Steelyeyes
Contributor
Same here but a lot of folks, especially those that don't dive dozens of times a year, need someone to keep an eye on them, even if they don't think they do.
We had smaller groups on Apo Island earlier this year. My wife and I learned to hire a private guide for ourselves so we don't have people flailing and kicking up the bottom when we're trying to shoot photos.
The current kicked up and the whole group of folks from our boat, about 18 people and three guides got jammed together in an eddy. We all did our safety stop and surfaced basically together but it was like a rugby scrum trying to reach the boat.
An older lady was having trouble on the surface. My wife saw her struggling a bit and added more air to the lady's BCD and made sure she was still getting air from her regulator. The lady was too exhausted to talk but nodded when asked if she needed some help. We towed her back to the boat. The DMs were too busy herding cats getting the rest of the folks back and missed her subtle signs of distress.
