Casino Point, Catalina, CA

I dove as a safety diver with Instructor John’s Open Water class.*

In With: 3400 psi
Out With: 2400 psi
Max depth: 45 feet
Waves: Insignificant, High Tide
Visibility: 20 feet
Water Temperature: Cold at 45 feet
Total Bottom Time: About 30 minutes
*The names of students have been changed.

I went free diving while the students were gearing up.

I think I should take a few pounds off my weight belt.

Leeza had problems with the skin dive.

She was in near panic and John brought he back in.

So we geared up in the water we went, all eight of us.

The ninth person, Leeza, snorkeled on the surface per John’s instructions.

I submerged first, then the three students from the later class, Young Hottie, Green Horn, Pedro and then John followed.

John did basic check outs for three of his students, while the rest of us just floated around.

Pedro was holding on to a metal disk and chain trying to stay down.

It looked like some bizarre underwater trapeze act.

After the check outs, we followed John to the Jacques Cousteau memorial.

Some students were running low on air, so we headed back in.

Pedro was doing his bicycle kick/dog paddle routine.

Amazingly enough, he was able to propel himself.

The tide was so high, that three to four steps of the stairs were submerged.