Raja Ampat diver death

[chris kippax]

I remember one dive from southern misool in the Daram area. Our bubbles were going down at an absolute rate of knots, 3 of us clung to the side of a cliff. There was no way out of it except ascend against the cliff face.

 

[Tedestam]

I work as instructor in Komodo, here we frequently have both up and down currents, especially around full and new moon when the tidal height differences are greater. Note that not all the sites are prone to those kind of currents here but we do have several famous sites like Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, Crystal Rock etc that have those, occasionally they are not even suitable for the most experienced divers. It is obviously important to dive sites prone to strong currents with a dive guide & dive operator that are not only experienced in general, but know those particular dive sites very well. They would know the best dates and times to dive there to avoid risk of their divers ending up in a situation that is unmanageable. Another side note is that tidal charts are not always trustable, I have worked in several areas before where the charts were spot on, but in som places like Komodo the sites changes at different times of the day and around full moon and new moon they sometimes go completely out the window, you need local knowledge to be able to assess when high/low slack will be.

From my experience the strength of the down/up currents are not constant but come in "pulses" i.e. they are stronger for a couple of minutes, then less strong for a few minutes and so on. If you find yourself in a strong down/up then it might help to stop and find somewhere to hold on and wait so see if it slows down so that you can use that window to move in the direction you want to go (usually ascending along the reef). Look at the moving parts of the reef (fish, soft corals etc) to see how they move ahead of you. You might see the smaller fish come out of the reef when the current is less strong, that is your cue to keep going.

 

[Dan]

Divers need to have reef hook ready to deploy whenever they are going to dive in site that is known for down current such as Weka’s Wow, as I posted here; Trip Report - Raja Ampat, Live Report, Nov. 7-Dec. 7, 2023. Typically you want to dive it early in the morning when the current is mild. Also keep exploring close to the reef for a quick swim to the reef and hide / deploy your reef hook.

Since you can’t wear gloves in Raja Ampat, but they allow you to have a pointer, I have my pointer strap on my left wrist and use it to anchor the pointer into a crevice first before deploying my reef hook, which is clipped on to my BCD right chest D-ring.

 

[Dan]

I read on FB that it was due to a 'rogue undercurrent'.

@living4experiences and Steve Harms were on the same boat when the accident happened. She happened to miss that particular dive, as described in her pretty detailed trip report here, Trip Report - Raja Ampat, Live Report, Nov. 7-Dec. 7, 2023

 

[Dan]

Sorry about your friend. Are rogue undercurrents common in RA? Were headed there soon.

In Weka’s Wow? Yes. You need to do it early in the morning when the current is mild. Have your reef hook ready to deploy quickly and don’t swim too far from the reef.

 

[Dan]

Sorry about your friend. Are rogue undercurrents common in RA? Were headed there soon.

Here’s a good article about currents in Indonesia:

Indonesian Throughflow - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Dan]

Dive Physics: Suppose you get caught in a severe downdraft while diving. Like a down rip current off a wall that goes down a mile or more. Let's propose that you do not suffer a health related issue like a cardiac arrest, and both stage one and two of your reg is operating, and you have sufficient air in your tank. Your BCD only inflates to max, which may not be enough to give you positive buoyancy if the downcurrent is that severe, and as we know as we descend deeper the inflated BCD compresses and you must continue to inflate it. At serious depth narcosis could be an issue, if / once the downdraft "spits you out", and you begin to gain positive buoyancy (if even in control of yourself), you start to ascend, and possibly at a faster and faster rate, so if you don't "dump" your BCD you could be setting yourself up for bends. Of course, if you are not in control of yourself, then the scenario will play out bad for certain.

Have no idea if this is for certain the exact spot where they were diving, but the video shows a rather nasty current coming in from between two islands.
Aerial video of Kawe island south, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

To dive site that is known for down current, like Weka’s Wow, we usually stay close to the reef so we can quickly get to something solid to hang on to or hide from the current and avoid over inflating the BCD.

Weka’s Wow is on the north east end of Kawe island, next to One-Tree Island (see picture, below) with GPS coordinates:
N 00.01.666, E 130.08.595
according to “Diving Indonesia’s Raja Ampat”, page 38,1st Edition - October 2009, ISBN 978-979-1173-06-3, written by Burt Jones & Maureen Shimlock*

Weka’s Wow GPS location (Courtesy of Jones & Shimlock* & Google Earth.

One Tree Island (Courtesy of Jones & Shimlock*)

 

[Twiny]

I've experienced a couple of screaming currents on a couple of dives or more but no down currents. Regardless, it seems they exist.

Take a good reef hook and a heavy duty pointer stick with you. Find a way to attach them to your gear.

I dive with my pointer stick on my wrist, whether I use it or not. I don't let it drag when not using it.

At surface interval, i have it clipped to my bcd D ring.

In case of a downward current, the idea is to move laterally because it is narrow. I do not think that a hook can help. To me a hook is more to enjoy current waiting for big stuff to come but not to get myself out of a tricky downward current, I would rather "spider" sidely the wall/reef ...

 

[Blackcrusader]

There can always be currents with down, up, or straight. Indonesia is known for its currents which bring nutrients and allow for the biodiversity you see when you are there. The important thing to do is listen to the dive briefing and follow your guide! I have been in a few crazy down currents which caused me to call a dive in Raja.

Yup I was diving south Lombok last year and a down current took me and my dive buddy down to 43m in no time. We managed to get out of it with no drama... what is weird though is watching your bubbles going horizontal then down.

The dive leader didn't rush to join us just saw us receding..... he was close by but not in the down current. We had an interesting dive debriefing as he thought we deliberately descended.

 

[Dan]

Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, Crystal Rock etc

I dove those sites a few times and this tide chart seems reasonable; Get Kabupaten Flores Timur tide times

Usually we do it early in the morning when the slack tide at the minimum, as shown below.

Some dive sites you want to go when there is strong horizontal current and shallow bottom like at Shotgun.