I was on that boat, and in the main group. Here's my experience.
Guy was on the boat the day before as well. I had noticed they did the dive a good 30 feet above the rest of the group, which meant they were fighting the current the entire time and often getting blown off the reef and at a some distance from the group. I later heard this was because they didn't have a computer so they wanted to stay shallower to be safe.
The day of the dive in question, Guy did the same, and as mcpowell notes the conditions were less than ideal. The DM did talk to Guy about this during the surface interval, told them to stay deeper & closer to the group so they would fight the current less. Guy apparently didn't heed that on the second dive.
At the end of the dive, I and two others still had some air while I noticed two other divers going up for their safety stop. I didn't see Guy, but that was not unusual. The DM sent up their DSMB and started ascending too, while I stayed down with the other two divers for another 5-10 minutes until we also ran low (got bored), deployed our DSMB, and surfaced together. The current at depth, at this point, was not strong. I logged 68 minutes on that dive, max depth 73ft, average depth 54ft.
When we surfaced, we found the DM not too far from us. The first two divers had already been picked up, I think (this is where my recollection varies a bit from mcpowell? but this detail is not important). Our boat was nowhere to be seen. The DM told us the boat was off picking up someone "out there" (gesture away from shore). While floating, we wonder who is getting picked up, why it's taking so long, and jokingly, is it Guy? We have a few boats check on us during this time, and are in a fairly busy area.
About twenty minutes later, a different boat picks us up and takes us to our boat. We get in and find everyone else there except Guy, and the joke is not so funny any more. We spend the next hour frantically looking for Guy, until we finally hear they have been found.
What I overheard afterward:
- Guy had actually brought a computer, but there was some problem with it so they were diving without. They also did not have a SMB.
- Guy was unable to fight the current, and so after we turned to cross a sandy spot around 40 minutes in (I know when, because we saw a large turtle during that swim which Guy later referenced) they decided to surface because they're spent and can't follow the DM. Did not signal to anyone or notify anyone, and remember, they are maybe 20-30ft above everyone else fighting the current. No one in our group reported noticing Guy ascend.
- Another boat had spotted Guy and radioed in to our boat (why that other boat didn't pick them up, or at least keep an eye on them, is baffling). But that's how our boat knew to look for someone "out there".
- That gave us some comfort that Guy was likely on the surface. But still, an hour of searching in high wind/waves, and we certainly were very worried this might become a fatality. The wind and waves were strong and pushing away from shore, and the whitecaps made it hard to see anything.
I can confirm Guy never thought they were in too much danger and overheard the same comment as mcpowell (maybe trivializing it due to adrenaline or embarrassment? but a cavalier attitude all the same). Also heard they blamed the DM for not checking on them more often -- though I don't think that was fair, as the DM had a group of 6 and Guy was choosing not to stay with the group the entire dive.
I'm glad Guy was OK. I also will not forget that experience any time soon. I already carry a DSMB and know how to use it, and I will be getting a Lifeline as well after this.
