CapnBloodbeard
Contributor
Hi all,
Another post regarding my Komodo dive holiday (probably the lost one until I get around to processing my gopro footage!). 35ish dives in, OW.
I've done a few drift dives at Sipadan and Komodo.
Often, as you know, you turn a corner and suddenly, current.
In one area we spent the first part of the dive exploring underneath a rocky overhang. Then we left it by going up and along a coral wall, and (they warned us about this beforehand), as soon as we moved into that part of the dive we're moving immediately into a fairly strong current. No finning - the current is pushing us in the right direction.
My problem? How the heck do I stay behind my DM? I found that the current was pushing me along a lot faster (I'm an average build/height male.....in all fairness, the DM was a tiny Asian girl so I know that's going to have an effect!) - not anticipating just how much more I'd get caught I actually crashed straight into the DM as soon as I swam into the stream.....WHOOSH!!!
Now, I know that the current is much weaker closer to the reef, so I was utilising that. I didn't have big bits and pieces hanging off me and I (think) I was horizontal.....so what else do I need to be doing here to stay behind the DM and be able to enjoy the dive and look at things?
It was probably the current situation I handled worst and I did find myself in some awkward body positions finning against the current to slow down and generally looking very amateurish!
(also, even though I have a few drift dives under my belt, would the 'drift dive' component of an AOW still be beneficial? I'm expecting that being the AOW they should take the time for a bit more education and skill building, or is that not how it works?)
Is it also just the difference in body sizes going to propel me along faster here?
I'm probably making this dive sound a lot more chaotic than it actually was
Another post regarding my Komodo dive holiday (probably the lost one until I get around to processing my gopro footage!). 35ish dives in, OW.
I've done a few drift dives at Sipadan and Komodo.
Often, as you know, you turn a corner and suddenly, current.
In one area we spent the first part of the dive exploring underneath a rocky overhang. Then we left it by going up and along a coral wall, and (they warned us about this beforehand), as soon as we moved into that part of the dive we're moving immediately into a fairly strong current. No finning - the current is pushing us in the right direction.
My problem? How the heck do I stay behind my DM? I found that the current was pushing me along a lot faster (I'm an average build/height male.....in all fairness, the DM was a tiny Asian girl so I know that's going to have an effect!) - not anticipating just how much more I'd get caught I actually crashed straight into the DM as soon as I swam into the stream.....WHOOSH!!!
Now, I know that the current is much weaker closer to the reef, so I was utilising that. I didn't have big bits and pieces hanging off me and I (think) I was horizontal.....so what else do I need to be doing here to stay behind the DM and be able to enjoy the dive and look at things?
It was probably the current situation I handled worst and I did find myself in some awkward body positions finning against the current to slow down and generally looking very amateurish!
(also, even though I have a few drift dives under my belt, would the 'drift dive' component of an AOW still be beneficial? I'm expecting that being the AOW they should take the time for a bit more education and skill building, or is that not how it works?)
Is it also just the difference in body sizes going to propel me along faster here?
I'm probably making this dive sound a lot more chaotic than it actually was