Raja Ampat diver death

[drrich2]

Never been in a down current and follow these discussions in case I ever am. I see the usual mix of recommendations, drawing on the model of an underwater waterfall flowing over and down a reef wall.

1.) Swim to the reef wall and grab it (or if available duck under an overhang/into a crevice, which I doubt is often an option); hang on, it might be short.

2.) Swim horizontally along the wall while the current pushes me down, it might be narrow.

3.) Swim away from the wall horizontally, it might be a 'thin' down current.

Contradictory options that must be chosen amongst in an abrupt, surprising and probably frightening situation where one is rapidly plunging deeper.

On the gloves thing, if I'm not allowed to routinely wear them but a pair are stashed in a pocket and I'm suddenly hit with a down current, I don't see myself assessing the situation, fumbling around getting them out and then putting gloves on underwater in a time frame that'd be practical, at least not with the fast plunges often described in these discussions.

 

[Joneill]

On the gloves thing, if I'm not allowed to routinely wear them but a pair are stashed in a pocket and I'm suddenly hit with a down current, I don't see myself assessing the situation, fumbling around getting them out and then putting gloves on underwater in a time frame that'd be practical, at least not with the fast plunges often described in these discussions.

My thought was more that once you got to the wall, it might be an option to retrieve and put the gloves on if you decided to try to climb out of the current - just a thought and maybe not practical, but additional options are never a bad thing.

 

[Dan]

Since we are talking about hooks, as a general advice; be vary with those curly reefhook lines because they have metal inside them which can get rusty. This usually happens over time when the plastic gets old and it cracks, allowing water inside. If you see that the metal inside has a black segment, then it may snap in a strong current, or if several people have to hold on to the same line.

I broke mine in Maldives. See post # 18 in this thread: Can newbie divers enjoy diving in the Maldives?

Since then, I use rock climbing rope instead:

 

[Dan]

A hook or pointer may help if there is a rocky smooth surface with only small crevices/holes in the rock. If I were to use a hook for this, then I would not let the line out but hold on to the hook itself to avoid myself bumping against the substrate.

Exactly! There are plenty of those surfaces in Maldives and Palau (Blue Corner & Peleliu Corner where the ledge are pretty much barrens as the currents are often too stiff for coral to grow on).

Having reef hook & pointer open your option in anchoring yourself on solid ground. You don’t have to release the rope. Just hang on to the reef hook or few inches away from the hook. Loop the rope around your hand to avoid slipping if you have to. Hold on for dear life until the down current subsides.

 

[Kendall Raine]

Those are my experiences when I dove in Galapagos (3x). The changing and surging currents make it difficult to use reef hook. You’ll be swinging left & right and may even your hook get dislodge from the crevice. You don’t use reef hook there. I use Kevlar gloves (see picture, below) to avoid my hands from shredding by sharp barnacles and hold on to rock as you see at 30-35 seconds of the trip video, below.


View attachment 815217

Wow. You really had the species hit parade.

 

[Cali_diver]

My thought was more that once you got to the wall, it might be an option to retrieve and put the gloves on if you decided to try to climb out of the current - just a thought and maybe not practical, but additional options are never a bad thing.

I can guarantee that you will not be putting gloves on in a down current if its strong enough to have you holding on to a wall. You will be doing everything you can to keep your head in the perfect spot as to not have the current rip off your mask. Looking down at your hands or a pocket would be a mistake.

 

[Dan]

I can guarantee that you will not be putting gloves on in a down current if its strong enough to have you holding on to a wall. You will be doing everything you can to keep your head in the perfect spot as to not have the current rip off your mask. Looking down at your hands or a pocket would be a mistake.

Been there, done that. My bad move was to look to the left to see where my dive buddy was. Immediately I flooded my mask. I had to turn my face back squared against the current and left the flooded mask alone, as both hands were locked on the wall.

 

[Joneill]

I can guarantee that you will not be putting gloves on in a down current if its strong enough to have you holding on to a wall. You will be doing everything you can to keep your head in the perfect spot as to not have the current rip off your mask. Looking down at your hands or a pocket would be a mistake.

Ok - I’ve never been in one. I just thinking options might be good in case you did have the opportunity to use. I also wasn’t proposing to look down at anything as I can do most things by feel - but I get that it may be too chaotic to manage retrieving and donning gloves in those conditions.

I hope to never experience a significant down current like the one that took the life of the diver (Steve) in this thread - but shared experiences here from those that have will hopefully help me be better prepared to navigate out of it successfully.

 

[Dan]

You don’t want to move once you are locked on a wall with your bare hands on the wall, otherwise you take a chance of shredding your water-softened palms.

 

[Dan]

I received some inquiries from SB members about my reef hook. So, let me describe a bit more detail about it and my experiences in using reef hook.

My reef hook, as shown in Figure 1, below, is a modified one from those Plastic-Coated Coiled-Wire (PCCW) reef hook that you can order from Amazon, as shown in Figue 2, below. I replaced the PCCW with 1/4 polyester paracord that I bought from REI after I broke the PCCW during a ripping current of Vilingili Kandu diving in Maldives. So no more PCCW for me.

The dual hook design is also trouble some for me. I need to find a crevice that is big enough to fit in both hooks in it, otherwise, if only one hook sits on a tiny crevice, the other hook would be in the way and force the hook in the crevice would sit at an angle that can easily slip out, unhooking yourself and there goes you blown away to down current.

Another problem with the dual hook (at least mine), material is not big & strong enough to hold me on a stiff current when only 1 of them in a crevice. I got it bent up and slipped off the crevice during a stiff current that forced me to launch DSMB quickly at depth to make sure the skiff above us would see my DSMB in time.

I replaced the double hook with a single hook strong enough to keep at least two of me hooked. Single hook tip would automatically sits squarely at point of contact (very important).

The rope is a 6’ (1.8m) long 1/4 polyester paracord. Pinch clip is attached to one end, using figure 8 double loop knot like typical rock climbers do to tie carabiner to their climbing rope. On the other end of the rope, you attach both the reef hook and another pinch clip eyes into figure 8 double loop knot.

To keep the rope neatly coiled into a foot long length, as shown in Figure 1, watch Alex Pierce’s video, below.

Figure 1: Dan’s Reef Hook

Figure 2: PCCW Reef Hook