Japanese tourist missing in Crystal Bay (Bali)

[gekodivebali]

Just an update on this:
The Ministry of Marine Affairs is currently attempting to classify dive sites according to risks and eventually come up with guidelines or regulations in order to mitigate risks and increase safety. Let's hope something good comes out of it!

 

[klausi]

Very informative thread. My condolences to the family of the woman.

I have not been at Crystal Bay, can someone briefly outline what makes it so dangerous? Will the currents push people out into the open ocean? Are there downwards currents? Eddies? Do people cramp up due to the cold temperatures? Thanks.

 

[Peter69_56]

There are very strong down currents and the channel is about 200m deep (apparently). The instructor/DM who took us out said it can take you all the way to the bottom even after dumping weight and blowing your BCD. Also there are strong ocean currents which will take you past sanur all the way to Australia if you have the patience and time. I was lead to believe that 6-12 months ago a dive company took out a group and the main group with a new DM was separated and taken out while the instructor was attending a diver who had problems. Instead of the boat operator searching for them they went back to the mainland and picked up the next group. The 8 or so divers were picked up as they were floating past Sanur many hours later, next stop Australia (this was a story from the DM who took us to Crystal bay in Jan this year). We have been caught in a couple of down currents in the channel that runs past crystal bay and they are nasty. If however you grab something and wait 5 min usually they will pass. Also past Crystal bay there are a number of converging currents which makes the water a washing machine as well. Good area to dive but with some caution. have seen people go over the edge of the channel to take pics of Mola mola, even asfter they have been warned, luckily no down current on the day or perhaps another dead diver. We were caught in a down current there the first time we went there, and spent about 5-7 min finning as hard as we could and pulling over coral to travel about 50 foot to safety.

 

[klausi]

Thank you for the info! That sounds like a harsh, harsh dive site, independently of one's level of training.

 

[Peter69_56]

The problem is, its only harsh on a bad day. On a good day its a very benign area (or appears so and that's the issue). It really boils down to a good pre-dive brief and "listening to the warnings". From my experience there, I would suggest most issues occur by divers who just don't listen or those who are diving way beyond their ability (perhaps without realising it). I don't believe a switched on diver would be at a great risk if they listened and used their head (regardless of certification level).

 

[kaerius]

There are very strong down currents and the channel is about 200m deep (apparently). The instructor/DM who took us out said it can take you all the way to the bottom even after dumping weight and blowing your BCD. Also there are strong ocean currents which will take you past sanur all the way to Australia if you have the patience and time. I was lead to believe that 6-12 months ago a dive company took out a group and the main group with a new DM was separated and taken out while the instructor was attending a diver who had problems. Instead of the boat operator searching for them they went back to the mainland and picked up the next group. The 8 or so divers were picked up as they were floating past Sanur many hours later, next stop Australia (this was a story from the DM who took us to Crystal bay in Jan this year). We have been caught in a couple of down currents in the channel that runs past crystal bay and they are nasty. If however you grab something and wait 5 min usually they will pass. Also past Crystal bay there are a number of converging currents which makes the water a washing machine as well. Good area to dive but with some caution. have seen people go over the edge of the channel to take pics of Mola mola, even asfter they have been warned, luckily no down current on the day or perhaps another dead diver. We were caught in a down current there the first time we went there, and spent about 5-7 min finning as hard as we could and pulling over coral to travel about 50 foot to safety.

Ouch. I consider myself fairly experienced, and I've dealt with harsh current, and downcurrent that forced me to fully inflate my BCD before(in open water with current too strong to reach the reef again), perhaps I'll look into getting one of those 45lbs lift semi-wing BCDs before I head down to indonesia.

 

[Centrals]

Ouch. I consider myself fairly experienced, and I've dealt with harsh current, and downcurrent that forced me to fully inflate my BCD before(in open water with current too strong to reach the reef again), perhaps I'll look into getting one of those 45lbs lift semi-wing BCDs before I head down to indonesia.

Why would any diver need a 45lbs wing for rec dive?

 

[kaerius]

Why would any diver need a 45lbs wing for rec dive?

Read the text I quoted, specifically the mention of downward current strong enough to pull you down with a fully inflated BCD and droped weights, additional lift could counter-act that. Also, some instructors swear by them to give them the lift to hold and stop up to two sinking students. I know this because I've worked with such an instructor. His BCD looked like a regular jacket BCD until you notice that it also had wing bladders on the back, hence semi-wing(I forget which model he had, but from my google searching it looks a lot like the Mares Prestrige MRS Plus). Or there's always the Buddy Commando.

 

[joy.noni]

very latee comment but guides at CB 1st priority is always finding molas. divers are no.2. therefore, in most cases, beginners especially ones with camera tend to follow after yhe guide and overshoot 125ft before reealizing it. i had seen it repeatedly and even happened to our group. unfortunately a colleague of mine passed away durig a dive in CB as well. so exercsie caution, watch the gauge often and some self cntrol would really help

 

[Abdullah]

Read the text I quoted, specifically the mention of downward current strong enough to pull you down with a fully inflated BCD and droped weights, additional lift could counter-act that. Also, some instructors swear by them to give them the lift to hold and stop up to two sinking students. I know this because I've worked with such an instructor. His BCD looked like a regular jacket BCD until you notice that it also had wing bladders on the back, hence semi-wing(I forget which model he had, but from my google searching it looks a lot like the Mares Prestrige MRS Plus). Or there's always the Buddy Commando.

You're trying to use an equipment solution to resolve a skills issue. The skill here is dive planning and avoiding the hazard. Once in the hazard, the techniques mentioned in the post you quoted involved hanging onto the reef and being patient for the current to subside.

That 45# wing is going to be drag in the water for no real gain in overall safety.