Caught in a downwell current...

[DandyDon]

When you travel with the pony do you take the valve off and put in checked luggage?

Adam

Yep. I actually got it after 9-11-01 & TSA start-up and didn't bother removing for a while as there were no rules, just the risk of agent discretion - altho I never saw any confirmed reports of anyone losing one. Spare Air sales dropped tho so they lobbied enough to get rules published, and we have removed valves since, ponies and SAs. They can be carried on but I wouldn't push that; agent calls are still in play. Anyway, it's been all around North America and beyond with me. Another hydro approaching.

 

[farsidefan1]

In Palau you sometimes are diving corners, where the current is pushing form one side (can do a 180 so you hook in on the side facing the current on that given dive). To end the dive you unhook and drift across the "table top". We were warned to get up a bit before we got the the end of the plateu because there is often a downwelling there. If you got up in time - no problem. If not - be prepared for an elevator ride in which case you head out into the blue to get away from the "waterfall".

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I think we encountered something like this on one of our drift dives in the Maldives and at the time I can remember thinking how instantaneously the current changed and it was a little scary. It was a pretty easy current before it changed until that point and we weren't on a wall so I wasn't as concerned with depth as I was that our small group would get separated. The dive master handled it really well and we all descended a little and got closer to the reef and then a few minutes later it was like nothing had happened.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Even without the downwelling, current changes can be...exciting.
In Cancun this May, we were planning to dive the C-58. There's always a fair bit of current on that site, but this time it was odd. At about 50 feet, the current shifted 90 degrees, which, of course, carried us away from the wreck. Rather than fight the current (you can't win...) we went along for the ride. Saw the usual reef critters. And this... don't know what it was before it sank, but it looked to be about 40-45 feet long. Maybe a tug?

Suprises like that are one reason why I never get in the open water without my SMB/Whistle/Mirror/Lights.