Do currents cause accidents?

[Storker]

Especially down current seems quite dangerous situation for any diver.

Yes, they may be. If you're experienced with the conditions, it may be a non-issue. If you're not, it probably isn't.

Remember, scuba diving is defined as a high-risk activity. If you're trained, taking on rather hairy conditions is no big deal. If you aren't experienced with those conditions, things might well get uncomfortably sticky.

Baby steps.

 

[tursiops]

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.

Good for you! I consider an SMB a mandatory piece of safety equipment for the ocean.
When I lead dive trips, there are often people who haven't dived for a year or even more. I always have a mass SMB deployment as a part of our first dive together. Better to get the cobwebs out of the way before you really need a good deployment.
Then, as the week goes along, we try a deployment from our safety stop.....most do not have a spool or reel or even a line wrapped round their SMB.....but they try and have one after that.
Now, with a lot of people carrying cameras, sometimes quite large ones, we spend some time on how to deploy the SMB with your hands full.

 

[BlueTrin]

Good for you! I consider an SMB a mandatory piece of safety equipment for the ocean.
When I lead dive trips, there are often people who haven't dived for a year or even more. I always have a mass SMB deployment as a part of our first dive together. Better to get the cobwebs out of the way before you really need a good deployment.
Then, as the week goes along, we try a deployment from our safety stop.....most do not have a spool or reel or even a line wrapped round their SMB.....but they try and have one after that.
Now, with a lot of people carrying cameras, sometimes quite large ones, we spend some time on how to deploy the SMB with your hands full.

Is the correct way to clip your camera while doing it ?

 

[CaveSloth]

One of the main reasons I am interested in cave diving is, in my opinion, it is safer. Diving in an open ocean with incredibly variable visibility, currents, massive areas to get separated in, wave action jostling everything around seems like a nightmare to me. Give me a nice sandy bottomed cave with a line I can follow in and out and I feel much safer. I know there are plenty of caves where visibility can change in an instant and in advanced caves and cave diving there is plenty of opportunity to get lost and even places where flow can pin you in side tunnels unable to free yourself but in spring cavern diving I have done so far I feel much more safe than the few ocean dives I have done.

 

[Hank49]

One of the main reasons I am interested in cave diving is, in my opinion, it is safer. Diving in an open ocean with incredibly variable visibility, currents, massive areas to get separated in, wave action jostling everything around seems like a nightmare to me. Give me a nice sandy bottomed cave with a line I can follow in and out and I feel much safer. I know there are plenty of caves where visibility can change in an instant and in advanced caves and cave diving there is plenty of opportunity to get lost, but in the safe(r) caverns / cave entrances I feel much more safe than the few ocean dives I have done.

You cavers are a different breed.
Give me sunshine and 10 foot seas with a 2 knot current any day.

 

[tursiops]

Is the correct way to clip your camera while doing it ?

Could be. For sure, you at least want to have your camera on a tether....preferably a coiled cord or something that does not allow for slack line in the water; it WILL get tangled. Some will just allow the camera to dangle from the tether. I prefer to clip the camera off to a chest or waist d-ring. Two hands are really nice for an SMB, especially from your safety-stop where you ahve to inflate it and let go.

 

[Steve_C]

Personally the currents I worry about would be down currents in deep water. Where I dive off North Carolina we have hard bottom at 60 to 120 or so feet. The concern here is getting carried away. So one acts appropriately and has an SMB and knows how to use it and some signaling devices. I carry a medium camera but it is attached to a D ring so in an emergency I can just drop it and have both hands free. Given time I can shorten the line it is on.

 

[Altamira]

One of the main reasons I am interested in cave diving is, in my opinion, it is safer. Diving in an open ocean with incredibly variable visibility, currents, massive areas to get separated in, wave action jostling everything around seems like a nightmare to me. Give me a nice sandy bottomed cave with a line I can follow in and out and I feel much safer. I know there are plenty of caves where visibility can change in an instant and in advanced caves and cave diving there is plenty of opportunity to get lost and even places where flow can pin you in side tunnels unable to free yourself but in spring cavern diving I have done so far I feel much more safe than the few ocean dives I have done.

I think you may have an overly optimistic view on the safety of cave diving, perhaps based on your low experience level in OW and overhead diving. When things go sideways, I would much rather be in a non-overhead diving environment. Of course this is just my opinion, but it is based on experience in both operating environments, and the advanced level of training, proficiency, and equipment required in cave diving.

 

[CaveSloth]

I feel safe (meaning I am not afraid, more relaxed and focused) with a certain type of cave diving... Following the mainline only in well known good visibility caves on nitrox with no deco and not going more than a couple hundred feet in before heading back with a trusted and well trained buddy with the appropriate gear. Line following cave dive tourism. Short peeks into caves with the right gear and training. When rebreathers and scooters and navigational decisions and deco and silt and such become more of a factor, the danger and my pessimism goes up high enough that I could never see myself doing that kind of diving, just as I can never see myself doing ocean diving with boats, waves, currents, strangers, etc... What most people consider recreational diving I consider to be insanely dangerous and stupid. No way in hell would I ever jump off a boat to drift a reef at 70+ feet depth with 10 strangers.

If I feel afraid of a certain dive, I won't do it. I would only do a dive that I felt relaxed and confident about. For me, that is introductory type cave dives as described above. That said, I regard all dives as serious and requiring focus and discipline and following rules and procedures precisely. It is the training, equipment, discipline that allows me to relax and enjoy even while being focused. If too much is out of my control, I cannot relax and enjoy or focus.

 

[rongoodman]

Aside from surf entries, or the occasional down current, probably the biggest danger they pose is causing divers to use up their gas supplies and stamina more quickly then anticipated, and then finding themselves having to deal with those problems in addition to the current. Things can get ugly quickly for a newer diver when dealing with multiple issues.