Safety stop with strong surface current

[dktexas54]

Was in panama recently diving in the san blas islands. The bouy marker showed a ripping surface current of 2-3 kts i estimated. our dm asked if we wanted to abandon the dive and go elsewhere. there were ten of us and experience ranged from instructors to dm's to rescue with multiple open ocean dives. we all elected to go down. doing a backflip off the boat, my buddy and i quickly decended to depth (80'), got a compass reading into the current and proceeded. the current at depth was still pretty strong 2kts at least. we hid behind some big walls to block the current and to relax. after 30 mins or so we began our ascent. i got my heading back to the marker and the current was moving us pretty good once we got clear of the wall. vis was about 60'. my partner found the bouy line and grabbed it. i made the mistake of looking away for a split second and i was past the line and moving pretty fast. having only 700 psi left, i elected not to try and swim back into the current to find the line figuring i might exhaust myself. i drifted up at the recommended 60 fpm then 30 fpm ascent rates till i hit 20'. i began a 3 min safety stop between 20 and 15'. i had no visual reference with the bottom or anything else so i was fixed on my gauges watching air and depth. after 3 min. i ascended and located the boat at least 1/4 mile away. or more. i popped a sausage and they spotted me and everything was ok. my question. was my judgement ok or should i have abandoned the safety stop knowing the current was taking me away? i knew i would be some distance from the boat but in that split second of decision making, i thought it better to off gas knowing i had equipment with me, sausage, horn,etc i could use for them to spot me. doing my post dive analysis, i think i should have just started up after missing the bouy. what are your thoughts?

thanks,

demoman

 

[Doubler]

I personally would not have made the dive. Why put yourself in a percarious position for no good reason. Hiding behind a wall at 80 feet does not sound like a great dive. Second unless you were in Deco, the 15 foot stop is recommended not mandatory. I have made 100's of dives without the saftey stop with no problems. Of course this was in the days it was not taught, I do them now as it is a good practice. How many people have lost the and drifted around at sea because of the same situations. By not doing the dive you may have been disappointed but you could always dive the next day. Unless it is life or limb at stake a recreational diver should never knowingly put themselves in a position that you must swim back to an anchored or moored boat in a swift current. By taking this action you put yourself and others at risk. IMO

 

[rongoodman]

Sounds like it would have been a nice drift dive.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Agreed. Wall + 2-3 knot current + dive boat = really good drift dive. I am very curious why a drift dive was not considered.

Another option is to watch the tide tables and then dive during the slack tide. Often an hour or so one way or the other can make a world of difference in many locations.

That said, if are in current and have to make a deco stop or felt the need for a safety stop, you want to pop a lift bag or SMB as soon as possible so that it will surface as close to the boat as possible increasing the odds of the crew seeing it, knowing you are there, and knowing where you are drifting. Otherwise, iof you drift too far and or the seas are too high, seeing the SMB at all can be very problematic.

A small finger spool in a pocket and lots of practice is all you need to be able to launch a bag underwater at the stop or from the bottom.

Another option in areas where the current is strong or where the surface conditions are such that finding a diver who drifts off could be problematic ios to use an upline secured to a wreck, suitable rock etc. You essentially shoot the bag from the bopttom and tie the line off on the wreck, rock, etc then ascend the resulting ascent line. it keeps you close to the boat/dive site. In the event the boat has to pull anchor, they at least have the numbers to the dive site and will know where to start looking for you. With an upline, you will still be on the numbers making the search very short.

Current is really not a problem as long as you plan for it and are equipped to deal with it.

 

[Doc]

A small finger spool in a pocket and lots of practice is all you need to be able to launch a bag underwater at the stop....

That's the idea.

It's hard to tell from this post, but I'm guessing that this was a "moored dive" and when DKTexas refers to the "buoy line", we're talking about the "anchor buoy line". I am not hearing that this was a drift dive with a "live boat".

It should have been.

On such a drift dive, what has worked best is if all teams, at the end of their dives, should shoot the sausage from 50', then slowly ascend, hanging at 15~20fsw until the boat arrives for pick-up. You are safer & more comfortable waiting below the surface, and there is nothing more you can do than raise a sauage (outside of an aerial flare or smoke marker). If they can't see a sausage, they wont hear a horn or whistle.

I have surfaced a whole lot further away and not been concerned in the least.

A 1/4 mile away is essentially a bulls-eye.

 

[TSandM]

I agree with everybody above. First off, dives in high current off anchored boats are a recipe for problems. (We often use scooters in Puget Sound as insurance in this kind of situation, but we also try very hard NOT to get in the water when it's moving that fast.)

Second, once you knew you had missed the upline, THAT was the time to shoot the bag. Get it on the surface as close to the boat as you can, and then the boat can track you as you drift. You can drift a LONG way in the time it takes to ascend and do stops. You were lucky conditions permitted the boat to spot your marker from that far away.

If I couldn't for some reason shoot a bag, and I was off the upline in high current, I'd cut out the stops. I'd rather take a small risk of DCS than spend hours (or more) drifting, undiscovered, on the surface.

 

[H2Andy]

i made the mistake of looking away for a split second and i was past the line and moving pretty fast. having only 700 psi left, i elected not to try and swim back into the current to find the line figuring i might exhaust myself.

good call

i drifted up at the recommended 60 fpm then 30 fpm ascent rates till i hit 20'. i began a 3 min safety stop between 20 and 15'.

good call. however, i would have popped my sausage as soon as i missed the line, to give the boat a visual reference of where i am and where i am drifting.

basically inflate the sausage, secure it to a spool, let it drift up, and keep the line taut.

was my judgement ok or should i have abandoned the safety stop knowing the current was taking me away? i knew i would be some distance from the boat but in that split second of decision making, i thought it better to off gas knowing i had equipment with me, sausage, horn,etc i could use for them to spot me.

well, it seems like you were well prepared to be found on the surface.

if you had popped the sausage as soon as you missed the line, this decision would have been easier

 

[Nemrod]

All of the other stuff aside, I would have adjusted my bottom time to account for a no "safety" stop direct ascent. N

 

[Misa]

everything happened cuz you`ve missed the line...make sure next time that will be #1 priority when you have it in sight instead of watching after something else.

Imo you did well since you were in a current and you did the deco too but you had time (3mins) to pop up a sausage too.

Just focus on things you really have to do when you`re down there.

 

[TSandM]

THIS is one of my favorite ScubaBoard threads, which sort of addresses this kind of decision-making.