|
You can do it right away if you feel comfortable in your diving skills or wait to log more dives and gain more confidence.
|
|
|
I waited just over a year because I wanted to get a few dives under my belt first. I also went and did the Enriched Air Speciality in preperation for my AOW - for me a great idea when it came to doing the Deep dive on AOW class I could use Nitrox for the dive.
|
|
|
I would think getting a few dives in would be the right thing to do but if your confident in your skills and your equipment and feel comfy under water then go for it. It’s all in how you feel about your abilities.
|
|
|
I guess it would be a good thing to log a number of dives first. Thanks for all your insights. Then when I am more comfortable I can proceed to get the AOW. Planning to go to mexico to do some dives, there’s really not much to see here in Canada. I guess I need to know more about equipment too. And I gotta buddy up with someone who knows a lot more stuff than me. Good way to learn.
|
|
|
Normally I would say get some easy dives in to practice your skills before moving on but if your local dives are advanced in nature or you have an upcoming trip start working on that advanced cert.
The card is nice but what you really need is time in the water. I’ve seen DM’s with 100’s of dives who only dive inland lakes do stupid stuff in the ocean. Find local buddies, the best place is a dive club and get wet often to build skills.
|
|
|
Latitude hit it out of the park again.
If you are not rushing off to a 60’ (20 meter) plus dive any time soon I would say get some diving under your belt. If you show up on a dive boat with an advanced certificate and do some not very responsible (stupid) things on your first dive chances are you will be banned by the DM for the rest of the day.
Think of it this way, how many REALLY BAD drivers do you see on the road every day?
And they all have been certified!
Dive as often as you possibly can, it’s not a bewbie thing, we are ALL addicted.
I am fortunate enough to get to the Caribbean every year, and I am within a hour of New Jersey ocean diving. But I still enjoy our local scuba quarry.
Trust me, once you have battled all the challenges you local cold water diving for a season or two, you will feel like a fish in warm water.
Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
Yeah, I guess I gotta do more dives, and then when I am more super addicted already like all the awesome divers here, then maybe I can get the AOW. For now I would like to be more comfy underwater like its a second skin or second nature to me! Thanks!
|
|