What was the right thing to do in this situation??

Good day to all,

I was wondering if u guys can help me with what happen in my recent dive. This happened in Malaysia. My buddy have done abt 20 dives and for me 30.

It was in the afternoon, there was 6 divers and 1 DM on the boat. We were told to drop off at a mooring line and dive to a ship wreck at abt 24m and a drift will carry us to the reefs at abt 15m-16m. From there we will circle the reef call it a day. Total dive time abt 45min give or take. This is where the problem starts.

When my buddy and I jumped in, we could feel that the current was pushing us out, the opposite of what the DM told us and the current is very strong. He threw us a line and towed us to the mooring buoys. He told us to descent while holding the mooring line (this is where the wreck is) and wait for him coz he will join us shortly. While descending to abt 15m we could still feel the strong current coz we were flying like superman but we continued down to the wreck. When we were at the wreck (24.3M) I checked my air and it showed 150 bar. Down below the water was calm. And so we waited for abt 10 mins but nobody came. My buddy suggested we swim to the reef but I refuse coz both of us dont know where the reef is.

So I call off the dive and both of us head up the mooring line to the buoy knowing very well that the monster current is waiting for us. When we reach the buoy we were still atb 10 to 15 feet from the surface. I used my SMB and attached the cave line to the submerge buoy and head for the surface. The boat pick us up when they spotted us. The DM was on the boat. He told us that when he jumped in, he was swept out to sea and had to be pick up by the boatmen. When they came back, they couldn't find the buoy so they were circling around trying to find the buoy.

So, all 7 jumped in. 3 was swept out to sea and the boatmen pick them up. 2 manage to swim to the reef and spent abt 40 mins there. Me and my buddy was hanging at the mooring line.
After we were picked up, my buddy said that we should have tried for the reef but he dont know the direction.
But thank God nothing happened.

What was the right thing to do? Should I listen to my buddy and try for the reef?
Any comments from the more experience divers here?

You did the right thing. If you don't know where you're going don't try.

Do try to get a better layout of the dive site if possible, even when it is supposed to be guided. As you found out, you never know when something might go wrong

I thinks you did the right thing, the other day we went out diving and when we got to the site, some one jumped of the boat to cool off, within less the 30 sec he was 20 meters away, we had to leave the anchor on a buoy and pick him up by boat, we had another try to get into the water with gear and all, but the DM called the dive as soon as we realized that if some one let go of the decent line we would all have to let go or lose him. sometimes it better to call the dive and dive another day than be superman, even though it really sucks to call a dive when your all ready to go..... we were lucky on the way back the current died down and we did a shallow dive.....

Yellow submarine - U r rite. I guess we took things for granted.
eternaljonah - thanks for the feedback.

You and your buddy are safe and here to question whether you did the right thing, that means you did the right thing.

Nothing wrong with the action you took. Well done.

blueaqua:

Down below the water was calm. And so we waited for abt 10 mins but nobody came. My buddy suggested we swim to the reef but I refuse coz both of us dont know where the reef is. So I call off the dive and both of us head up the mooring line to the buoy knowing very well that the monster current is waiting for us. . . . What was the right thing to do? Should I listen to my buddy and try for the reef?

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You made the right call. The DM had said to wait on the wreck -

blueaqua:

He told us to descent while holding the mooring line (this is where the wreck is) and wait for him coz he will join us shortly.

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- you didn't know exactly where the reef was, nor did you have any assurance, given what you had already learned about the current, that a drift would carry you to the reef. Given your (and your buddy's) level of experience, you did the right thing, and did it well. The fact that two divers made it to the reef does not indicate you could have made, or should have tried. They may have just been lucky.

Sometimes, dives don't go as planned, currents are not always predictable, and it is better to be conservative and dive again anther day, than become the focus of a search and rescue.

You survived, didn't over-exert yourself, exercised good surface recovery skills, and were picked-up in a very quick time. What's the downside to that? You did fine.

blueaqua:

When they came back, they couldn't find the buoy so they were circling around trying to find the buoy.

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Your boat operators... not so much. Most SoPac crews that I have been diving with can find any spot they are looking for instantly- much less one with a buoy plus the bubbles of two diver's exhaust breaths.

I don't care how strong a current is- the crews I have seen can spot a diver-down surprisingly fast.

I'll continue to make it unanimous- you did the right thing. Too often divers persist in a dive that is not as expected or planned, and those circumstances are likely to lead to trouble. The ocean is a big place place, and the power of ocean currents is enormous. Currents can also be less predictable than dive planners would like. You may have had a shortened or aborted dive, but you will have many more dives in the future. That's better than taking an undue risk in unfamiliar territory. Well done. As for your buddy stating that you should have tried to get to a reef at an unknown location, well, the silliness of that speaks for itself.
DivemasterDennis

I'd be finding another dive operator.