Learning how to dive in strong currents without diving in strong currents

[ystrout]

Drift dives are easy. Just go with the current and relax. Just go do it and have fun. Stay near the DM if there is one or make sure you have a surface marker deployed the whole dive if there's no DM.

I dove the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo and the current was absolutely insane, so strong I could barely swim against it. I honestly was terrified (as was everyone else on the charter) and surfaced early. Some guy even ran out of air on the charter's group. I personally don't want to ever dive in conditions like that again so if I feel that kind of current, I just am not going to let go of the anchor rope. Experience at that depth with a roaring current is the only way to feel comfortable in that. But drift dives are easy and relaxing. You just float there and let the ocean do all the work. The boat follows you.

 

[dberry]

Excluding strong down-currents (which scare the *bleep* out of me), I don't think there are special skills to learn to deal with currents on a drift dive since you'll never need to swim against the current to reach the boat.

OTOH, having spent a week in December dealing with strong currents on Mona Island (non-drift), I think it's valuable to practice navigation in currents. As in, if it takes 20min to fin up current, how long (short) will it take to fly back to the anchor chain? (answer: 3 min in one case). Or learning to compensate for slippage (lee way) when going out at a slight angle to the current. Or adjusting for a dramatic increase in your SAC. (My lowest RMVs have been on drift dives, and my highest have been with round-trips in current).

 

[Diving Dubai]

Currents are easy. You just need to be sensible. If you start trying to fight mother nature you'll lose. Yes sometime you'll need to kick, have good fins, ones that will give you drive without tiring you excessively

Even down currents aren't that problematic - I encounter them 6 - 10 times a year, the same with up currents. Yes they can be disconcerting but like any underwater incident keep yoru cool and don't panic.

The Currents in the Red sea and Maldives are over hyped. For two reasons. The first, people who've not experienced currents before tend to use hyperbole in their description and thus "legends are born"

The second, dive ops are going to drop you in dangerous currents - losing divers is bad for business. Yes there maybe a bit of flow which might be more than you've experienced. Head down and kick (on the surface) or find shelter around obstacles or near to bottom (if poss). Just remain calm.

But take my thoughts with a pinch of salt. I love currents. The stronger the better - within reason. If I'm going backward and down while finning and at full thrust on a scooter I might reconsider (yes it's happened) So my idea of mild or strong would be greatly different from others.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Thanks...
What if one encounters a strong upward or downward current? You just swim horizontally to get out of it?

 

[Diving Dubai]

Thanks...
What if one encounters a strong upward or downward current? You just swim horizontally to get out of it?

In my experience Up currents are the greatest risk because they're caused by a mass of water hitting an underwater obstruction and coming upwards. A strong one will have you to the surface before you really know what to do. Once I got caught in one and my dive computer stopped at 20m (60') because it all happened so fast - I was a novice with currents then and fortunately only 15 mins into a dive. That said you will get to the surface.

Down currents obviously cause the most fear because you're going down.

Both types have different severities, I've experience up currents which just stop you underwater, and down currents which do the same on the ascent - they're like a wall. In these cases the easy way is to deflate/inflate and kick your way through - They tend only to be a few meters.

The prescribed method of finning horizontally is flawed IMO. If you're on a wall - which way do you go? The current will dissipate in blue water BUT you don't know how big an area it covers. The thought of finning out into the blue where the sand is 100's of metres downwards is not appealing.

So if you're on a wall, I'd hold on first, then either crawl/ fin your way through it while inflating a bit to balance out the down current. If I were on a sloping reef, I'd deflate a bit to get really close to the reef and then hand over hand crawl and fin diagonally upwards. If I'm in the blue then inflate, and pick a direction. Generally inflating enough to stop the descent is enough.

Like any underwater incident, solve the initial problem then assess your next move.

Getting experience in drift diving so you feel comfortable rather than feeling out of control is possibly the first step

 

[gr8jab]

I did my first LOB in the Red Sea (wrecks and reefs) and found the current manageable on all of them. There were a couple where surge was an issue (where the water is pushing one way and then back in relatively quick succession) where timing became an issue (no point trying to go forward when the water is pushing against you).

Yea, this is false logic. In a surge, the forward and reverse forces are balanced (neglecting any additional current.) If you add force by kicking, it doesn't matter when. Any swimming you do will add motion relative to the water, regardless of which direction the 'surge' is going. It may appear that kicking while the water is pushing against you is futile, but you've still made forward progress in the water. If there is a current, in addition to the surge, it is a constant offset from the surge, and will still push you in it's direction.

Imagine you and your buddy are swimming in surge in the same direction. You both kick with the same strength, once per surge. He kicks when the surge is at your back, and zooms in front of you quickly. You kick when the surge is in your face, you don't go backward as fast, but he does, and slides back to meet you. You've both made the same forward progress.

I change when I kick based on my mood. If I want to feel like I'm zooming forward, I kick with the surge. If I want to not backtrack too much, I kick against the surge. But, I get there with the same effort/time either way.