The Down Current Killer

[Dr. Lecter]

Climbing up the wall to get to the top would be a horrifying ecological disaster for everything in your path.

I am the first and loudest person to chew out those with poor buoyancy and/or no consideration for the local flora/fauna, but I think it's very clear that under those sorts of conditions, whatever damage you might do to the wall is a total non-issue.

If your survival is helped by climbing the wall, you climb the wall and the critters be damned. That said, swimming out and away is going to be a better bet most times.

 

[ScubaSteve]

If your survival is helped by climbing the wall, you climb the wall and the critters be damned. That said, swimming out and away is going to be a better bet most times.

 

[Tigerman]

I am the first and loudest person to chew out those with poor buoyancy and/or no consideration for the local flora/fauna, but I think it's very clear that under those sorts of conditions, whatever damage you might do to the wall is a total non-issue.

If your survival is helped by climbing the wall, you climb the wall and the critters be damned. That said, swimming out and away is going to be a better bet most times.

Just make sure what you grab is not a stonefish as that might be a bit detrimental to your efforts..

 

[flots am]

I am the first and loudest person to chew out those with poor buoyancy and/or no consideration for the local flora/fauna, but I think it's very clear that under those sorts of conditions, whatever damage you might do to the wall is a total non-issue.

If your survival is helped by climbing the wall, you climb the wall and the critters be damned. That said, swimming out and away is going to be a better bet most times.

I can't come up with any conditions that would make climbing the wall preferable to simply exiting the down-current.

flots.

 

[DandyDon]

Hanging on is generally non-productive since there's a really good chance that the current will last longer than you want to be there.

Climbing up the wall to get to the top would be a horrifying ecological disaster for everything in your path.

flots.

There well respected Coz Instructors who teach that. As I said above, I'd still be concerned with dealing with the current at the top of the wall anyway. I'd rather swim away for a free ascent, and some prefer to just swim across the face of the wall and out of the down current - but I'd wonder how wide it may be. Yeah, I'm going away if I have a bud, he'd best do the same. It's best to agree before the dive.

Just make sure what you grab is not a stonefish as that might be a bit detrimental to your efforts..

​

 

[peterbj7]

A good rule of thumb is to think how you entered the down current, and reverse that move.

 

[tracydr]

One thing to consider with down currents is the narcosis involved. I had a down current in Africa pull me from about 90-130 feet pretty quickly without me realizing it until my buddy made a noise to get my attention. I was pretty narced, I'm sure, and really unaware, once I got down that deep. It all happened very, very fast. The narcosis caused me to not be aware of my depth or gauges and I'm sure I would have kept on going were it not for my good buddy.
We had some crazy currents that week, diving with with a full moon and the equinox change. We actually went through four seasons because we were diving right on the equator!

 

[Jan Kruger]

Thank you to all responding on how to deal with getting out of a strong down current. I have learnt something again today that can be passed on to my buds as well.

 

[acidrush]

I cannot comment on down currents elsewhere. However in some places in Indonesia (eg Halmahera, Alor, Bira, etc), swimming away from the reef/wall means bigger problems, you are still going down, only this time with nothing to grab on too......

 

[tboxcar]

Interesting reading everyone's post, but having worked as an instructor/guide in Indonesian the last 3 years, and in some of the most 'current and surge' prone areas there are, there is not alot you can do. Except don't dive!

We made the decisions more than a few times this season when conditions such as surge, currents (both up and down and sideways), and general surface conditions made the ocean look like a violent pot of boiling water, you just don't get in, and our customers usually understand that it's for their safety, but with rapidly changing conditions sometime occurring during the dive, you just have to deal with it.

We require at least 100 dives and an AOW, as a prerequisite to dive with us, still this is not enough to ensure your safety in an adrenalin pumping situation.

You can have all the buddies in the world and climb all the 'walls' you want, but events happen fast, separation can occur in an instant, I don't care how many dives one may have and how good the surface support team might be. This is mother nature at her most extreme!