Do you wear a snorkel?

[diver 85]

Sorry ... ain't buyin' it.

Try a little experiment sometime. Get in the water in full scuba gear. Have the boat toss you a line. Hang on. Have them tow you at 3 knots while you hang on.

Come back and tell us how well you managed ... :shakehead

Lots of people don't realize how fast a 3-knot current really feels to a scuba diver. I guarantee you're not swimming against it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

You don't know anything about Fling-Gulf diving I'm guessing, they tie off pull ropes from the boat to the mooring line(which is about 30 ft below the surface)...Get the set up now??.....But, that doesn't help you IF you miss the tag lines out back on the return.......Maybe you need to schedule a trip, I would be happy to show you how it's done(& not all dives have the current, sometimes in a matter of 30 minutes they come & go, but you already knew that, I'm sure).........

PS, BTW, you're correct about the 3 knots, sometimes they are 5.......

 

[diver 85]

Better be funnin' here... You might want to read his resume.

no funnin' here...Seems like I read about you & him a few months ago........(here's what happens sometimes when -experienced think they know it all divers - don't listen to Mother Nature & physics)....It's really pretty simple if you sit down & slice it & dice it.....(but you've read this before I'm betting)......

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=182750&highlight=3+deaths

 

[daniel f aleman]

Well, I've made 50+ trips to the Gardens, 300+ to the Gulf rigs.

I was just commenting that you may not know of the quality of some of the divers here... you might want to make aquaintances first...

 

[ce4jesus]

I suspect that's a bit overestimating the current ... at 3+ knots you wouldn't even be able to hold onto a tag line, much less get back to it after the dive. If you did manage to somehow hang on ... by using a jon line, perhaps ... the current would rip your mask and snorkel right off your face.

For the record, that is incorrect. 3knots is 3.45mph or like a fast walk. I've been on many dives where the current was in this range with a mask and snorkel with no issues. But if its any consolation your estimate of a mile and a half is spot on.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

For the record, that is incorrect. 3knots is 3.45mph or like a fast walk. I've been on many dives where the current was in this range with a mask and snorkel with no issues. But if its any consolation your estimate of a mile and a half is spot on.

So have I ... but I wasn't trying to hold my position on a stationary object like an oil rig. I was drift diving. Betchya you were too. In that case, you're essentially diving "normally" within a moving frame of reference ... in which case, the "effective" current you're dealing with is much less.

Try holding a stationary position in a 3-knot current. Betchya can't do it ... not even close. Betchya can't do it in full scuba gear for more than a minute or two even when hanging onto a down line.

Water's very dense ... the force of 3 knots of current washing over your body is considerable ... even more so when you're wearing a cylinder and fins. Even if you're maintaining an efficient slipstream, through proper gear management and trim, it's going to wear you down in a hurry if you're trying to hold a stationary position against that much current.

I'm not trying to be a "know it all" diver here ... but there are people who make diving decisions based on what they read on this board. I don't want anybody thinking they can take that kind of current lightly. That's how people get hurt.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Steve50]

Only use a snorkel in two circumstances - when teaching and only because standards require it - and when snorkeling.

 

[Cacia]

I'm interested in the current discussion because I, on the one hand, I see consensus on things likea 3 knot current, and then I'll here somebody reliable say they are often way over estimated my the dive community.

So..I suspect a ripping cuurent where the bubbles are at almost a 80 degree angle, is only about a 2, maybe?

I used to think I could gauge them, and now I am confused and it drives me a little nuts, I like being able to talk conditions.

 

[sea nmf]

hahahaa

good one

my reason is that I honestly am never positive that I will be picked up in a timely manner by the bozos I dive with. And we have big seas here in Hawaii.
Big Bozos + Big Water= snorkel on both boat and shore dives.

But, I am superficial enough to want a black or camo one.

When was the last time you did a shore dive?

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

Here we use them in the Open water course. After that not really because we are drift diving with the current. We go straight down from where we roll in at. And as we make a safetly stop, I deploy a SMB to draw the boat near. There's never any surface swimming. I love it!!!!

 

[tomgrogan]

Well, I used one on every dive until I read that many people on this site did not. As fate would have it on my first dive without it, I messed up on my navigation skills & got farther away from the boat than I would have liked. I wished I had my snorkel when I surfaced & saw how far the boat was away but I had 800 psi left so I made the swim back easily. Glad I had the air but now I am practicing my navigation skills more & will take my snorkel with me from now on.