The Marines deserve their reputation

[LCF]

So -- I was originally supposed to go out on a boat today. The Bandito, out of Tacoma, which I haven't done in quite a while, with my long-term favorite dive buddy. So I got up in the black of night, piled into our enormous 25 year old F-250 pickup truck (long story there), and headed south in POURING rain, only to get a call from my buddy, just before I got to the 405/I5 interchange, telling me Rick had canceled the boat because the forecast was for high winds. I was a bit nonplussed, because the forecast I had seen had called for the weather to abate today, but Rick is a master captain, and if he thought it wasn't a go, it wasn't.

I turned around and drove home. Peter had an OW class going out at Redondo, and although we anxiously checked the forecast, the winds were to be from the NNE, which we didn't think would affect the site. I was going to meet my buddy, who lives nearby, and we were going to do a fun dive while Peter taught.

Well, I am here to tell you that strong NNE winds aren't always NNE winds, and Redondo is a bad place to dive with strong winds, no matter where they come from. When we got there, the surface water was a bit chocolatey, and there was a whitecap or two, but with some VERY careful negotiation, Kirk and I got in safely. Or, better to say it, Kirk would have gotten in safely without me at all, but I needed a lot of his help to get through the output from the storm drain, and the rocks I couldn't see under the surging water.

Conditions below the surface were just about perfect, if you could stay away from where the classes were diving. Viz was probably at least 20 feet, and there was no current at all. Redondo is a little on the bleak side these days, but we did find one GPO under a boat, and 2 little reds. There were a couple of nudibranchs, including one shaggy mouse who was positively posing . . . but although at that moment I regretted leaving my camera in the truck, I certainly didn't regret it when, as we were swimming back and got to about 8 feet of water, we were experiencing California shore diving surge. And in fact, as I have seen at Redondo before, in the hour we were down, conditions had worsened a LOT, and getting out was an adventure. Even with maximum assistance from Kirk, who helps lift engines for a living, I still managed to end up on my knees, crawling to the base of the stairs.

Now, as you read my account, you might be thinking, "What is happening to Peter's open water class while all this is going on?". And in fact, of the four students, only one completed a dive. Entry, exit, and surface conditions were too much for the other three (and I don't blame them; I wasn't going back for more).

The one diver who completed a dive, completed TWO. Even after going through the washing machine and being deposited in the rocks, he opted to finish his class and do his final certification dive. He didn't have a lot of other options -- in only a couple of months, he is reporting for induction into the Marines.

I was deeply impressed by his dedication and honestly, his courage today. The Marines earn their reputation.

[Dusty2]

You gotta learn that when conditions are sloppy, Call it. It may not be bad at the moment but Redondo and a lot of other sites (PT?)can really go to hell in an hour and those rocks and that concrete wall can be life threatening and that ain't an exaggeration.

Like they taught us in the aviation units, Take off is optional, Landing is mandatory!

[Rooinater]

Just as an f.y.i. They don't earn the title of "Marine" till their ceremony at the end of bootcamp, or even rate to wear the eagle, globe, and anchor. The title of Marine, is earned. He's a poolee if he's only leaving to boot camp. https://www.lifeasamarine.com/marines/s ... a-marine-p

But good on him, for getting the dives done. That site sucks when there's waves. I've dove it a few times with full on surf entry and exit, not a lot of fun.

[CaptnJack]

Good thing he wasn't hurt on that entry, exit, or at any other point on those dives. Or Peter would be brushing up on his liability policy limits. I'm pretty sure a student has nearly no basis of experience to know when conditions exceed their ability. The timid ones will back out sure, but the brash ones will forge ahead. Allowing them to do so is not ok IMHO.

Discretion is the better part of valor anyway.

[mz53480]

Worse things await him at basic...

[CaptnJack]

Worse things await him at basic...

Perhaps, but this is recreation. Instructors have an obligation to call sketchy dives, its a valuable lesson for OW students to learn. Toughing it out is actually teaching them less and diminishing the "anyone can call a dive at anytime" rule.

[LCF]

You can always get out south of the boat ramp, or north of Salty's -- that's just a walk up a sandy beach with some surf, and Californians do that all the time. It's just the stairs that are dicey, and if I'd had the sense God gave a goose, I would have told Kirk we were going to go to one side or the other to get out. Peter took his student into the water south of the boat ramp for the second dive. Peter is neither stupid nor foolhardy.

[LCF]

Oh, and I misrepresented the student. He's been in Navy ROTC for 4 years, and is already a commissioned officer in the Marines. He just reports for flight training in a couple of months.