I'd like to share my experience with an unusual down current I encountered in Cozumel, Mexico on January 9, 2024.
Unlike many of the stories I've read in these threads, the down current we encountered was not waterfall shaped, but a whirlpool pulling down into the blue, meaning there was no clear direction to swim that would bring us to safety other than up. In reading through other down current posts here I sometimes see people leaving single sentence suggestions on "what you're supposed to do, period". My hope with this thread is to help convey the idea that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to what you should do, that the real answer requires additional questions to be asked, and that people with genuine concern should always be listening for new stories to add to their personal database, and using their best reasoning to ready their own action plan for an event that hopefully never comes.
Special thanks to @DandyDon for his summary of the multiple popular approaches one might take which are laid out here: What to do in a down welling/down current?.
HERE'S MY STORY:
We were diving Cantarel in the north of Cozumel that day. Our objective was to try to see the Spotted Eagle Rays that gather there each winter. There were six clients in our group and the DM. Four of the clients held divemaster or instructor ratings. We were all diving Nitrox 32%. We jumped at the edge of the wall. The top of the wall was at about 70'. We started the descent. At about 50' the whirlpool started pulling the group away from the wall and quickly down, while slowly rotating us. Our exhaled bubbles did not ascend, they danced right in front of our faces and blocked our vision. It was disorienting but we hadn't realized we'd entered emergency action territory yet. Hindsight is really 20/20 here, in the moment there was only a feeling of “hmmm, that’s odd.” We continued to add what seemed to be an unusually high level of gas to our jackets and wings (again, that's a "duh" situation in hindsight). Despite this, in about 20 seconds we blew past 100', spiraling down into the deep, and that's when the lightbulb fully came on for the whole group. By now the DM was actively signaling ABORT DIVE. The message was clear: Every Man For Himself *NOW*, Save Yourselves!
After a futile fight my wife and I inflated our wings to 100% and started kicking *up* as hard as we could; we started to make slow headway toward the surface. We were at 115' and the rest of the group was spread out below us at various depths. At about 70' or so we suddenly broke free and shot toward the surface. We dumped gas as quickly as possible and re-established ascent control around 50'. I sent up my SMB for the boat. The instructor client was with us for a short time, but when he saw his dive buddy reappear from the deep he moved off toward her before we lost sight of them. We did not make a safety stop, just a slow controlled ascent to the surface. After a short wait the boat picked us up first. There was no sign of anyone else. This was a chilling moment. The instructor and buddy were found a few minutes later *over half a mile* away, despite the instructor being right next to us shortly before surfacing. Finally, a further half mile away, we found the DM and the remaining two clients. The least experienced of them had hit 165' (PPO2 ~1.9, and under extremely heavy breathing conditions) before being able to arrest his descent. He was someone I would have classified as an intermediate level diver, with good buoyancy control and comfortable diving most of the "normal" levels of Cozumel current.
Once we were back on the boat, the surface conditions looked much different than when we had entered. There were large areas of the surface where the water looked smooth and glassy, which is an indicator of high current. Our DM developed mild PTSD symptoms from this event which took some time to resolve. In retrospect we got really lucky.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1) There is no one-size-fits-all solution to what you should do. Sometimes down currents are like waterfalls, and those can be wide front-to-back and narrow side-to-side, or vice versa. This is a function of the shape of the terrain they are flowing through. Swimming in the direction that they are narrow would be the play here, and if you aren't sure which way that is then diagonal might be the next best bet, but honestly that is a lot of information to process quickly in a very high stress situation, and *may* be beyond the scope of what most divers can execute in the moment while under pressure. If you are close to a wall then grabbing something, anything, and climbing back up may be the move.
2) Bubbles in your face obscuring your view equals down current... Emergency situation, assess and take immediate action.
3) In moments of uncertainty it’s totally OK to abort a dive.
4) Aborting a dive is not always the right decision but it’s never the wrong one.
Anyone with more interested in this topic should have a look at some of these fine threads here:
Unlike many of the stories I've read in these threads, the down current we encountered was not waterfall shaped, but a whirlpool pulling down into the blue, meaning there was no clear direction to swim that would bring us to safety other than up. In reading through other down current posts here I sometimes see people leaving single sentence suggestions on "what you're supposed to do, period". My hope with this thread is to help convey the idea that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to what you should do, that the real answer requires additional questions to be asked, and that people with genuine concern should always be listening for new stories to add to their personal database, and using their best reasoning to ready their own action plan for an event that hopefully never comes.
Special thanks to @DandyDon for his summary of the multiple popular approaches one might take which are laid out here: What to do in a down welling/down current?.
HERE'S MY STORY:
We were diving Cantarel in the north of Cozumel that day. Our objective was to try to see the Spotted Eagle Rays that gather there each winter. There were six clients in our group and the DM. Four of the clients held divemaster or instructor ratings. We were all diving Nitrox 32%. We jumped at the edge of the wall. The top of the wall was at about 70'. We started the descent. At about 50' the whirlpool started pulling the group away from the wall and quickly down, while slowly rotating us. Our exhaled bubbles did not ascend, they danced right in front of our faces and blocked our vision. It was disorienting but we hadn't realized we'd entered emergency action territory yet. Hindsight is really 20/20 here, in the moment there was only a feeling of “hmmm, that’s odd.” We continued to add what seemed to be an unusually high level of gas to our jackets and wings (again, that's a "duh" situation in hindsight). Despite this, in about 20 seconds we blew past 100', spiraling down into the deep, and that's when the lightbulb fully came on for the whole group. By now the DM was actively signaling ABORT DIVE. The message was clear: Every Man For Himself *NOW*, Save Yourselves!
After a futile fight my wife and I inflated our wings to 100% and started kicking *up* as hard as we could; we started to make slow headway toward the surface. We were at 115' and the rest of the group was spread out below us at various depths. At about 70' or so we suddenly broke free and shot toward the surface. We dumped gas as quickly as possible and re-established ascent control around 50'. I sent up my SMB for the boat. The instructor client was with us for a short time, but when he saw his dive buddy reappear from the deep he moved off toward her before we lost sight of them. We did not make a safety stop, just a slow controlled ascent to the surface. After a short wait the boat picked us up first. There was no sign of anyone else. This was a chilling moment. The instructor and buddy were found a few minutes later *over half a mile* away, despite the instructor being right next to us shortly before surfacing. Finally, a further half mile away, we found the DM and the remaining two clients. The least experienced of them had hit 165' (PPO2 ~1.9, and under extremely heavy breathing conditions) before being able to arrest his descent. He was someone I would have classified as an intermediate level diver, with good buoyancy control and comfortable diving most of the "normal" levels of Cozumel current.
Once we were back on the boat, the surface conditions looked much different than when we had entered. There were large areas of the surface where the water looked smooth and glassy, which is an indicator of high current. Our DM developed mild PTSD symptoms from this event which took some time to resolve. In retrospect we got really lucky.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1) There is no one-size-fits-all solution to what you should do. Sometimes down currents are like waterfalls, and those can be wide front-to-back and narrow side-to-side, or vice versa. This is a function of the shape of the terrain they are flowing through. Swimming in the direction that they are narrow would be the play here, and if you aren't sure which way that is then diagonal might be the next best bet, but honestly that is a lot of information to process quickly in a very high stress situation, and *may* be beyond the scope of what most divers can execute in the moment while under pressure. If you are close to a wall then grabbing something, anything, and climbing back up may be the move.
2) Bubbles in your face obscuring your view equals down current... Emergency situation, assess and take immediate action.
3) In moments of uncertainty it’s totally OK to abort a dive.
4) Aborting a dive is not always the right decision but it’s never the wrong one.
Anyone with more interested in this topic should have a look at some of these fine threads here:
