I know some sites are notorious for bad currents, my question is on your average 10-12 night LOB approx many dive sites are known for really wild currents?
Firstly and after 5 times diving Komodo, my answer would be "it depends on the tide". A good operator will estimate the conditions and decide/inform how it should it should be dived.
For instance I have dived Crystal rock with lateral up and down currents especially near to the pinnacle tops where I almost lost my ear, I also dived the same spot at slack tide on full moon with absolutely zilch current (and for the record it was one of the best dives I had in Komodo, a foursome of manta rays chasing each other in cristal clear waters surrounded with schools of fish).
Secondly, currents even though strong or fast might not be that bad or crazy because they're horizontal and very predictable.
Typical is Shotgun where it can run fast while it's very easy to manage, also quite shallow, even divers with as few as 10-20 dives may enjoy the ride (anyway that's what the newbies on the small liveaboard I was on told me, not from my own opinion).
In my experience, I completely agree with post #2 the most difficult dive I had due to wild currents was on Siaba Kecil , because it was deeper, running fast sometimes straight, sometimes side ways (couldn't be down since we hit the bottom in the 30+ meters.
I woud state that sometimes Castle rock can be exhausting because you have to fight and hide against the current (a bit like Yellow corner in Alor).
North west of Komodo ( pulau Banta area) is also known for fierce currents, but like Plutonist and Dan said it will depend on the tide charts, I dived "High Voltage" with zero current as well, my guide told me it was the first time for him his divers could be able to venture out and have a "panorama" view of the walls.
Of course you don't want to go on the sides or the other side of Batu Bolong when the current is running and
you really feel its power, but when you're staying on the protected side, it's an OW level dive. On a good day at the appropriate time, you can swim around with no current as well.
Anyway as a generic (hence approximate) answer to your question, I would say, expect 6-7 out of 10 dives with some current including 1 out of 10 wild currents (or 1 out of 20 depends on what you call crazy).
You can check Komodo tide chart here:
A single tide chart is not appropriate at the same time for all Komodo spots because it's a maze of islands and channels. the conditions would be completely different at the same time on a northern site and another central site. Plus some spots are recommended at raising tide while others might be more diveable at falling tide, etc.
Also since you're not diving every 6 hours at slack, a tide chart is not operational unless you are planning for a specific spot and you have no constraint with schedule.
One of the Komodo cruise directors pretended in the 2000s he had a logbook where he wrote a description of the currents on each spot for each period of the tide, hence the conditions to be dived and/or avoided as well as the average time difference between the official tide chart and the actual tide situation on the spot. Highly sought after or an urban diving legend?
