scared of currents...

[Searcaigh]

I don't like currents either, makes photography more difficult.

If diving on a wreck with nothing else around I move around to escape the current in the other side of the wreck or move inside (if you're qualified to do so), where usually the current has no effect.

If on a reef then a drift dive is on the cards, go with the flow and enjoy the ride. However it might be worth deploying and SMB to alert the boat that you're moving away from the drop zone.

I've only had two scary episodes in current, one in Musandam (North Oman) at White Rocks, up current and down current within seconds, a really wild ride, my first experience of such conditions.

The other was in North Sulawesi heading to Bangka where we were flying in a crazy loop over the shallows and then down to the depths. All of us were clinging on to the wall and when we moved away from it to blue water, the current disappeared, very bizarre. I was more concerned about my daughter at the time as it was her first experience in such conditions, she was less concerned than me though.

 

[Norrm]

on reflection we hung around on the surface too long and by the time we got down (head first - not head up in my case) we almost missed the pinnacle/reef.

That happens all too frequently. Drift divers need to be ready to splash together, and immediately descend or the group can and often does miss the intended dive site. The procedure is in the AOW manual but it's simply stating the obvious. Be ready with the group, and don't hesitate to descend when you hit the water.

 

[The Chairman]

Can you offer a specialty course on that? Currents are my nemesis.

Cavern and cave. I really mean it. Other than that, start to learn how currents work. They're almost always stronger in the middle, so stick to the bottom, the sides and dodge behind whatever you can. Determine the "lee" of everything and hunker there. Canoeing a few thousand miles clued me in, but you don't need to do that. Just have fun and avoid the currents whenever possible. The best current is the one you're not in. Think about it.