Close Call in Bali - know your DM and Dive Operator very well

[Valwood1]

When you see a down current (watch how the fish orient themselves, and if you see them pointing their faces to the surface you can be sure there's a down current present) swim away from the the area and upwards to get out of the current's path.

A very thorough and helpful explanation of downcurrent techniques, the quoted paragraph being particularly valuable since that awareness may allow you to sidestep the downcurrent entirely -- which is better than being caught in it and having to make decisions in a potentially-stressful situation.

My only additions are: (1) remember that, when you're in the downcurrent, that bubbles are going down, and they might well block your view of gauges -- this can be disconcerting, but is not surprising; (2) a suggestion that, in any location where downcurrents are a possibility, a good pre-dive practice might be to think about, "If I get in a downcurrent, what am I going to do?" That memory jogging won't make a severe downcurrent any more fun, but it might help your training to overcome any sense of being out-of-control in the situation.

 

[Leejnd]

I agree - excellent information. One comment I wanted to make, regarding the following:

The down currents we experience where the OP was diving are driven by outgoing tides sweeping over the lip of a wall, so swimming away from the wall will take you out of the area where the effect is the greatest. Many divers don't want to do this since they worry about ascending out in the blue instead of right over the reef, so they battle the down current and climb the wall by holding on to corals and stones.

[snip]

The safest thing to do in terms of potential injury to your body is to swim away from the current and wait for it to release you. You may find yourself ascending in blue water, but you will probably not be terribly far from the dive site and can be picked up by your boat.

When we were diving at Crystal Bay (the place where the OP was diving) we were warned by the DMs NOT to head out to the blue beyond the wall, because there were really strong currents out there that could whip us right out of the bay and out to sea, where it would be difficult to find us. We did, in fact, encounter some pretty strong down currents on a couple of our dives, and due to this warning we did the hand-over-fist climb back over the lip and along the slope, until we reached a calmer area.

Fortunately the down currents we encountered were not so strong that we couldn't do that, but it did impact air consumption and shortened our dives. But I was more afraid of heading out to the blue and getting whipped out to sea than I was of just making the effort to climb out of the current!

I guess you just have to take all the many possible factors into consideration when you get hit with currents like that.

 

[Quero]

LeeAnne, the particular geography at Crystal Bay is a little special in that the area is in a channel between islands, so the tide tends to pull even the surface water very quickly through the passage (think of a river rushing between canyon walls). In addition, the islands there are directly in the path of the Indonesian Throughflow ocean currents (which is why the water there is cold in comparison to other places in the region). In fact, what I typically do at Crystal Bay is neither to climb straight up against the current nor drift off into the open sea, but to ascend diagonally towards the inner bay. You will come up somewhat further down the reef than you anticipated, but it is far less tiring and you don't get little urchin spines in all your fingertips! The maximum depths there are less than 40 meters anyway, so you will always be released eventually, but it can be stressful to get caught up in that. The absolute most difficult down current experience I have personally lived through was at Blue Corner, however. It's a killer if you don't know what you're doing, literally.

 

[diversteve]

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[Cave Diver]

Bogie, I cannot find the original quote by Cave Diver, but he said something like this:

The downwelling is a current flow that runs down a wall. While it may be broad, it is not very deep - maybe 10' or 15'. If you launch off the wall and swim away from the wall toward open water, the down-welling will take you down but you will also swim out of the current. Then begin a controlled ascent.

Here are two threads that deal with the topic. Not sure which one the quote you're referring to is in though.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/327594-dealing-downcurrents.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba.../48956-what-proper-procedure-downcurrent.html

 

[Quero]

Bogie, I cannot find the original quote by Cave Diver, but he said something like this:

The downwelling is a current flow that runs down a wall. While it may be broad, it is not very deep - maybe 10' or 15'. If you launch off the wall and swim away from the wall toward open water, the down-welling will take you down but you will also swim out of the current. Then begin a controlled ascent.

I think this is the post you are referring to: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5120067-post18.html

 

[Leejnd]

LeeAnne, the particular geography at Crystal Bay is a little special in that the area is in a channel between islands, so the tide tends to pull even the surface water very quickly through the passage (think of a river rushing between canyon walls). In addition, the islands there are directly in the path of the Indonesian Throughflow ocean currents (which is why the water there is cold in comparison to other places in the region). In fact, what I typically do at Crystal Bay is neither to climb straight up against the current nor drift off into the open sea, but to ascend diagonally towards the inner bay. You will come up somewhat further down the reef than you anticipated, but it is far less tiring and you don't get little urchin spines in all your fingertips! The maximum depths there are less than 40 meters anyway, so you will always be released eventually, but it can be stressful to get caught up in that. The absolute most difficult down current experience I have personally lived through was at Blue Corner, however. It's a killer if you don't know what you're doing, literally.

Yes I remember hearing about Blue Corner. We didn't go there, and after reading that article you linked, I'm glad we didn't! Sounds too rough for my blood. I don't have a problem with advanced sites, but that site sounds downright dangerous.

It's been a while since I was at Crystal Bay, and fortunately most of our dives there were quite peaceful. But the two times we got hit with strong currents, they were among the strongest currents I'd ever experienced...at least, that I couldn't just drift with for a drift dive. What I remember most was the instruction to NOT head off to the blue, since we were close to the entrance of the bay. As I recall, we did do something like you described - we didn't just fight directly into the current, but rather, we moved along the wall diagonally, holding onto the wall while ascending, to try to get out of the current AND over the lip. It wasn't so bad that it ripped us off the wall, and once we got over the edge and further up the slope it eased off and we continued our dive in calm shallow water.

However, had it been so strong that it was literally pushing me down, I most certainly would have finned out to the blue to get away from the down current rushing down the wall. Better to hope to be found floating out in the blue, than to get pushed down so far that I can't get back to the surface before I go OOO!

This is definitely a place where situational awareness, and a good solid briefing, is important. None of us were surprised when the downwelling occurred, as we'd been told to expect it.

 

[String]

All i can say is the original thread here is a prime example of why qualified divers should NEVER rely on a DM for their own well being. Every diver should be relying on nobody but themselves on every dive and not on a third party.

 

[Iruka]

I agree....but the truth is, for many divers a guide/DM is essential to their safety. For divers who are able & inclined to dive often, they are quite easily able to become self-sufficient. In my situation, I'm quite often getting divers who only go on one vacation a year, and that's their only diving....maybe 2 to 4 dives over a couple days, then back to work again until "same time next year." We have one couple, they've been diving with us for 7 or 8 years now, and to my....surprise, I guess....the woman mentioned that they'd never done a dive without my wife or myself guiding them. So while it would be nice if everyone was competent, for many divers, having a DM that they feel comfortable with & trust IS necessary. We've seen every possible permutation of incorrectly setting up dive gear....tank INSIDE the BCD rather than in the band, regulators attached upside down/backwards....more than once I've seen divers trying to attach the LP inflator hose onto the burst disk "knob" on the tank, rather on the BCD itself; divers giving either depth or compass heading when asked for their air pressure, etc. So I'm not disagreeing with you, but the reality is that many divers will never achieve real competence, especially when their circumstances (geographical/family/work) don't allow them to dive often.

 

[Leejnd]

Iruka, I do see your point, and I agree that this issue will always remain.

But the problem that occurred in this thread, happened at an advanced dive site that should never be attempted by anyone who ISN'T completely competent, self-sufficient, and skilled in self-rescue. So those once-a-year vacation divers shouldn't come within miles of the place, unless they're along just for the boat ride.

Any diver who is skilled and experienced enough to dive Crystal Bay at Nusa Penida shouldn't need a DM to babysit them, and most CERTAINLY shouldn't be expecting the DM to be their lifesaver. The DM should play the role of guide and local expert, able to give appropriate briefings so that the divers know what to expect and won't be caught by surprise by the conditions, topography, etc. Divers at this site should be able to manage their own equipment, air consumption, navigation and buoyancy.

I've dived in lots of places where they get vacation divers, and have seen all the same things on these dive outings. But I would not expect to see anyone like that at Crystal Bay. Nor should any dive op take someone like that out there.