Diver in a down current - best action to take?

[lulubelle]

Nice topic, thanks. I had always wondered what I would do in this situation, and my intuition was that I would do exactly what I do when caught in a rip tide. It is a bit counterintuitive to let yourself be carried until you can swim at 90 degrees to it. But I have had a lot of practice here in NC. The first time pulling another kid out of one in a headlock when I was 10. Seems to me that the main thing is to stay calm and not exhaust yourself trying to swim directly against it.

 

[scubafied]

+1 for recognizing your in one.

In my own experiences with them I almost expect them if it's a drift, they are fairly easy to detect along a wall dive, not quite so much along a more sloping bottom topography unless the fish suddenly go mental and hanging out in open water you would be best served to have your wits about you as they can also happen where 2 currents converge.

I had one experience where myself and another guide were with a group of 8 we had split in two groups for a wall dive. During the dive we encountered a down current that left most of the 8 scrambling for something to hold on too. We finned away from the wall and slightly upward until we were out of it (mentioned during the briefing as this site can be prone to the occassional down current) but it took some time signaling before the others were convinced that they too could get out of it. We had planned that during our safety stop the other guide would surface first to help the guests out of their kit and onto the boat as they surfaced and I would stay until the last guest had gone up. At the stop (one of them seemed to be unable to hold 5 mtrs) and well after the 3 minute mark, I suggested aborting the stop and heading up. She refused, so we waited.

During this extended wait the current had pulled us away from the wall and out into the blue. As I looked around to see if I could see the bottom I got an odd feeling and noticed bubbles start to swirl all around me in a downward direction. I looked up still slightly confused until I realized it was my exhaust and I had been pulled down to 20 mtrs, with my inflated SMB! After some quick kicking (because finning would be a little too glamorous a word for what was happening) and maneuvering, I got myself out of it and back up to her without having to inflate but it was definitely one of those "Oh Sh**" moments. And I'm still surprised it only grabbed me as we were only about 4 mtrs apart at the stop.

 

[diveprof]

Been there, done that. Swim away from the wall 90 degrees to downcurrent (besides there can be neat stuff to see out there too ) If managed properly, it is an inconvenience, not a problem.

 

[Insta-Gator]

As noted in a post above, gas mix can be a critical issue depending on the rate/depth of descent. If there are significant down currents, as reported in Coz a couple of weeks back, do you choose a EAN less than 32% to be safe? Or just dive air?

I wouldn't want to be concerned about DCS and CNS all related to the same incident. Haven't been to Coz in many years and headed back for the Invasion.

 

[Rhodesaz]

Thanks to the OP for bring this topic up! Thanks to those who responded with the proper way to react to a down current!!!
As I am going to Coz (again) this coming Saturday, this information is great.
I've been to Coz many times but never in April. I'm told that the "crazy currents" are mostly in the spring.
Any truth to this?

 

[beaverdivers]

I'm told that the "crazy currents" are mostly in the spring.
Any truth to this?

Yes, I Believe that you get " Loco currents " predominantly in the spring.

 

[soltari675]

Interesting question about gas mixes though. I had a question related. If I am on say EAN 32 or something and I am close to my max depth. Say I get in a down current, and I am swimming away, but still descending a bit as I do because of the current. If I have a pony bottle with plain air, can I switch to it until I recover from the down current? Or is it still a problem because I had been breathing 32?

 

[DandyDon]

Interesting question about gas mixes though. I had a question related. If I am on say EAN 32 or something and I am close to my max depth. Say I get in a down current, and I am swimming away, but still descending a bit as I do because of the current. If I have a pony bottle with plain air, can I switch to it until I recover from the down current? Or is it still a problem because I had been breathing 32?

That's one of the reasons my pony always has AIR in it. My computer won't follow the switch, but I'll do what I need to do, then make the computer happy later - unless I am close to NDL, then I will use all my gases in both tanks on the SS.

 

[drdaddy]

Scubafied -

Whoa!!!! I'm glad you're still with us!

 

[Hatul]

I've never been in downcurrents, but from what I read the best course is to move away from the wall out of the range of the "waterfall".

But say you're on the wall or within reach of the wall and experience a strong downcurrent. Is the best course to pull yourself up the wall or move away and try to make it through the full width of the waterfall?