockeyGuy]

Originally Posted by lucidblue

Thanks everyone. THG they do offer the scooter, so maybe I'll put that in place of something.

Medic, I would love to take the photography elective, but we dive in a quarry so I'm thinking I'll wait on that one. Actually, another local shop does the entire photography specialty at an aquarium, so I'd probably just go with that.

I can't really speak authoritatively on this subject as I just got my UW camera rig, but I have been told if that interests you that any time underwater with a camera will help your shots. So you might consider that as practice for when you can get to blue water. I fully intend on practicing with my rig out at the local quarry. In the end it's your decision and you need to decide which specialties will help you the most. Of course then there's the scooter specialty and well, that's just plain fun. [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

[Doug B]

How 'bout Nitrox? It's relatively easy. Just a new set of tables, and a new O2 table. The physiology part of the class is interesting, and you can read thru the whole book in about two hours.

[lucidblue]

Originally Posted by Doug B

How 'bout Nitrox? It's relatively easy. Just a new set of tables, and a new O2 table. The physiology part of the class is interesting, and you can read thru the whole book in about two hours.

I think we would definitely do that if it was an option for the AOW electives, but it isn't on the list.

[Storm]

Originally Posted by lucidblue

AOW certification is next on my list after buying gear. Hopefully I can get certified by the end of August.
I'm really looking forward to learning more. Trying to decide what my elective
dives will be. The class definitely includes the deep dive, underwater
navigator and night dive. I believe they throw in a 6th dive at the shop I'm going through, so I get
to pick 3. Thinking about wreck diving, peak performance buoyancy and
multilevel.

I'm sure everyone has opinions on which electives to take... I'm all ears.

Well Peak Performance Buoyancy should be on you list, IMHO. Getting trimmed and under control is paramount if you want to dive and still protect the wreck/reef.

Wreck diving is also a great one, especially if you live in an area with access to a lot of wrecks, (Like, for example, the Great Lakes)

And one final note. Take your time and get wet. Don't get caught up i the cert card thing. Just go out and dive. There's nothing in the deeper water that won't be there for a long time. Play it safe, and enjoy.

[Dive-aholic]

I would choose bouyancy and multilevel (if it's taught properly). Both will give you great information. By taught properly, I mean how to plan and implement multilevel dives so that you extend your bottom times during your dives. As for wreck and S&amp;R, I believe those classes should be taught in their entirety, not just an intro dive to the specialty. Even photography should include the entire class, especially if you're looking at a digital class. There's a lot to photography. You won't really learn much more than picture taking in an intro dive. Nitrox no longer requires dives, so you'll have to book anight of classroom work for that one.

[lucidblue]

Originally Posted by Storm

Well Peak Performance Buoyancy should be on you list, IMHO. Getting trimmed and under control is paramount if you want to dive and still protect the wreck/reef.

Wreck diving is also a great one, especially if you live in an area with access to a lot of wrecks, (Like, for example, the Great Lakes)

And one final note. Take your time and get wet. Don't get caught up i the cert card thing. Just go out and dive. There's nothing in the deeper water that won't be there for a long time. Play it safe, and enjoy.

I hear you. We're mainly doing the Advanced Open Water to get more practice, experience and exposure to some of the specialties through the required electives. Also, we'll probably eventually do the wreck diver specialty because we live in the northeast, so a lot of diving that is relatively close, involves wrecks.