Down currents

[MargaritaMike]

I don't joke when I say 200 ft for short durations is no big deal, if you are carrying HP 120s and good dive buddies.

And nitrox?

Dave you almost had me diving with you until this post. CajunDiva raises a very good AND germane point.

Cheers - M²

 

[Dave Dillehay]

What are you saying? Maybe you should consider deleting that post before you have another drink. Good Lord!

Hey deep sea, you ever been deep before? It is not the death sentence you and others may seem to think. And no, I never did that on nitrox. With thousands of dives in Cozumel I was more than curious about how deep a down current will push you. Three times it was 200 ft, more or less. If one has sufficient air and some common sense there is NO reason to panic with any down current.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS I resent your implication about my sobriety.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Wouldn't you like to know how deep a down current goes? I can tell you by experience as maybe few can, if I put a little humor in the story shall I be pilloried.

Dave

 

[deepsea21]

Hey deep sea, you ever been deep before? It is not the death sentence you and others may seem to think. And no, I never did that on nitrox. With thousands of dives in Cozumel I was more than curious about how deep a down current will push you. Three times it was 200 ft, more or less. If one has sufficient air and some common sense there is NO reason to panic with any down current.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS I resent your implication about my sobriety.

Resent as you will. That post is just outside the realm of what any dive op owner should be posting. There was another dive op owner who got her kicks going deep and I assume many here know what happened to her and others with her. Think before you post such things.

 

[BRT]

I question why some have said "stay close to the wall" if caught in a down current. Yes, the current flowing down will be lessened right against the wall by the structure but you're not out of it... just hanging tight in the middle of it does no good and maybe one can crawl their way back up with great exertion and BC inflation to what... the flow coming over the wall in a wash of sand and debris? Luckily, I've been diving Coz for 14 or 15 years and have never been caught in one but most everything I've read is not to fight it and not to grab onto the wall and hang tight sitting there burning up air. I've read one should start inflating their BC and fully inflate if necessary as you fin away from the wall to get out of the current and be prepared to drop weight if you find yourself carried DEEP. Once out if it be ready to deflate so you don't ascend like a cork. Dave said he had a current drag him to almost 200 feet? I'd have dumped weight well before that.

On another note, I personally could care less about wall dives these days so if the group must dive Santa Rosa I'll dive a good way back from the wall instead of along it or out over it. What's to see there anyway? Seen one wall you've seen them all in my opinion. A dedicated Santa Rosa wall dive is a waste of a dive in my opinion (and I'm not the only one who says so) but there are those who just have to say they've been there and done that dive.

My one down current experience in Cozumel I grabbed on and waited it out. Seemed to work fine. If your air bubbles are going down I don't think your BCD will carry you up.

 

[BRT]

Resent as you will. That post is just outside the realm of what any dive op owner should be posting. There was another dive op owner who got her kicks going deep and I assume many here know what happened to her and others with her. Think before you post such things.

Better to tell people they will die if the current carries them down so they can properly panic if it happens.

 

[mediumone]

Resent as you will. That post is just outside the realm of what any dive op owner should be posting. There was another dive op owner who got her kicks going deep and I assume many here know what happened to her and others with her. Think before you post such things.

That wasn't a down current, that was unadulterated stupidity, charming though she was. Same goes for her cronies.

 

[mcohen1021]

SMH... How have I been so lucky to never have been in a down current...

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Resent as you will. That post is just outside the realm of what any dive op owner should be posting. There was another dive op owner who got her kicks going deep and I assume many here know what happened to her and others with her. Think before you post such things.

For the record I would never go deep, or allow myself to go deep with an aluminum 80 tank. In each case I was using a full HP 120 tank with bailout bottle, and competent buddy, nor would I go past 200 even if the down current continued. When it stopped we swam parallel to the reef and rose slowly against no current at all, continued the dive with proper safety stop with lots of gas left. Never would I have done that with dive customers.

I brought this whole thing up to provide some sort of science to the mystery of down currents. Diving in Cozumel since 1992 with thousands of dives with lots of opportunities to experience down currents, I have lived to be 71 now and would not do it again but I felt that would be good information for this forum. Sorry if anyone got their panties into a wad.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[mediumone]

I brought this whole thing up to provide some sort of science to the mystery of down currents.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

I, for one, am glad that you did. Thanks