How I almost drowned -- twice

[Centrals]

Bigger tank or pony bottle won't really solve the problem if one is not paying any attention to the spg/AI. Knowing your SAC is useful as long as you know how to apply them[from (6-12)L/min for me]. When I am down to 100bar(half tank I know it is time that I should be in shallow water).
You have to act fast before it is getting out of hand. And don't expect anyone to bail you out in a situation.
Light, smb, whistle etc etc are standard equipment.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Hi Bill,

Like others here, well done. While a frightening experience for sure you will have learnt lessons which you can apply in the future.

I am fortunate where I dive in an area with similar currents to Indonesia and so have got "used" to them. I still remember my first up current where my dive computer stop at 22m (60ft ish) I was on the surface with little time to react. In the 10 mins of that dive I sucked through air. Two years on that wouldn't happen as I have learned to recognise as far as possible signs of upcoming changes.

That said I've been hit by unpredicatable down currents (pulled to 40+m) and had to react. I dive a 36lb wing and even that fully inflated hasn't had an impact. Rock climbing around the pinnicle was the only way out.

As you have found drift dives do not prepare you for the washing machine currents. Certainly you do become more relaxed after a while and learn how to deal with them (learn you need to go with the flow rather than fight)

My gear is configured to expect currents as they are the norm rather than the exception. For instance;

My reef hook. whilst stowed in a pocket, the line is always clipped on. I have a double ender on the hook itself, so if its been used and is not in my hand I can clip it off to a chest rind during the dive, where its accessible but not likely to snag.

Being correctly weighted is even more important as big currents will exacerbate issues. When you're being thrown about the last thing you need i stop be fighting over or under weight.

Yes do learn you SAC and find out how much gas you need to ascend from different depths with respect to you tanks size. With experience you will know by looking at you spg how much dive time you have (roughly) In my case I want to see greater than 100bar at the 30 min mark to get 1 hours dive and know thats when I should be getting shallower. But bearing in mind I want to ensure I have the gas required to bring myself and my buddy to the surface from a given depth (so I err on the greater)

I do dive a pony, and you can get them in the coral triangle. I always ask for one - I usually have an air fill incase of a down current blowing me through my MOD. In my case I sling it to the side. But in a high current I'll move the rear clip to a ring on my waist belt so it's slung across my chest and not banging about. Similarly my camera (Canon G15 in an ikelite housing) has a curly bungee cord, with a centre clip to stop it extending and flapping about. Like my pony I have a second clip so if the current picks up I'll clip it across my chest.

I always dive thin gloves (or in places not allowed have then in a pocket. If the current picks up on they go to provide protecting. I'll use my hands before my hook.

I use a much derided AI computer when things are happening I have all the information on my wrist. I hunker down tuck my elbows in and become as streamlined as possible, while keeping a hand on my inflator hose. My rear dump has a small weight rather than a bit of plastic to make it easier to find in turbulence

Likewise I carry a crack bottle DSMB it makes for fast deployment. I also have what is jokingly called the tent. A 10' 12" smb for surface deployment. In the Philippines earlier this year we got a big drift current. As well as a Dive alert horn on my LPI hose. My reel has a second loose tether to allow my buddy to hold on if the smb gets caught in a surface rip to avoid separation.

The other pair in our group (him a DM) had not experienced such a drift before. On the boat he'd questioned my gear out of interest but I could see he wasn't convinced. At the end of the dive the pick up boat was a faint dot in the distance. the 3' dumb's which were only partially inflated we going to be no use. Up went the tent, a long blast on the horn and the boat's attention was gained and they could see us. All we had to do was hang about on the surface in a leisurely way until we got picked up. No drama.

Being able to manipulate your kit whilst being in a current does come with experience of course. You just learn to be relaxed and take it in your stride with some functions being automatic.

Underwater, think about the geography. That big rock you're heading for will not necessarily provide the sanctuary you think. It's in the way of the water which will probably throw you upwards before you get close enough to grab on. Better to try to go around the side and either grab on there or better still get behind in the lee where you can collect yourself and take a moment to decide on your next step.

Thats the trick with fast currents is either go with the flow if there is nothing to grab on to or no shelter. If there is geography then use it to you advantage - take shelter collect yourself and get a plan. Always default to the surface if in doubt and remember you consumption rate will increase.

I'm not going to criticise you on bit, as I've been there - never running out of gas but once getting too close for comfort. I appreciate my gear configs are designed for my conditions. But maybe there are some tips that could be applied to others. While I'm happy with big currents I'd be seriously out of my comfort zone in cold low vis conditions.


Enjoy the rest of your vacation, I'm off back there in Feb (hoping for some fast currents)

 

[chillyinCanada]

Diving Dubai, you said:

"My reef hook. whilst stowed in a pocket, the line is always clipped on. I have a double ender on the hook itself, so if its been used and is not in my hand I can clip it off to a chest rind during the dive, where its accessible but not likely to snag."

I can't quite follow this. Are you able to explain more fully, or perhaps show a picture?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tsuyoshi]

Hi Bill. Glad it was merely a close call. Dont have much technical comments as other gurus did. I dove cape kri about 5 - 6 times in the last two years. Although not as scary as ur account, i would say at least 3 of them had some minor close call. At least two of them involved the mask blowing currents even when i thought i had trained well enough for it coming back in a yr. Once i had a minor Narc episode ( heard "laughter" which my buddies refer to as my siren call) after fighting the current then lost the group after getting blown to the atol trying to find a calm spot. I thumb the dive alone after waiting for the group a few minutes. Current can really pick up at Cape Kri's point. But thats also where the big actions are at! One minute it might seem gone, next moment it pour on like a faucet. Some dives at Kri we get hit w current in all directions.

I requested our last dive of trip to be at Cape Kri again to over come my fear. Then my buddy chased the sweet lips down below the Nx 32 MOD limit where his comp locked up after the dive. I sucked through most of my 15L tank in less than 40 min following him.

The large sweet lip groups supposely congregate near the bottom around 40M where supposely even some of lesser experience local guides fear to tread.

Few things I learn from the drift instructor at Kri,
-use natural formation as a shield & see how the little fish are swimming to get an idea,
-zig zag into the current if u have to swim against it,
-extend the arms to stream line the body for affective big power kicks,
-if u are going w the current, face the on coming area to maneuver around the reef so u dont crash in it.
- Raja has a no glove policy. But in ur case, i dont think any one would be mad at u doing some "rock climbing" for stability. Just try not to get cut badly.

Can u get larger tanks such as 15L from your crew if you are worry the currents in the next few dives?

I braught a H2O pony bottle. Going through security sucks. And in situation where control is hard to maintain, i think deploying it in such rough current can be a problem unless one is well versed w it.

Have a safe & enjoyable rest of ur trip!

 

[hsinhai]

Hey Bill, good to hear your Ok.

As far as calculating your SAC, if you record your start and ending tank pressures for each dive most logging programs will take that info and calculate your SAC for each of your dives, over time you can then see where your average falls, you can also look back to see what particular dives have a higher SAC and understand why.

For instance look at the last chart in my divelogs stats page it shows SAC for all dives. Its really useful and I don't have to think about trying to calculate it myself. The more I dive the more I see it reduce, most recent dives are 12~14l/m. I'm always keen to beat my average, unless it was a strenuous dive.

Hsinhai

 

[Diving Dubai]

Diving Dubai, you said:

"My reef hook. whilst stowed in a pocket, the line is always clipped on. I have a double ender on the hook itself, so if its been used and is not in my hand I can clip it off to a chest rind during the dive, where its accessible but not likely to snag."

I can't quite follow this. Are you able to explain more fully, or perhaps show a picture?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry for my poor explination

I gave up trying to upload a picture...

To describe The Reef hook consists of a hook with a line attached, and at the free end of that line some method of attaching to your equipment normally with a clip

So at the hook there is normally an eye where the line attaches and it is here where I attached a double ended dog clip.

The line can be clipped off and stay that way (in my case to my crotch strap during use) and the hook when its not needed during the dive can be clipped off to a chest D-ring or the like so it doesn't dangle.

In normal use I keep it in a pocket on the left side of my waist band. I have D-rings on either side of the pocket to keep it in place, and so the free end of the lie is always clipped off on the front one.

When needed I transfer the clip to my crotch d-ring and then get out the hook and then when its not needed I clip the hook off onto my chest keeping it all neat and tidy, especially when boarding a boat. Then it all gets re-set before the next dive.

Hope that explains it better

 

[billt4sf]

Sorry for my poor explination

I gave up trying to upload a picture...

To describe The Reef hook consists of a hook with a line attached, and at the free end of that line some method of attaching to your equipment normally with a clip

So at the hook there is normally an eye where the line attaches and it is here where I attached a double ended dog clip.

The line can be clipped off and stay that way (in my case to my crotch strap during use) and the hook when its not needed during the dive can be clipped off to a chest D-ring or the like so it doesn't dangle.

In normal use I keep it in a pocket on the left side of my waist band. I have D-rings on either side of the pocket to keep it in place, and so the free end of the lie is always clipped off on the front one.

When needed I transfer the clip to my crotch d-ring and then get out the hook and then when its not needed I clip the hook off onto my chest keeping it all neat and tidy, especially when boarding a boat. Then it all gets re-set before the next dive.

Hope that explains it better

yes, that makes sense but one question: After use, you have the hook clipped to your chest D-ring, what about the line? How do you keep it from dangling? Maybe this is incredibly obvious but not to me.

Thanks,

- Bill

 

[Land Fish]

Hi Bill.

Many thanks for sharing your experience. I had been considering joining some friends who go to Raja Ampat like every year, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to deal with the challenging conditions. Fairly certain that I'll leave Raja Ampat for now. Perhaps after I have another 50 dives or so, and hopefully I would appreciate the dives more when I get to it.

Glad you made out ok.

 

[Peter69_56]

Putting myself in your shoes and thinking about the experience, I can't really think of anything you did wrong. It happened to everyone so it's not like it was just your error. You survived and that's what matters, but as you said you came close to being OOA during the ordeal. Perhaps, when you realized you were at 20 ft you should of beelined anyway possible to the surface rather than risk the down current taking you further down to the point you may never have been able to return. Obviously I'd rather risk a rapid accent than a uncontrollable descent with no air. Other than that, perhaps a pony bottle should be considered part of your standard rig. I recently made the decision to carry a pony for any dive. There's just too many scenarios I can think of where not carrying one could kill me

Is it common to be able to rent pony bottles on these exotic dive trips? I'm curious to know if I can dive the same way I do at home when I'm on vacation.

Often I sling a full tank off my BCD as a reserve for myself and my buddy. Better to carry air and never use it, than to wish you had as your SPG reads 0. Its not much of an inconvenience to have the additional tank but great safety factor

 

[CuzzA]

Often I sling a full tank off my BCD as a reserve for myself and my buddy. Better to carry air and never use it, than to wish you had as your SPG reads 0. Its not much of an inconvenience to have the additional tank but great safety factor

Yep. I view it as my back up chute. It's not part of my plan, but when everything goes sideways it's there to save your butt.