My scariest dive so far.

[paddyp]

The following is a slightly edited version of my travel blog from last year. The original blog was intended to be read by non-divers so if it seems dumbed down that is the reason.

"One of the dives will stick in my memory forever. I'll try and convey it as best I can for the non-divers out there.

The site was called Napantaw Fish Santuary. To describe it briefly, it's like a big cliff underwater. There is a shallow bit on top of the cliff where the water is 5m deep which is the coral reef. The cliff drops down to over 100m and maybe more.

We intending to swim along the wall at 20m. Our guide had said there would be loads of fish and that there might be a bit of a horizontal current which meant we could just drift along without any effort to the end of the wall. The wall was about 140m long. This should take about 40-45 minutes when you account for stopping to look at stuff. Anyway - scene set.

The surface of the water was indicating strong currents. It looked like two rivers were flowing into each other. After a little discussion with the local guide we decided to proceed with the dive. We jumped in and as soon as we descended we realised that the current was a bit stronger than we expected. Not only that, it was pushing horizontally and upwards. This made it awkward to descend. After a bit of hard work we got to a sheltered bit at the start of the wall, 10m down. We looked about at the fish and caught our breath for a few minutes.

The guide then indicated he was going to move out of the sheltered area and into the current. He went with a Siberian girl who was a relatively inexperienced diver. Myself and Dom (my brother) were to follow... The two of them headed out and were caught in the current and went out of sight along the wall. Myself and Dom followed at about 15m depth. At this point the **** hit the fan.

Once in the current we took off like scalded cat. Within seconds we were flying along the wall so fast we couldn't focus on anything. Next thing the current changes from horizontal, to horizontal and DOWN. I went from 15m to 25m in two or three seconds and thought I was in deep **** because I was still going down and fast. 66m equals grim Reaper.... I hit my inflator which stopped the descent at 30m. Dom meanwhile has hit 32m and is inflating his jacket continually and finning like crazy. Normally you just hold the inflator for 2 seconds and you will ascend - to the surface if you want to. Trouble is he's not going up. The current pushing down was unbelievably strong.

Next thing the current changes again and the down bit stops. Since our jackets/BCDs were fully inflated, we started to go up - FAST. In diving this is not good. The nitrogen in your blood fizzes out like a lemonade bottle when it opens. If you go up too fast you could also meet your maker - fizzy blood is not good for you. Now it's time to deflate our jackets stop the ascent....

Anyway this went on for a few more times - up and down - before we reached the end of the wall. Less than a minute had passed!! It should have taken 40-45. Dom and I got separated by about 20m and I pulled in to the wall to wait for him at 15m because the current weakened a little. As he appeared above me (at 10m) it all started again. A really strong current swept down and washed me away from the wall and out into the deep blue. I waved bye to Dom because there was no point in trying to swim against it. Before we separated I indicated that I was going to ascend and he responded with the ascent sign.

The movie Open Water did cross my mind as I drifted along below the surface into the ocean. It's a bit strange having no visual point of reference for distance or depth - it does weird things to the mind. In case anyone is wondering, yes - there are sharks here, and big ones. I'd just read tha book about the Indianapolis. It was off the coast of Leyte that in WWII that the warship Indianapolis was sunk. Sharks allegedly accounted for several hundred of the 900 sailors that entered the water alive as the boat went down. The poor sods floated along for five days waiting to be rescued and endured constant shark attacks.

I had to wait 5 minutes before I could come up to the surface to prevent 'fizzy blood', by which time I'd gone another 500m out into the ocean. I always carry an air horn which attaches to my low pressure inflator. As a result, the boat spotted me after a few minutes and thankfully picked me up. About 5 minutes later we spotted the others half a kilometer away.

I feel exhausted reliving that. It was funny when we talked it over but right in the middle I'll admit to being a bit worried. "

 

[JVM4.0]

Just out of curiosity, were you able to draw some conclusions from the experience that others might benefit from?

It sounded like a VERY scary experience, and I'm sure other would be interested in an analysis of the event leading up to your decision to "go".

 

[mow2000]

i did a little search to see where this was: Phillipines. current was rated as "strong" on a dive site listing. "strong" being >5 knots. that's moving.

 

[FFMDiver]

Sometimes I get the impression tour guides need to expose beginner divers to excessive risk just to gather evidence that a dive with them was worth while. Something that makes a great photo op so the divers can wow their friends back home. This way the guide hopes to attract more business.

 

[paddyp]

Thanks for the replies. I'm happy to answer any questions.

The decision to go was based on everyone feeling comfortable getting in. One other diver decided she didn't fancy it and opted out of the dive. Myself and my brother have both been diving for several years and don't mind a bit of current (as long as we don't have to swim against it!).

The guide told us he'd seen surface conditions like this before at the site and said it may be a quick fly by. We had a contingency dive plan in case the drift turned into a flyby ie. meet and spend the remainder of our time at the end of the wall in a sheltered area. All in all we made a confident decision and everyone knew the dive could be challenging.

The guide (who has been an instructor for 10 years) felt confident in taking down an inexperienced diver so that was his decision. Myself and my brother were a buddy pair and capable of looking after each other.

As for lessons learned...I know now how bad things can get and what signs to look for on the surface that could mean irratic currents. Having been through the dive and dealt with a situation I'd never experienced before, I feel confident in handling it again should it occur. I read alot pre-dive about down currents on various forums, and knew the theory, and about what complications can occur. I was prepared for the dive mentally which meant I wasn't overwhelmed by any of the events. I was surprised initially when the downcurrent occurred, but dealt with things in a manner I'm happy with after the initial drop.

Dealing with upcurrents, horizontal currents, and finally downcurrents on the same dive, was invaluable experience. I would not recommend this dive to anyone who has not had experience of strong currents in the past.

Incidentally, the guide told us after we got back on the boat, that despite this being one of his favourite sites, and having dived there for 6 or 7 years, he had never experienced currents as strong as this. Just goes to show - even the best laid plans can be upset. Experience is a great help but always try to be prepared for adverse conditions.

I'd dive it again tomorrow given the chance. Great fun.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

A little bit like this?
YouTube - Fat Kid on Roller Coaster

 

[ItMustBeJames]

I hit my inflator which stopped the descent at 30m. Dom meanwhile has hit 32m and is inflating his jacket continually and finning like crazy. Normally you just hold the inflator for 2 seconds and you will ascend - to the surface if you want to. Trouble is he's not going up. The current pushing down was unbelievably strong.

Next thing the current changes again and the down bit stops. Since our jackets/BCDs were fully inflated, we started to go up - FAST.

I've read a lot of upcurrent/downcurrent threads here too to prepare for this kind of situation. Thankfully, I haven't been caught in one yet. Can I assume you were using a BC, and not a BP/W? If so, did you vent air from your inflater hose and your dump to slow your ascent rapidly? Did you have time to think of this?

Also, I've seen suggestions to swim away from the wall to get out of a downcurrent or that a current may dissipate as you swim further along a wall. It sounds like this wasn't the case in your situation, right?

Thanks for posting your story!

 

[paddyp]

I've read a lot of upcurrent/downcurrent threads here too to prepare for this kind of situation. Thankfully, I haven't been caught in one yet. Can I assume you were using a BC, and not a BP/W? If so, did you vent air from your inflater hose and your dump to slow your ascent rapidly? Did you have time to think of this?

Also, I've seen suggestions to swim away from the wall to get out of a downcurrent or that a current may dissipate as you swim further along a wall. It sounds like this wasn't the case in your situation, right?

Thanks for posting your story!

I was using a Tigullio T52 Hover BCD. It has a back first inflation system, so behaves a bit like a wing and keeps you more horizontal in the water than a conventional BCD.

When we initially were pushed down I was at 15m. The next thing I knew was that my computer was beeping like mad and I checked my depth. It took only 2 or 3 seconds and I was at 25m. I inflated fully and finned up. It happened so quickly I didn't have time to fin out away from the wall. If I'd have continued going down I would have finned away and up from the wall like all the advice states. At full inflation and finning as hard as possible I slowed my descent at 30m. We remained at 30m and 32m for 15-20 seconds before the downcurrent let up.

As soon as it did my computer again went into beep convulsions. I ascended to 12m before I could stop my ascent. To do this I emptied my BC by dumping and flared out. The horizontal current continued throughout this. I'd guestimate 5 knots horizontal. It was like a fairground ride.

It happened two or three times along the wall. Downcurrent- fully inflate - downcurrent stops - dump and flare. The worst bit was when i was swept away from the wall to be honest. All the ups and downs didn't give you time to think about what might happen. Drifting on my own in the blue, knowing I had to do a safety stop and a slow ascent, was horrible. I was worried about where I'd end up in relation to the boat and concerned about my brother. I half expected to see him when I surfaced but he'd managed to meet up with the other divers on his ascent. They surfaced by the wall. I was half a kilometer away.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Thanks for sharing the experience. Always learning.

 

[NTSilver]

As Pappyp said, experiencing these types of different currents is a great learning experience. It sounds like no one panicked which is a good thing. My husband and I experienced whipping currents on our last trip to Cocos (previous trip had nothing like this). My mask actually came off during the ascent down a line. (currents in the face + mask clearing = more water in the mask and for me loss of mask) We learned a lot on that dive. While we were experiencing those currents the other boat was experiencing a down current at another site. We were all able to share stories and learn. I did extensive research afterwards and feel like I am more prepared now, but to experience it, learn and not panic is a great tool.