20200811_SE of buoy pin off Tower 4

Woke up early and loaded the hoops and other dive gear into the jeep. Martha got up soon after and we headed for the beach in time for sunrise. Chris got to the beach a little later. We all geared up and swam to the buoy pin to descend at 7:40 am. 

 Chris carried the hoops into the water and out to a sand flat SW of the buoy's pin. We swam North across the sand flat and found a place to set up the hoops. I use hula hoops tied together with a zip tie so that one hoop is on top of the other.

Chris tries to move slowly through the top hoop of the first pair using his breathing to control his buoyancy. Once he clears that hoop, he swims to a second pair of hoops where he comes to a complete stop level with the higher of the two hoops. He then lowers himself to the level of the lower hoop by changing his buoyancy and then gently swims slowly through that hoop. From there he swims to the first pair of hoops, stops at the lower level and floats up using his buoyancy and then begins again. 

The goal is for the student to relax and lie flat so he does not push excessive water in front of him. He should hold his hands still and use only a gentle kick to propel himself horizontally. He should use only his breathing to move himself vertically in the water column. Like most students Chris initially has trouble going slowly. He wants to build speed and coast through the hoop. We want Chris to learn to hover and maintain his position in the water column so he does not stir up silt or disturb the bottom. After 30 minutes he gets the idea, but will need more practice to master the skill.

I have Chris lead us on a 45 degree bearing up to the Staghorn Coral, where we take a break and swim with the various fish there: White Grunts (Haemulon plumierii), French Grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum), Smallmouth Grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum), and  Bluestriped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus). He does not hold the bearing well and needs to correct our bearing as we see the coral to our East. 

We also found a  Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans). These fish are new to the reef and have no local predators to keep them in check. Divers are encouraged to kill these fish to protect the other populations already settled on the reef. 

Chris was low on air so we headed for the beach. We surfaced inside of the vessel exclusion buoy line and swam in on the surface. 

Our dive time was 70 minutes at a maximum depth of 18.1 feet. My A/C was 31.89 psi/minute; SAC was 22.87 psi/minute and the Residual Minute Volume was .59 cubic feet per minute. I was burning through air.