7.12.08 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone.

Saturday, June 12th finds the Video Dude donning his Divemaster hat and working aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fathoms O' Fun" as Divemaster for the day. A very interesting experience as I get to see what it's like on the other side of the dive boat. Captain Jerry has us scheduled for the morning trip to go to the "Ancient Mariner" and a drift dive on "Lost Ledge" Reef.

With his usual speed and skill, Jerry has us out to the "Mariner" in no time and this time I get to jump in and tie off to the wreck. I was originally scheduled to dive with Scuba Goddess Terri before being asked to be Divemaster, so she was on the boat and jumped in with me to watch me tie off and to get into the wreck before anyone else. Jerry gives me a perfect drop on the wreck and I find a good tie off point. After saying goodbye to Terri, I head up to the boat to give the dive conditions report. Then I am helping divers get into and out of the water and making sure everything on the deck was secure and out of the way. I must admit that it seems like forever before everyone comes back up, and I guess that gives me first-hand experience at "divemaster loneliness"? LOL

Next stop is "Lost Ledge" and I assign groups and buddies and distribute dive flags. I get everyone into the water with their flags and begin monitoring flags for signs of divers on the surface or other problems. It does get very quiet onboard when everyone's in the water, and it's a good time to relax a bit while watching the flags.
Soon everyone is coming back onboard and I get them back to their seats and secured in place and we are heading back to the dock to get the boat changed over for the afternoon trip.

After cleaning the boat from the morning trip, we get the next group aboard - mostly students - and head out to the "Pompano Drop-off" also known as the "Balls" because of all the mooring balls that have been installed to protect the reefs. Because of the large number of students aboard, there are really only 3 groups diving, so flag watching is a little easier this time around. All of the groups head down the "ball line" and we keep an eye out for divers surfacing or boats that get too close. Soon, we see groups starting to surface and Jerry gets the boat over for pickup. We assist everyone back on the boat and to their seats, and get them starting to changeover their gear for the second dive.

After the surface interval is up, we are already at the next site on the "Drop-off" and once again I get the groups organized and into the water. After about an hour, everyone's on their way back aboard and I assist everyone to their seats and get their gear secured for the trip back to the dock. Once at the dock, we get the boat emptied out and I assist with cleaning and securing the boat.

It was my first experience as a boat crew member, and while I enjoyed it immensely, I definitely got a new perspective on a divemaster's day!

More fun and new experiences in Paradise!
-- The Video Dude