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.

Veteran’s Park, Redondo Beach, CA

I dove as a safety diver with Instructor John’s Open Water class of five and returning students Bonnie and Clyde, who were there for “more experience.”*

In With: 2100 psi
Out With: 1900 psi
Max depth: 20 feet
Waves: 1-3 feet
Visibility: 10 feet but getting shittier
Water Temperature: Warm
Total Bottom Time: 10 minutes or so
Notable Event: Dealing with a diver near panic, unable to swim against a current.
*The names of students have been changed, probably because I don’t remember them to begin with.

So now the students get to SCUBA dive.

Leeza turned back in because of nerves.

There was a strong current going North towards the pier; it usually goes the other way.

All but Leeza made it through the surf zone.

I was the first to submerge; the rest were suppose to follow.

Lurch, Young Hottie, Bonnie and Clyde made it down.

John was having problems getting Pedro and Green Horn down.

We were all waiting in pretty crappy visibility that was getting worse because the students were stirring the bottom up.

After ten minutes of waiting, I signaled for everyone to surface.

John called the dive because of the current; we were getting closer and closer to the pier.

Pedro was trying to dog paddle against the current.

I told him that I would tow him; he rolled over on his back; I grabbed his tank and started towing him.

After a minute, Pedro yelled, “Stop! Stop! I can’t breath when you do that!”

I let go.

Pedro started to dog paddle against the current, floating towards the pier.

I said, “I need to tow you if you can’t beat the current, you’re going in to the pier.”

I grabbed his tank again and started towing him.

Pedro yelled, “Please stop that! I’m having trouble breathing when you do that!”

By this time, John had made sure everyone else was on shore and dove back in the water and swam over to Pedro.

John grabbed Pedro and started towing him.

Pedro did his, “Oh, stop please I can’t breathe!” routine.

John held on to him and yelled, “God damn it Pedro! Don’t you dare panic on me! Do exactly as I say.”

John continued to tow him.

Once close to shore John yelled instructions to Pedro, who was sort of combative.

I was exhausted.

I think it was a combination of no breakfast and a hang over.

John later told me, “When someone who is near panic won’t respond to a calm and rational voice, just start cussing at them.

“Maybe they’ll be more afraid of you than drowning.”