Drift Diving VS Anchor line

[Sher1026]

Hi all,

Lurked here for a long time however curious to see the opinions on this one.

I was naui certified in the northeast in 1985. All my dives there were anchor. Down on the line, navigate, up on the line. Here in fl, seems to focus on drift diving. I also notice alot of divers here in fl get lost, some get found some dont. My 14 yr old just got her certification this sat, drift dive and did quite well. Please chime in on your view's of drift v/s anchor.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Make sure to carry multiple ways to signal.

DandyDon has a great thread on this (what to carry) somewhere, I'll look around for it.

 

[Walter]

It all depends on where you're diving and what the conditions are in the area.

I haven't seen drift diving in quite a few years.

In the Keys, most diving in current is from a moored boat, but from time to time I encounter either live boating or float diving.

Along the SE coast, wrecks are usually dived from a moored boat, but reefs are usually float dives. Reefs in the area are usually long and narrow, so a float dive makes more sense.

Divers are most commonly lost when live boating or when they don't pay attention and get separated from the person with the flag on a float dive.

 

[seaducer]

I love both types of diving. They both have their merits, and their weak points.

For example, if you make a mistake navigating, or have an equipment issue you may not be able to get back to the anchor line. In that case I hope you are prepared to do a free ascent.

In drift diving it is easy to get seperated from the main group, and need to know how to conduct the dive and signal the boat without a divemaster.

I have to admit, while as a photographer I sometimes get annoyed with current, it is kind of nice navigating by your spg.

All in all I like both types, but doing most of my boat diving in the cold dark waters of the Northeast, I have to say I find drift diving to be both relaxing and far easier skill wise...

 

[djanni]

When drift diving I like to keep the DM, or a couple from the group, in site. Photography is a lot more work too.

Yet I really like it.

 

[don Francisco]

It's not a question of one being better than the other, It's a question of adjusting to conditions. Without a current diving out from and back a fixed point is easy and very workable. In a mild current anchor diving begins to require more planning and effort and drift diving becomes a nice option. As the current gets stronger drift diving requires more special skills, but anchor diving can become a real ordeal, or close to impossible.

Having done over half my dives as drift dives, I have to say that once I learned to make the current my friend, I'd react to anchor diving by thinking "swim? I have to swim?" It's also nice to transfer the responsibility for getting back to the boat to the boat crew.

All in all IMO, where it's possible, nothing compares to the ease and freedom of driving.

 

[Sher1026]

im looking from a saftey stand point. In 85 in the northest and most of the islands, it was unheard of and we were warned going say to mexico, it was common practice and divers were lost left and right. Im going to have you go to spear oard.com and read the thread "missing divers rescued" they are all spear regulars and were lucky . It in the Miami and fl key's forum. now there is a guy missing off st pete.

As you well know, or should know most dive accidnts happen at the surface. What I saw sat in west palm relly made me think . I see 4 charters, all zooming to pick up surfaced divers I also saw 2 divers on the surface for a good 15 mins as our captian passed she askd if they wantd a drink while waiting. This was unheard of up north so many divers lost, sure we had accidents, getting lost in wrecks they were not qualified to penetrate and so forth, not lost and it seems no matter how much saftey equipment you do carry,,,,,,well seems to err on the common side here and thats just my 2 cents. no matter how strong the current up north, we always made it to the line little effort if the dive was planned right with no drifting surface time.

 

[Boxcar Overkill]

As mentioned above, when drift diving I think it's important to have what we call a peleliu pack, know how to shoot an SMB, and have an attentive guy on boat.

For new divers, you can sometimes feel a little trapped on a drift dive because you know that once it starts it's hard to stop the dive. You can do it, but it may require the guide to go up with you, thus ruining the dive for others. At least that's the fear - and sometimes that fear can cause a little anxiety. You may start focusing on breathing, and the fact that you can't take a normal breath through your nose for another hour, and it can start to spiral out of control on you.

This isn't directed at the OP, they're just my general thoughts.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

It is dangerous having divers drifting in the water with live boats and stupid recreational boaters. Leaarning and following the safety rules will make it much safer. If I was not with my 14 yr old, I would pay extra for a DM to escort them on the entire dive.

The drift diver in that area needs a signal tube attached to a line of 15-20 feet, which allows the "lost" diver to send a marker float up above their head before ascending. This is somewhat of an advanced skill and really should be taught very soon. ALmost for sure, this was not taught in the Open water class.

 

[Jrock1062]

I drift dive in Jupiter Fl, a good part of getting back on the boat is the captain, if they are good they will spot you right away let you know they have seen you and to sit tight. Now if you are not comfortable floating in the water for 10 min while they are running around getting people maybe its diving you will not like, but i love it. I get to stay down for as long as my air or time allows I am not restricted to anyone else. I dive with Jupiter dive center i will say they are fantastic