Drift diving requires a few simple skills, but once you know the drill, it’s the easiest, most relaxing way to dive. Fall off the boat, sink to depth, let the current take you, ascend, let the boat come to you, climb back into boat (the most strenuous work you’ll do on the dive), rest during SI, and repeat. The biggest mistake most people new to drift diving make is trying to fight the current. Never fight the current; the current is your friend, it’s doing all the work in transporting you over the reef.
Simple rules to follow: (1) stay BEHIND the DM, let the DM lead, you follow [Note: This rule requires that you be able to recognize the DM -pay attention to what he looks like, pick out a recognizable characteristic, like the fins he’s wearing, his wetsuit, a recognizable tank, something, then remember -that is your DM, you need to stick with him], you don’t want to get way out ahead of him then have to swim against the current to get back; (2) the current can travel at different speeds at different depths; if you tend to helicopter 15-20 feet above the group, you can find yourself getting swept right on by; try to stay at close to the same depth as the DM (plus or minus 5-10 feet is usually fine); (3) know where to avoid the current; often, the current diminishes greatly or nearly disappears very close to the bottom, so if you hug the bottom (but don’t touch it or stir it up - this requires good bouyancy skills), it’s often very easy to stay still with very little effort; also, if you find a coral head or structure, you can duck behind it to get out of the current; if necessary, stick one or two fingers into the sandy bottom to anchor yourself against the current, but WATCH WHERE YOU STICK YOUR HAND! You do NOT want to reach down to grab a fire worm, fire coral, a mess of hydroids, or, God forbid, a Scorpion fish; if you do happen to get out ahead of your group, duck behind the coral and wait for the group to come to you, much easier than trying to swim back against the current; (4) when in the current, try to keep as horizontal as possible to minimize your cross-section to the current; if you do this, and face backwards, you’ll find that you can keep nearly still in the current with minimal finning effort; getting verticle, up and down in the water, your whole body is essentially a sail to catch the current. Again, remember that the current is your friend, and you’ll soon grow to love drift diving.
