Do currents cause accidents?

[Walde]

For a new diver the one thing that seems a bit scary is currents. Especially down current seems quite dangerous situation for any diver.
There are lots of youtube videos of people caught in currents but usually they getaway without any injuries.
I know everybody should dive within limits of their skills and I'm not going to dive anywhere with strong currents intentionally.
I only have one experience of diving to a current, it wasn't any way scary or dangerous, we just had to go to a bit different direction than was originally planned. It was a good way of learning that swimming against the current is quite useless.

I would like to know if there has been any serious accidents caused by currents? Or how common those kind of accidents are?

 

[Bubblesong]

I had a bad experience in a light current and low visibility (10ft) the first time I dove with my 12 year old daughter. We both were looking down at bottom, but i was still hanging onto bottom of anchor line and she had let go. She got pulled just out of visibility in a few seconds. Luckily, she remembered her training and went back to surface and came up near boat. We did the rest of our dives holding hands.

 

[broncobowsher]

I'll say, yes.
Common scenario, drop in, swim with the current, time to turn, takes much longer fighting the current heading back. My general plan for this is to drop in, (providing this is a general look around spot and not a target dive) start the dive swimming into the current. When it is time to turn the current is helping not hurting your return.

But there are a ton of different scenarios. In general you just have to plan for it and act accordingly.

 

[ColoDale]

I will say they can. Diving in currents is a skill you should know especially when they change.
I cannot give you incidents since if something went badly, current might be mentioned but most times something like a health problem, disappearance, panic or other cause, would be blamed first.
Know what you might encounter before getting in the water in areas known for current/surge.
We try to never swim against the current unless necessary.

 

[Kharon]

It's especially bad when the bottom shows few features, there is strong surge, and you can't tell you are in current that's moving you. I ended up a long way from a dive boat and couldn't get back on my own. Seas were high and I very nearly drowned because the dive boat ignored my Dive Alert and screams for help for way too long. They sat at mooring till all other divers finished their dive. There was a life boat/dingy that could have been deployed but they didn't bother. That experience made me completely revise the conditions that I will dive in.

 

[Walde]

I've only done OWD and some fun dives in good conditions but ordered myself Mares all in one SMB. When doing fun dives in Thailand I never heard anyone saying that SMB is good to have and never saw SMB on other divers than the DM. After hearing stories about current taking divers far from boat I think I will have mine with me from now on.

 

[Pearlman]

As a newbie, ones primary worry would be to handle separation from the group because you are getting pulled away from them and not find the strength to fight the current and get back to them. A mere event of separation can spiral into uncontrolled panic leading to mistakes.

Some tips to avoid a difficult situation :-

1. Always research your dive destination/vacation spots. Read reviews, frequent this forum and read trip reports and get a sense for whether the target sites are beginner level or intermediate/advanced and what the currents are like.
2. Try to find beginner level drift-dive spots in gentle currents - here you only need to practice a little negative entry (not a problem if its not cleanly executed - you will still be able to rejoin your group) and just flow with the current till the end where you may have a 30 second effort to exit the path of the current. This will help you gain confidence
3. Watch the fish ahead of you where you are headed. There is a peculiar quivering straining trembling movement of fish staying put in strong currents. You will learn to recognize that sign of strong current over time. Once you spot it - Avoid hitting that exposed patch with currents all by yourself. Wait and watch how others are coping with it physically and follow them when your confidence arises. Stay low and grab some hand-hold until then.

Experience is the best teacher they say. Its never a done deal just because you made it once or a few times in the past. Every time is a new challenge - we just have to face it.

 

[Jcp2]

Currents/surge/waves can really make a shore dive much more difficult if not accounted for initially, or if conditions change while one is underwater. It's especially tricky if there is a set entry and exit point, with no other good options for returning to shore.

 

[Hank49]

I've only done OWD and some fun dives in good conditions but ordered myself Mares all in one SMB. When doing fun dives in Thailand I never heard anyone saying that SMB is good to have and never saw SMB on other divers than the DM. After hearing stories about current taking divers far from boat I think I will have mine with me from now on.

this. A bright colored SMB is much easier to spot than a small head in choppy seas. If the boat can't see you, don't swim against the current. Swim across toward land. Relax....don't fight it

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Currents can be quite dangerous. There's a "waterfall" in the Tacoma Narrows (a fun drift dive). I haven't experienced, but it supposedly can drop you from 70 to 110 feet in a short period of time. I've been tossed around in Deception Pass, but only depth changes of 10 to 15 feet. I just swam horizontally.

The key for these surprise changes is to be calm. If you are going up, dump gas of course. Going down, I don't add gas, just swim out and correct once I get out. Being properly weighted helps too.

@Kharon

What was the explanation for not at least getting you out of the water? What, if any, communication did you have with the boat before they came and picked you up?