Certified Greg Raglow and Omar Ibrahim in PADI Open Water at Nomad Ocean Adventure, diving in Musandam Sept 19-20

My logged dives #1308-1311

More diving this weekend, this time to train Greg Raglow and Omar Ibrahim in the wiles of PADI Open Water diving at our favorite dive center Nomad Ocean Adventure. Our group at one point included four o/w students plus a refresher diver, so Nomad were kind enough to allow me to engage a divemaster for a weekend of free diving. The one who jumped up and said "Me, me, pick me!" was Nicki Blower. Meanwhile attrition took its toll as we counted down the days to the course and we were eventually down to just two students, Drs. Greg Raglow and Omar Ibrahim, plus Bobbi and Nicki and me, so it turned out to be a comfortable grouping, as pictured below:

Having just two students is just right. It gives us lots of time to deal with the vagaries of getting the students to NOA, getting them in the water (till midnight first night), getting a few hours sleep and up at dawn for two more pool modules, then two dives on Friday, back to the dive center and more pool work till dinner time. Next day was easier; after a good long sleep, we just had the final two dives on Saturday. Happy divers at the end, the two on the left both newly crowned PADI Open Water certified.

Diving Friday Sept 19 at Ras Morovi and Lima Headland

The first day it was just us in a boat with another instructor Pierre and his one student so we were able to tailor our dive sites to those most suitable for an open water course. We noticed a lot of brown algae in the water on the way out but at the bay north of Ras Morovi conditions didn't seem so bad, so we started there, and found decent vis at 5 meters. We didn't go below 12 meters.our first day. I wore only a full lycra and a rash vest, and didn't feel the chill except at our deepest points. We motored over to Ras Lima for the second dive and after the usual lunch of mystery meat wraps and delicious pasta salad we decided vis wasn't so bad there, so we did our second dive from our lunch spot. Here is the video.

Diving Saturday Sept 20 at Lima Rock and Octopus Rock

Diving next day was quite good for an open water course. Two divers on our boat had been to Lima Rock the day before but said it was awesome and were eager to repeat it despite the fact they had got caught in current off the east point. Sea conditions the previous day had been choppy but motoring up the coast of Musandam was smooth on the Saturday and we decided after checking out Lima Rock to go ahead and dive it. We have to be careful of currents there, but if they're not ripping, sticking to the center is usually ok, as long as you make your turn around point appropriately. We started the dive near the west tip and found a surface current pulling us in that direction, so we went down not knowing what to expect but found it much reduced under water so we were able to make our way easily to the east. I was planning a 15-16 meter dive but there was a huge honeycomb moray at 18 meters so we went on a 56 minute NDL, but the dive for the students was shorter than that, and I delivered them to the surface at 45 min while being harassed by batfish. Bobbi and Nicki waited below, where I rejoined them. The most interesting moments are in the video here.

We don't normally do Octopus Rock on an open water course, but Antonio who was managing the divers on board had been there yesterday and found decent vis and mild current conditions, so to my pleasant surprise we ended up there for our second dive. It's one of my favorite sites in Musandam. We did some skills including compass work at the beginning of the dive, so didn't start our tour until 15 minutes into our time below, and we encountered a slight current against our northerly direction, so more air was consumed than in ideal conditions, and 40 min into the dive I broke off from the group with Omar and let Bobbi and Nicki take Greg as their buddy. Omar and I went to the top of a reef where we were entertained by schools of trevally and batfish getting the wrasse makeover. The others surfaced 15 minutes after we did, well to the west. Everyone seemed happy, those with greatest success were crowned for their achievements, and we hope to see them back in the water again soon.