How to Handle Currents When Scuba Diving: 5 Essential Tips

Diving in current can be an exhilarating experience, bringing in pelagic marine life and big schools of fish, but it requires the right techniques to stay safe and comfortable. Whether you are exploring remote sites in Myanmar or diving around Thailand’s best pinnacles, here are five essential tips to master diving in currents.

1) Check the Current From the Surface

If there are any marker buoys at the surface, have a look at them. Usually, if there is some current, you will see it splitting at the marker level. It will give an indication of the direction and speed.

Check the tide timetable; it could give you indications of whether the tide is going down (giving you a higher chance of a North-to-South current) or up (South-to-North current). Currents are weakest when at their highest or lowest point, so depending on the dive site you want to explore, this can be a great time to dive.

Ask the diving professionals or the captain of the boat. They might know how to read the water movement from the surface and can even give you tips to help you understand it yourself.

2) Use an Appropriate Entry / Descent

Depending on where you want to dive, you will have to choose the best and safest entry method:

• If you can find shelter at the surface (such as a rock or island rising out of the water): If you are diving from a big boat, it might be easier for the dive group to jump into a dinghy. This can allow you to get as close as possible to the entry point where you can be protected from a strong surface current which could make you drift away from the dive site before descending. Thereby, especially for beginners, you can still go into the water positively buoyant and take your time to descend slowly.
• If you dive a pinnacle (underwater mountain): From a big boat or a dinghy, the best way to enter will be with a negative entry (with no air in your BCD). You will not be affected by the surface current and will be able to go straight down and meet the group at the bottom.

3) Be Streamlined

If you have to swim against the current, you have to maintain a horizontal position in order to reduce water resistance. Proper weighting is the key to being streamlined!

Moreover, make sure all your equipment is streamlined. Any alternate air source hose, torch, or pointer dangling off your gear can get stuck in the reef or make your movements more difficult.

If you are an underwater photographer, diving into a current with very big cameras can be tricky. If you have the option to take a smaller device for strong current dives, don’t hesitate!

If you find yourself out of breath or too tired to kick against the current, stay close to the bottom and find a piece of rock or dead coral to rest. You can also pull yourself along with one or two fingers to help you reach the point of interest. Obviously, do this while staying respectful of the environment; don’t touch anything alive, and limit contact as much as possible.

4) Watch the Fish!

Watching how fish move can give you a great idea of how to deal with the current.

For example, if you see a fish close to a rock staying completely still, you would want to seek shelter in the same place if you want to rest.

If you see a fish swimming in a vertical head-up position along a wall or slope, you will understand that you are facing a downcurrent; don’t panic, and simply adjust your buoyancy.

Schools of barracuda or trevally hunt swimming against the current, so observing this behaviour can give you a clear indication of current direction. You can also observe how hard they are swimming to gauge the strength of the current.

5) Always Think About Safety First

• You will use more gas fighting the current, so check your air gauge more often.
• You might have to stay in deep areas to find shelter or to observe the marine life revolving around you. Be careful to watch your No Decompression Limit closely!
• If you get caught in an uncontrollable current and have to end the dive, deploy your Surface Marker Buoy as soon as possible so the captain can follow you from the surface during your safety stop. This will avoid surfacing far away from the boat and facing a long swim.
• Dive with a professional or experienced dive guide who can give you advice on your technique and guide you around the dive site safely.
• If you don’t feel comfortable, end the dive! Your well-being is the most important thing to consider.