What is drift diving exactly?

[Mantasscareme]

Just making sure guys, if I need to get to the bottom fast to avoid current or stay with the group, is there any problem with just jumping in BC empty and finning down as fast as my ears can equalize? Why does nobody just fin down to the bottom? I'm just a new diver and need to make sure.
I really need help!,
Mantasscareme

p.s-When I was planning a dive trip (which I haven't gone on yet), I asked around and e-mailed dive ops in Cozumel, Fiji, and Palau, all of whom said that drift diving is perfectly safe, easy and intuitive for all divers of any level IF they have the right DM. Is that just clever advertizing, or is it really as simple as that?

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

Try drift diving Rainbow River. Best "drift dive" on the continent.

Ohhh, Me thinks some who have done the Niagara River Drift Dives would disagree with ye.

But everyone has their own favorite little spot.

 

[simbrooks]

Just a thought and not meaning to read into it too much, but who told you that drift dives werent for beginners, other divers, an instructor, a shop? The reason i ask is that there are speciality "courses" you can take in drift diving (i believe most agencies have one for it) where they essentially tell you all that you have heard on here so far and so those who might offer said instruction might discourage you telling you its not for newbies, only once you have learnt how to with them. My third dive after OW was a night drift dive on Rainbow River and my fourth was during the following day. My GF did two for her final two checkouts just the other weekend. Its fine for newbies, but just as with other disciplines of diving there are certain principles it is best to adhere to, assuming you are diving off a boat, rivers have been covered above, from beginning of the dive to end:
Get off the boat with your group, dont dally/hang about, the boat is drifting as are the divers and if you dont get in the water fairly quickly you'll have to swim to the rest of the group.
Go down with the group on descents as the current flows at different rates with depth, usually as you near the bottom the current will slow and just below the surface is usually where it is fastest. Keep the group together, go with the slowest descending diver to ensure group integrity.
Stay with the flag, the boat will follow the flag assuming all are with it, they do watch bubbles, but flags are easier!
Ascend keeping the line in view (so you surface somewhere near the it and the boat can find you easier.
If you are off the line or away from the carrier look around a bit, then ascend (sometimes viz is better as you ascend) to the surface if necessary and signal the boat. If you cant see the boat, then use your safety equipment, visual stuff works best, whistle or duck/quacking noises get lost very quickly in boat noise and if you are in waves.
The boat will come to you to pick you up, sometimes they will get quite close, follow their briefing as to boarding protocol.
Relax, this is the easiest type of diving, assuming you go with the flow, and just look at the stuff as you pass it, keep in touch with flag carrier, you'll find your SAC (breathing rate) will be quite a bit lower, mine drops into the mid 0.3's surface cubic feet per minute, some lower giving really long bottom times (within NDL's).

 

[Wristshot]

. . . Why does nobody just fin down to the bottom?

Most people don't just fin to the bottom because it is easy enough to just gentle drop down if you are weighted correctly. If you HAVE to fin down at the beginning of a dive, then there is a reasonable chance that you may be underweighted, and that could cause you some trouble maintaining depth for a Safety Stop.

I don't just fin to the bottom because it takes me a while to equalize confortably.

p.s-. . . Is that just clever advertizing, or is it really as simple as that?

Well, it is a bit of both. It would not be good for business if they were to say "oh, it is really difficult, so don't do it!" On the other hand, here you have a bunch of replies telling you that it really is not too difficult etc.

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One thing that has not been mentioned here so far is that usually the current is a bit slower closer to the reef. Of course there are exceptions, but I have found that most of the time the current is a bit gentler close to the rocks / reef. We had some people staying 10 - 12 feet out, and they were flying away from us, I tucked in closer to the reef and I slowed down. Handy for staying behind the Guide.

The reason to stay behind the Guide is that if he sees something really cool, and you are past him, you may not be able to fin over to see it. If you are hanging back a little, you can usually cruise over to see whatever special wonder he has located. Just a thought.


Wristshot

 

[peterbkk]

Be wary of boat operators who run "we'll follow your bubbles" drift dives. This works fine in calm, clear seas but becomes impossible when it is raining or choppy. I did such a drift dive once. A few minutes into the dive, the current changed direction and, unbeknown to us, it started raining. The boatman, having lost sight of the bubbles continued in the same direction along the reef. After a 60 minute dive, we ascended, in heavy rain, with no boat in sight and no possibility of swimmming ashore against the current. It took him a couple of hours to find us. Morale of the story: always drift dive on a line with a bouy.

 

[Scubagolf]

Be wary of boat operators who run "we'll follow your bubbles" drift dives. This works fine in calm, clear seas but becomes impossible when it is raining or choppy. I did such a drift dive once. A few minutes into the dive, the current changed direction and, unbeknown to us, it started raining. The boatman, having lost sight of the bubbles continued in the same direction along the reef. After a 60 minute dive, we ascended, in heavy rain, with no boat in sight and no possibility of swimmming ashore against the current. It took him a couple of hours to find us. Morale of the story: always drift dive on a line with a bouy.

This is interesting. I haven't done but a few drift dives, one off of Maui, and the others in Cozumel, and I don't recall any involving diving on a line with a buoy. Is this common practice? :06:

 

[simbrooks]

This is interesting. I haven't done but a few drift dives, one off of Maui, and the others in Cozumel, and I don't recall any involving diving on a line with a buoy. Is this common practice? :06:

Down here - yes. Mostly as you are required to fly a dive flag any time you are in navigable waters, but also cos it helps the boat see where you are.

 

[Walter]

There are three methods of diving in current from an unanchored boat where you drift with the current. All three are commonly called "drift diving" although it is usually a misnomer.

Drift diving is rarely used. A weighted line, often the anchor line, is dropped to the desired dive depth. Divers descend along the line to the desired depth, holding on the line as the boat drifts along, they are always connected to the boat.

Live boating is common in Mexico, especially Cozumel. It is a fairly risky method. Divers descend and drift with the current. The boat “follows the bubbles.” Using this method, it is easy to lose divers or to accidentally strike a diver with the boat. The use of a safety sausage greatly reduces the risk if inflated and sent up from the safety stop.

The preferred method is float diving. It is similar to live boating, except one of the divers has a reel attached to a float, which the boat follows. Divers stay close to the diver with the reel and therefore do not get lost. Divers ascend next to the line and stay next to the float until acknowledged by the boat crew. They then swim away from the float for pickup. This ensures the boat does not strike divers.

 

[Trisha]

We did our first open ocean boat dives last week with a float and line. Excellent!
The only difficulty for us newbies was in judging how much line to use, without getting slack that could cause entanglement. My husband took the reel on the second dive and was pulled up pretty sharply at one point. The seas were a bit... rough.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[peterbkk]

Usually with a drift dive you can let out all the line or, if the line is really long, you can let out about 2 or 3 times the depth that you are drifting at. You'll find that the impact of the surface wind and currents at different depths, plus the drag created by the person holding the line, that the bouy will keep the line taut enough not to be tangled. You don't want the drift line to be short as you'll experience it tugging on you due to wave action. As you make your ascent, just wind in the line so that you come up under the bouy. Most tangles happen during ascent because the line is not being reelled in during ascent.

Another important technique for successful drift diving is for the divers to orientate themselves across the current so they are drifting in parallel instead of line astern. This enables everyone to see clearly and avoids tangles. If the current is really fast, all the divers can hold on to the line, with a bit of light finnning to position themselves parallel to the current and maintain the line tidiness.

Regards
Peter