I was not surprised to see so little crew on the liveaboard ship. I had known that I would be the only instructor running all diving and snorkeling activities. But, what skipper concerned was how to park this ship with so little crew.
In order to park the liveaboard ship, I jumped in a 2-meter small boat with a trainee. I started the engine, drove the small boat away, and carefully approached to a mooring line. It's a rope for parking the liveaboard ship. One end of the mooring line was attached to the concrete blocks under the sea, and the other end was a loop. The line was so thick that it required both hands to hold it. The trainee tied a smaller rope through the loop of the mooring line.
Then, I drove the small boat as slow as I could to drag the mooring line to the liveaboard ship while all the crew were watching me. It was difficult to pass the heavy mooring line to the liveaboard. The trainee held up the line with all his strength while the crew on the liveaboard stretched their hands to grab the line. I managed the small boat not to be drifted away by waves when the line was passed to the liveaboard ship.
However, the small boat was not in the ideal position when the line was passed to the liveaboard ship. The line was across the small boat right in front of me. I had to lift up the heavy line over my head when I drove the small boat away so that I would not be swept into the sea. It was not pretty, but at least the job was done.
I needed a driving lesson not only for a car but also for a boat to survive in Australia diving business.
