I wouldn't ever take more than a 1:2 ratio of students in low viz conditions. Indeed even that can be a bit much, I almost lost a student in 15ft viz with mild current, he drifted away while I was helping his buddy with a buoyancy issue, this during open water dive 1.
Diver dies during OW course at Arraial do Cabo near Rio de Janeiro.
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alewar
Contributor
My first check out dive was in a murky lake with max. 2m (6ft) viz and 5°C (41°F) at 10m (32ft). We were two divers per instructor. I remember loosing one of my fins and putting it back at the bottom, eliminating the little visibility we had while doing it. It was a very enlightening experience.
I was solo on top of a shallow wreck. Viz on bottom (depth of 45) was 10 ft at most. It was 20 or so where I was. Saw a student come floating up. Got her attention and signaled to dump air which she did. I Indicated for her to stay with me. We dropped down to the line the class was following. No body there. I took her to the anchor where we waited. A few minutes later the class showed up and went up the anchor. She followed them up. The single instructor never knew she was missing from the group. Believe this was OW dive 3. Forgot the number in the class but the ratio was more than 4-1. I thought from the beginning the instructor should have had somebody running shotgun in those conditions with that many students.
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