Current currents

[Ouvea]

Just returned from Scuba Club Cozumel after a week of diving. Observed ripping currents at Paso Del Cedral, Santa Rosa and at Columbia. At Yucab, Tormentos & Chankanaab the current was quite mild.

In front of Scuba Club Cozumel, I did several dusk/night dives. One late afternoon, I simply couldn't swim up current. Separate late afternoon, the non existent current quickly picked up speed to where I could barely swim up current. Was relieve to have immediately turned home, as I had swum south of the SCC's adjacent resort.

@tridacna , I just returned from SCC. I dove from the DiveCat on Wednesday. Were you on that boat? I was on the ReefCat primarily.

 

[tridacna]

Just returned from Scuba Club Cozumel after a week of diving. Observed ripping currents at Paso Del Cedral, Santa Rosa and at Columbia. At Yucab, Tormentos & Chankanaab the current was quite mild.

In front of Scuba Club Cozumel, I did several dusk/night dives. One late afternoon, I simply couldn't swim up current. Separate late afternoon, the non existent current quickly picked up speed to where I could barely swim up current. Was relieve to have immediately turned home, as I had swum south of the SCC's adjacent resort.

@tridacna , I just returned from SCC. I dove from the DiveCat on Wednesday. Were you on that boat? I was on the ReefCat primarily.

I was on the Dive Cat on Wed/Thu then Reef Diver for Fri/Sat/Sun. (I think). Those names confuse the heck outta me. I was diving the XDeep BPW with Force Fins.

I too was crawling on the rocks at SCC trying to get back from the pier. It was ridiculous! Doing that again tomorrow morning. The wind is down and the pier bouys are now bending South to North.

I remember you now. I picked your brain about Chuuk, right?

 

[Charred]

We were there last April and had the same issues: ripping currents one moment, total calm another, dives with the current going South (WTF?), dives where the current inverted mid dive.

I remember we called at least one dive where our group was pulled in 2 by the currents and quickly disappeared from each other. I also remember trying to swim to the other group (which had my wife in it) and cranking out serious power and going absolutely nowhere then breaking out laughing and flooding my mask.

Every time we did Cedral there was no current. It was an interesting trip

 

[DandyDon]

dives with the current going South (WTF?)

The main current always goes north thru the channel between the island and the peninsula, part of the North Atlantic Gyre, but we dive close to shore where drag caused by shallow reefs and the shore cause twirling eddies that can feel like south currents at times.

 

[Ouvea]

I was on the Dive Cat on Wed/Thu then Reef Diver for Fri/Sat/Sun. (I think). Those names confuse the heck outta me. I was diving the XDeep BPW with Force Fins.

I too was crawling on the rocks at SCC trying to get back from the pier. It was ridiculous! Doing that again tomorrow morning. The wind is down and the pier bouys are now bending South to North.

I remember you now. I picked your brain about Chuuk, right?

Hmm... Don't recall but a few of the margaritas at SCC has "impaired" my memory. We probably were, as I do recall taking to my buddy about this, since she has dived on those wrecks. I was with my dive buddy (lady, Halcyon bpw setup, Atomic regs & a Focus 2.0 light). I was also in a DIR setup with an Agir Brokk plate & wing and a blue UWLD primary light.

Were you using a BPW with the straps cross at the shoulders? On the boat, there was a group of three young gentlemen, a family with 2-3 teenage boys and a group of older gentlemen. My buddy and the three younger gentlement were diving with the other DM, Manolo. I have dived with Nestor before. He is an outstanding guide.

I wonder how many other SB members I have met w/o realizing.

 

[tridacna]

Hmm... Don't recall but a few of the margaritas at SCC has "impaired" my memory. We probably were, as I do recall taking to my buddy about this, since she has dived on those wrecks. I was with my dive buddy (lady, Halcyon bpw setup, Atomic regs & a Focus 2.0 light). I was also in a DIR setup with an Agir Brokk plate & wing and a blue UWLD primary light.

Were you using a BPW with the straps cross at the shoulders? On the boat, there was a group of three young gentlemen, a family with 2-3 teenage boys and a group of older gentlemen. My buddy and the three younger gentlement were diving with the other DM, Manolo. I have dived with Nestor before. He is an outstanding guide.

I wonder how many other SB members I have met w/o realizing.

I just returned from Cozumel and we had a scary dive at Punta Tunich. I had never dove the wall there before, and wasn't familiar when the divemaster said he was taking us there. We had two friends that we brought down to get their OW certification. This was the first dive after their training, and I am disappointed and a bit angry that the divemaster took us there knowing that it was their first dives after cert (he was their instructor).

We all entered the water and began to descend to 40ish feet. One of our friends had some ear squeeze so he was staying higher and trying to work through his issue. I stayed close to him and my wife and his wife descended to the bottom of the upper shelf. They proceeded to swim towards the top of the wall, along with 3 other divers that were on the boat that day. I didn't notice exactly when, but at some point all of the deeper divers got caught in a ripping current that was headed straight out to the wall, and then were carried down the face of the wall in the strongest current I have ever been in. I was higher and was immediately swept out to blue water beyond the divers who where now going downhill at a rapid pace. I was waiting for the divemaster to do something but he just kept banging his tank. The 4 divers going down the wall were only getting pulled deeper and could not hear him.

I couldn't take it any longer so I started swimming down as fast as I could to try to get my wife and our friend to turn around and try to swim up. When I reached them my computer said 100' and I grabbed their arms and tried to get all 3 of us to swim upward. I glanced back at my computer and it said 120' and it was alarming for high PPO2 (I was on nitrox). I was worried we would not be able to outswim the downcurrent so I started filling my bcd and also filled my friend's bcd. During this process I was separated from my wife. We then began rising at a fairly quick pace so I started dumping air as fast as I could. We were not able to get it all dumped in time and we ended up on the surface.

I was worried for the other divers but within minutes all of the others surfaced as well. We all got back on the boat, shaken, but luckily uninjured. I was worried about possible DCS, but it all happened so early in the dive that we all seemed to have survived unhurt. If you look at the profile from my Perdix you can see that it took me 1 minute and 40 seconds to reach them and go down to 120', and only 1 minute and 10 seconds later we were at the surface.

I learned a valuable lesson though, I will research all of the sites more thoroughly and not just go where the DM says, especially with new divers. After going back to the hotel I looked up Punta Tunich and it was described as a dive for experts, due to the frequency of strong currents, and strong downcurrents. I am very glad we were all safe, but it could have been much worse.

Which shop?

 

[Snoweman]

We did Dante’s Hell yesterday AKA Santa Rosa Wall. Current took us on a wild ride. 4 outta 6 divers ‘chickened’ out. I’ve never had a current like the one we had yesterday. Did Chakanaab an hour after and it was as calm as a resort pool. 11 dives in 4 days. So far so good.

 

[tursiops]

The main current always goes north thru the channel between the island and the peninsula, part of the North Atlantic Gyre, but we dive close to shore where drag caused by shallow reefs and the shore cause twirling eddies that can feel like south currents at times.

The currents flowing past Cozumel are coming from the Yucatan channel, and are more a part of the beginnings of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico, and finally the Gulf Stream. It is too far west and too shielded from the general flow pattern of the North Atlantic Gyre, which is an open-ocean concept. Yes, it is all the swirling eddies and wind-driven currents that can cause reversals and southward flow.

 

[gopbroek]

Dropped in at the Francesa wall, current was clipping pretty brisk, at depth over perpendicular ridges it was a washing machine. Came up and crossed to the reef and it was still clipping with lots of debris.
Second dive did San Francisco wall, which can get squirrelly, today almost dead calm and good visability. Dropped over the wall and calmly explored a few areas under the large overhangs, stunningly beautiful, had pockets of channel upwell water causing super visability. Just goes to show you never can tell.

 

[tridacna]

Hmm... Don't recall but a few of the margaritas at SCC has "impaired" my memory. We probably were, as I do recall taking to my buddy about this, since she has dived on those wrecks. I was with my dive buddy (lady, Halcyon bpw setup, Atomic regs & a Focus 2.0 light). I was also in a DIR setup with an Agir Brokk plate & wing and a blue UWLD primary light.

Were you using a BPW with the straps cross at the shoulders? On the boat, there was a group of three young gentlemen, a family with 2-3 teenage boys and a group of older gentlemen. My buddy and the three younger gentlement were diving with the other DM, Manolo. I have dived with Nestor before. He is an outstanding guide.

I wonder how many other SB members I have met w/o realizing.

I presume that it was you diving wet. Your dive buddy (I presumed your mom) had a dry-suit. We talked in the restaurant - I’m doing the same trip to Chuuk/Palau that you did 3 years ago. No cross straps for me BTW.