Komodo current - full or new moon?

[diveUAE]

I haven’t seen any down current in 3x I have been in Komodo. Has anyone experience one & which sites?

Most of my current diving in Komodo had been in the shallow between islands like a site called Shotgun (~ 20’ depth) that leads into a bowl (~ 60’ depth) where the current slows down to manageable level to hook in & watch the big fish hunting.

Good to know, it's the one thing I'm afraid of running into, even though technically I know how to "escape" it.

 

[Luko]

Do you remember, if the current dives was during full/new moon - or just randomly? We want to see the sharks and last year in Red Sea we saw nothing bigger than a blue spotted ray - also no current at all (even on the dives, where they said it would be strong it was just a very mild current)
Trying to avoid disappointment- which might be stupid, as everyone seems to love Komodo (but many also swears Red Sea is a great place, and to me it's only mediocore - even in Sudan).

I checked with the Castle Rock dive I was talking about, it happened around or on new moon, on the other hand one year later with the same dive operator we had another dive on Castle Rock planned on a gibbous moon where we had current as well and pretty much the same number of sharks, including a fat pregnant grey reef mom-to-be.
I think current is always there in Komodo : you should plan your dives accordingly and jump in at the right place. That will be your operator responsability and skill.

 

[charlier]

Batu-Bolong - guaranteed in all but slack water at the edges.

If you know what to look for you can see where the down currents are from the surface on a number of sites - which is when they avoid them.

Shotgun is "okay" but rarely do you get to dive it properly because most people will feel out of control, so you just get a "bit of a drift" It can be sooo much better

Depending on the tides, use caution at Batu Bolong. Many guides have limited experience here and instructors and guides with customers have been dragged down 40m ++, with a few fatalities. Depending on the skills and objectives of the group, we have been able to dive the shotgun with strong currents and have an outstanding experience. Otherwise, Shotgun is only so-so at best.

 

[Dan]

Batu-Bolong - guaranteed in all but slack water at the edges.

If you know what to look for you can see where the down currents are from the surface on a number of sites - which is when they avoid them.

Depending on the tides, use caution at Batu Bolong. Many guides have limited experience here and instructors and guides with customers have been dragged down 40m ++, with a few fatalities.

Oh ya, Batu Bolong (Hollow Rock) a.k.a. Current City. I didn’t experience much current when I was there. The guide must have timed it during slack tide.

 

[bshort4]

Dived this past November in Komodo on a LOB during a new moon. Currents were pretty strong especially at Batu Bolong where we encountered a strong down current and ended up calling the dive after 31 minutes mostly due to a inexperienced diver who blew through her air from a little panic. Shotgun to be enjoyed needs a strong current and buddy we had it--great dive. Strong current at Manta Alley and holding on to the rubble on the bottom was a chore when trying to take pics and over 20 Mantas are hovering overhead---exciting dive! I did one day of day trip diving after the LOB and went to Manta Alley again---no current and two Mantas for a brief moment--didn't enjoy the day trip diving all that much. Most currents at most dive sites were perfectly manageable even for a novice diver--if you have good guides that know what they are doing. You'll love Komodo!

 

[charlier]

Oh ya, Batu Bolong (Hollow Rock) a.k.a. Current City. I didn’t experience much current when I was there. The guide must have timed it during slack tide.

At slack tide, did you dive a 360* around the Batu Bolong? It’s a nice dive, but currents bring out the best at Batu Bolong. With an experienced guide and group, it’s a safe dive site, if you know your way around the site.

 

[Dan]

At slack tide, did you dive a 360* around the Batu Bolong? It’s a nice dive, but currents bring out the best at Batu Bolong. With an experienced guide and group, it’s a safe dive site, if you know your way around the site.

Yes, we did. My last visit was August 2014. It’s time to revisit it during the tide sounds like.

 

[howswedeofme]

We did Komodo last week but not during a full or new moon. We had some current on a few and strong current on Castle Rock (backward rock hopping) but did have a shark feeding show, maybe 30+?, and saw sharks on most other dives as well as mantas at Mawan and Manta Point. At Castle Rock, make sure your grab on point is as close to the edge of the reef as you can. I was a little farther back, maybe 15 feet, and only could see 5 of the sharks well. The rest were just beyond my vis. We didn’t have ANY current on Shotgun but did have ripping current on Golden Passage so still had a pretty good heavy current experience. No down currents and we only did on side of Batu Bolong to avoid the down currents on the sides, which we could see from the boat before we dropped in. We had some really new divers on our boat that did really well because their guide worked them into the current as the days went on so even with heavy current, if you get a good guide, it won’t be an unsafe experience.