Logged Dive #146 – Safety Diver For John’s OW Class
Casino Point, Catalina, CA
Dove with Instructor John and his Open Water students Pedro, Leeza, Cheech and his two advanced students.*
John’s wife Rebecca came along to bubble watch.
In With: 2000 psi
Out With: 1200 psi
Max depth: 60 feet
Waves: 1 to 2 feet, insignificant
Visibility: 25 feet
Water Temperature: Cool
Total Bottom Time: 15 minutes
*Student names have been changed.
Notable Event: Dealt with a tired and panicked diver.
The idea was to go to the barge with the group.
I went down first, the rest followed.
Cheech was a little lost getting down, it took him a little over a minute.
John lead, I took up the back.
Leeza’s fin fell off; I put it back on.
We followed John through some kelp down to a sandy portion of the floor at 60 feet.
Leeza just stopped, kneeling on the sandy bottom.
She didn’t seem panicked, maybe just tired.
I gave her the “Are you OK?” sign.
No response.
I asked again.
No response.
She opened her eyes a little, looked over, raised up her middle towards me and gestured “up” – maybe she was just giving me the finger?
I grabbed her by the BC shoulder strap and started slowly dragging her towards the surface.
I had to kick hard, but was happy to see the bottom get smaller.
It seemed like the longest swim to the surface that I can remember.
Once we broke the surface, I noticed we were outside the park.
I told Leeza to put air in her jacket; I thought she did.
I asked her if she wanted to go in – that was a stupid question!
I won’t ask next time in a similar situation.
“Yes, let’s go in,” she said.
The class had continued without us.
I lifted the buoy line up and towed Leeza under the park’s border.
I then continued to tank tow her to the stairs.
“We need to go in right now!” she yelled.
I said calmly, “We’re going there; it’s just going to take a few minutes.”
As we approached the stairs, the rest of the class was climbing out.
“John!” I yelled.
He looked over, as he was looking for us.
“How’s Leeza?” John asked.
“She’s really tired.”
We helped her out and up the stairs; she was exhausted.
Leeza later explained that she was nauseas.
The only thing that she had to eat was a cup of coffee for breakfast.
John thinks she’s hyperglycemic and is requiring her to eat before she dives from now on.
