Today, I did my second day of diving as a DMC with a regular OW class. (I've previously dived with Peter on a couple of private classes, with one or two students; they went well.)
The first time I did this, I was asked to lead the tour in Dive 1 as the buddy of one of the more tentative divers in the class. My "buddy" went into passive panic after descent, and I had a horrible time figuring out what to do with her while still leading the dive and keeping track of the people behind me. In the end, I didn't do a good job of any of it, although I managed the diver fairly well.
Today, I was once again given a tentative diver and asked to lead. This diver didn't go totally catatonic on me, but she was struggling VERY hard and clearly very uncomfortable and stressed. Once again, I had a very hard time paying her the amount of attention I felt she needed, and still keeping track of the divers behind me so that I didn't either outswim them, or go too slowly (which, as it turned out, we did).
Does anyone have any tips for leading a dive AND simultaneously keeping an eagle eye on a struggling diver?
As I told one of the DMs after this dive, I feel as though all the skills I've spent so much time learning and honing just don't help me much in this setting. The challenges of DMing are just so different!
The first time I did this, I was asked to lead the tour in Dive 1 as the buddy of one of the more tentative divers in the class. My "buddy" went into passive panic after descent, and I had a horrible time figuring out what to do with her while still leading the dive and keeping track of the people behind me. In the end, I didn't do a good job of any of it, although I managed the diver fairly well.
Today, I was once again given a tentative diver and asked to lead. This diver didn't go totally catatonic on me, but she was struggling VERY hard and clearly very uncomfortable and stressed. Once again, I had a very hard time paying her the amount of attention I felt she needed, and still keeping track of the divers behind me so that I didn't either outswim them, or go too slowly (which, as it turned out, we did).
Does anyone have any tips for leading a dive AND simultaneously keeping an eagle eye on a struggling diver?
As I told one of the DMs after this dive, I feel as though all the skills I've spent so much time learning and honing just don't help me much in this setting. The challenges of DMing are just so different!