Training: Jamal and Dave Propst's open water dive number one, no skills

Advanced students Russell Bowen and Evan Davies were doing an underwater naturalist dive but the dive was aborted

Invertibrates included different corals, hermit crabs, crabs living behind the gobies guarding the holes

Vertibrates included the range of reef fishes: butterflies, groupers, the dominant fish with the gray spot, the ones guarding the holes

Sea plants? Not sure about this one ...

Comments: Plan was actually to do a compass navigation dive. We all descended to anchor line in poor vis. I took a line out 30 meters on a northerly heading and left Russell, Evan, and Sarah there (Sarah along for the ride, to practice navigation). Russell was supposed to follow as I returned to anchor line, which I found no problem since I was on a line. I waited with Jamal and Dave and was concerned when no one returned shortly. After some minutes two divers appeared in gloom and one handed me Russell's slate and dive tables. Thinking the two divers were Russell and Sarah, I examined the slate for a message, found none, and wondered (a) where Evan was, and (b) why they were moving off to the northwest. I followed with my two divers, caught up with them, and realized they were Aileen and her student. I then tried to return to the anchor line but couldn't find it in such low vis. Finally, I decided there was nothing to do but go northwest to the reef with Jamal and Dave and let the others work out how they could complete their exercises if possible.

When air ran low, I headed Southwest and surfaced with my divers not far from the boat. The other three were already on it. They reported that they had lost their way coming back. Russell had perhaps not kept accurate track of their fin kicks (otherwise, if he had stopped after 20 kicks on an apprx. Southerly heading we probably would have located each other as we both had clackers). At that point Russell rightly decided to surface to check how far from the buoy he was (at the base of which we were waiting). However, the other two did not ascend with him, so he went up alone, and when he went back down, he was unable to relocate them. He looked around for a minute and resurfaced. The others had done the same, but all decided to abort the dive at that point, and they returned to the boat.

Surface interval duration actual: about half an hour 

Training: Jamal and Dave Propst, OW training dive #2

Russell, Advanced Underwater Navigation dive, take 2

This one went a bit better. Russell had no buddy this time so we all stuck together. On the first dive, he had left plastic bags at the spot 30 meters out north from the anchor, so his first task was to head north 30 meters and find those bags. I unraveled the line as before. He veered a little to the west from my heading and pulled me that way so I could keep him in sight. He also overshot 30 meters, but I caught him and returned him to the point where my line said 30 meters. I knew he had gone west so we looked for the bags at 30 meters out (measured by rotating on the line) and found the bags a few meters over that way. I then led us all back to the anchor on the line, and Russell counted kicks and timed himself on that one.

At the anchor, I did the exercises with my OW students: partial and full mask clears, reg recovery, and alternate air source breathing.

I then had Russell lead us back north to the bags. This time he was spot on. He then headed west and pulled up at around 30 meters. He headed south, again approximately on target and about the right distance. He then headed south, but this time overshot. Dave to my left could see the anchor line as Russell, ahead of us and actually out of site the last part of his leg, led us past it. I didn't see the line, but I saw the tanks of other divers I presumed to be in the vicinity of the anchor. At any rate, Russell, a little confused at this point, started to head us north again, but I showed him on his slate where I thought we were and he agreed (you never know, it could have been ME confused; this is not straightforward business).

We anchored my line and we did a circular search for the end-point but couldn't find it within ten meters of the spot Russell had stopped us. At this point, Dave and Jamal both indicated they were low on air (50 bar) and so I had Dave take Jamal's spare air, and the two of them ascended on alternate air source.

Regarding Russell, I thought he had done very well in adverse conditions for a person with only 7 dives under his belt, this being his 8th. If vis had been another meter or two (as it is normally and under conditions under which I usually certify advanced divers), he would have seen the anchor line on his last leg as he swam past it. I think he learned the importance of keeping track of fin kicks and also of making agreements with his buddy in the event of separation or need to surface, and to make an out-of-air contingency.

I'm a little pissed at myself on this one, because after collecting all the bags and even a beer can on the square pattern we did, I went off in the confusion and left the lot under the ocean. Shows you no one is perfect.