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.