First-hand account of down current, with video footage

[DandyDon]

The north Atlantic Gyre (pic below) is a constant force in the Cozumel channel, as it is at many US and Caribbean dive destinations, commonly producing south to north channel currents, shore eddies, and unpredictable variations - including possible cross & conflicting currents, downwellings, and more. Cozumel drift diving can usually be quite enjoyable, but close buddy protocols at every step are even more important than in calm seas, and the common dive briefings there could certainly use more cautions for newbies. It seems that many divers have no idea what to do in a downwelling, and the ones who fought with BC inflation and finning seemed to have the most problems.

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[vcblklion]

Yes away from the wall and up, it took me 30 seconds to make it 10ft. I added air to both bcd's and kicked like hell, there were bubbles everywhere and I couldn't see anything, It felt like we weren't making it anywhere, checked my gauge and it read 80ft "oh **** time to put on brakes" spent the rest of the time trying to bleed both bcd's with one hand on the camera guy (my son) and one hand operating the bcds I couldn't keep up with bleeding the bcds down and was trying to flare but it seemed like all the bubbles were just pushing us up, then it got bright and we were on the surface way sooner than I wanted.

So glad you both are ok and were not seriously hurt. Some contructive criticism. When bringing up a diver, 1) do not approach a panicked diver unless they are in control of themselves. 2) It was a mistake to inflate BOTH BCs. You come around behind the incapacitated diver, inflate his bc just enough to ascend and then KICK up the rest of the way....this way you can control the lift and not rocket to the surface...as you learned inflating both BCs can be disastrous.

 

[TSandM]

This is a very difficult video to watch, because of the fear involved in it. First the increased breathing rate, and then the screaming; and the bubbles obscuring anything useful. I know that I can't say for sure which way the current was running at any point in the film, but it's pretty clear that surface currents weren't bad at all.

What I take away from this video is a few things:

1. Good viz makes people overconfident. In Puget Sound, we descend very close together, because if we don't, we know we won't be together at the bottom. I remember getting off the boat in Coz and being able to see rocks on the sea floor, 100 feet or more away. That kind of viz makes you think it isn't important to stay close together, but it still is . . . and this video is a beautiful case in point.

2. People don't practice controlled descents very often. We're all aware of the need for careful control of ascents, so people try to control them. But all too often, a descent is just "let all the air out of the BC and go" until the structure on which you are diving appears. Sometimes that's what you HAVE to do, but doing it too often can mean that you don't know how to control a descent very well if anything goes wrong during it, or if you have to regroup divers who've developed some vertical separation. It's a great idea to spend some time, where conditions permit, practicing going down in 10 foot stops, just like you practice going up in stops. You may find it harder than you think; I did.

3. The biggest enemy of divers is not water conditions, but fear. Finding himself in what felt like an out of control situation (and may well have been) scared the camera diver to the point where he stopped actively DIVING. Almost any problem underwater can be solved, if one remains calm and keeps working through the available options. As pointed out, one of the important things in this diver's situation was to be acutely aware of his depth -- if he was indeed going down faster than he wanted to, he needed more air in his BC, up to and including popping the overpressure valve if the descent is continuing. He could also consider either grabbing structure, getting under something overhanging, or moving away from the wall -- but the one thing that was pretty surely not going to make much difference was yelling, which is what his stressed mind told him to do, and he did it. Perhaps that brought his father to him, but I would like to think the father was on the way before the yelling started.

At any rate, novice divers are often pressed hard against the limits of their coping capacities by simply executing the action of diving. It doesn't take a lot more to overwhelm them, and cause stuff they intellectually KNOW to be unavailable for practical use. That's why novice divers are recommended to stay at shallow depths, with hard bottoms, and out of conditions that greatly exceed the ones in which they got certified.

I have said it before, and I know it's an unpopular view on this board, but the big walls in Coz are no place for novice divers, in my personal opinion.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Hats off to the dad for a great response!!

 

[scurbyduck]

The dive plan call for us to be droped off over the sand and swim to the wall and be ready to turn back if the current got bad. The dive sites map i read listed santa rosa wall as intermmediate. The dive master was fully aware of our skill level as we had been diving with him for 5 days. Camera diver was not aggressive enough inflating his bc and went to far down, I let him respond on his own till it was clear he wanted help. This was not buddy failure.

 

[DandyDon]

Camera diver was not aggressive enough inflating his bc and went to far down, I let him respond on his own till it was clear he wanted help. This was not buddy failure.

Not on your part maybe, but I hope he learned some things - like staying with his buds.

 

[Sorrows]

IMO any diver with that state of mind needs to get their priorities right
is that what your life is worth, the cost of replacing weight pockets (or belt), or any piece of equipment for that matter?

Well, of course! I can't imagine there is any diver out there who doesn't have these priorities in the reasonable light of day. But it's not as if they find themselves in a situation and say, "crap, I'm going to die if I don't dump this weight." Who knows what goes through their minds--yet there are enough cases of fatalities from people who didn't drop their weight for us to deduct that something goes on in the mind at that crucial moment.

Btw, this has nothing to do with the case we are discussing--just making a general observation from another rabbit warren we went down a few pages back.

scurbswife, please allow me to join in the chorus of "thank-you" for posting this video and permitting us to have this (sometimes) useful discussion. I'm a mom myself, with a son just a few years older than yours, and I felt sick with fear just watching (and listening) to this video--I can only imagine how painful it is to re-watch it and listen to the dive gods offer their constructive criticism. Please don't take all this MMQing personally; disecting this episode helps us feel better about it--like we could control it if it happened to us. It's that very human need we have of getting control over our own fear, IMHO. And it is instructive. So you've done everybody a very good service. Thank you for that and please don't give up diving!

 

[Valwood1]

Scurbyduck and Scurbswife, I'm glad that everyone is okay. And that is the most important thing. As regards the video and downcurrents:

First, thanks so much for posting the video. You've done a real service to almost everyone on this board by showing first-hand some of the conditions that arise in a bad downcurrent -- this video is exactly what being caught in downcurrent looks like. Most readers here will now realize how dangerous these currents can be, and perhaps, before hitting the water, they'll remember the video and think about what actions to take if a downcurrent does strike them. The video especially illustrates the complete disorientation that occurs when about all you can see are bubbles.

Second, someone mentioned that there was no indication that your son had looked at his gauges. He has my sympathies in that regard. I've been in a nasty downcurrent, and one of the scariest parts of it was being unable to read either my gauges or my wrist computer due to the bubbles surrounding me on the way down -- you know you're sinking, but you have no idea how deep you're going. Or maybe it was just the bifocal mask!!

Third, your son shouldn't feel too bad about panicking. Even if he knew the theory of downcurrents, there's just no way to appreciate their power unless you're in one. I suppose this event qualifies as a dreaded "learning experience".

Thanks again for posting the video.

 

[supergaijin]

You've done a real service to almost everyone on this board by showing first-hand some of the conditions that arise in a bad downcurrent -- this video is exactly what being caught in downcurrent looks like. Most readers here will now realize how dangerous these currents can be, and perhaps, before hitting the water, they'll remember the video and think about what actions to take if a downcurrent does strike them. The video especially illustrates the complete disorientation that occurs when about all you can see are bubbles.

This may sound like nit-picking but this current didn't appear to me to be dangerous if divers were to be properly in control. Certain places around the world experience the same on a regular basis. The current was dangerous specifically because the cameraman was out of control and unable to respond in a meaningful way. What the video shows IMO is someone being inadequately prepared/briefed for diving in any current.

If I was suddenly transported to that situation underwater: moderate/strong multi-directional current with an empty BCD and no buddy, I'd be in trouble as well. As the diver descended from the main body of water to the lip of the wall, that was where the current started to slide off the wall and become a 'down current'.

Third, your son shouldn't feel too bad about panicking. Even if he knew the theory of downcurrents, there's just no way to appreciate their power unless you're in one. I suppose this event qualifies as a dreaded "learning experience".​

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I disagree and say that he should feel bad for panicking or at least for getting to that state.

You can learn to appreciate strong currents without getting afraid of them, but it comes with being in control in the first place. Being properly buoyant, you can feel the tug of downcurrents or upcurrents and make the necessary adjustments with breathing, trim or using the BCD.

 

[fred3798]

To panic is human. To remain calm and implement training measures is all of our goals. But, like most things in life things are rarely black and white and there is a large spectrum of grey. I wouldn't criticize or tell the young man how to feel. But hopefully he and we all learn from this and are a bit better prepared if anything like this should happen to us. Thanks to all - the posters and commentators - for helping teach an important lesson in difficult circumstances.