What happens if a class that forms only has you and the instructor on the day of class?
This literally happened to me in the end of this June at High Springs with Orie. After 10 hours+ of drive and a nightmare of logistics, Orie let me know that due to a medical issue my assigned buddy could not join.
Given the situation he proposed to either reschedule for another weekend or have somebody else (Evan) play the role of the other newbi. I had to go for the second option, and although I did not get a "true" Fundies experience, Evan was excelent on mimicing my progress and level at every dive, while he also assisted with important advices every now and then. I don't think I could be more lucky when my buddy's pickup truck plates spell "GUE-EDGE"
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So the entire focus of the class was on refining my skills, and only due to that fact and the EXCELLENT work and patience of both Orie and Evan, I was able to get a strong Rec Pass with doubles, with provisional Tec being an option. For context, I had less than 40-45 dives in total and no experience diving with GUE procedures, doubles, primary light, or even shooting a DSMB, while I do not consider myself an experienced or even a good diver. For example, the first time I attempted to shoot the DSMB during the class I got so laser focused on the procedure that I was uncontrollably and unsafely moving left and right crashing on other PADI divers that were getting OW certified and had better, trim, buoyancy, and situational awareness than my hyperventilating dumpass at the moment.
In retrospect, although I had no buddy in the same situation to share the challenges of the class and the frustation after each failure, I trully believe that being the focus of the entire class was the main reason I saw an exponential growth on my skills as a diver in just 6 dives. So such situation might be unlikely and suboptimal according to the others, but it could be an awesome opportunity for achieving standards even beyond your initial expectations.
