How much do you know about diving in currents , or more specifically, drift diving? Does the thought of going with the flow get your adrenaline pumping or spark feelings of anxiety?
There are a lot of misconceptions about diving in currents, but the fact is, once you have gained an understanding of currents, practiced and followed through on drift dive planning, and mastered the techniques, it’s a lot of fun and will open up an arsenal of new dive sites, diving experiences – and most likely, marine life sightings!
In this Blog we take a look at some of the common misconceptions about diving in currents and what you can do to improve your drift diving and boost your confidence in currents.
1. Drift Diving is Only for Experienced Divers
It’s not true that drift diving is only for experienced divers. There are currents in all bodies of water everywhere on earth, so actually a huge percentage of divers learn to dive as beginners in drifts. Drift diving isn’t a more ‘difficult’ type of diving, it’s just a different type of diving. Just as you need to plan any dive, and follow basic principles, the same applies to drift diving. Plan your dive and dive your plan.
If you haven’t dived in drifts before and are exploring a new area with currents, you should be given a briefing before the dive in which any special procedures, such as entries, exits, and buddy separation procedures will be reviewed. If you are not sure about anything, ASK!!
If you are planning to go drift diving we recommend that you brush up on your buoyancy skills if it’s been a while since your last dives. When you are drifting, buoyancy control isn’t more difficult to master but it’s extremely important so you can avoid making contact with the reef and stay close to your buddy during your dive.
Drift Diving is Physically Challenging
Once you have mastered drift diving, the opposite actually applies. Drift diving can be a comparatively lazy way to dive because very little swimming is involved. Drift diving literally means allowing the current to propel you and simply going with the flow.
The main techniques in drift diving are to establish neutral buoyancy, stay close to the reef, relax, and enjoy the show!
You Have to Swim into the Current
In drift diving, we dive with the current (see above) which means that we do not try to return to our entry point at the end of the dive. Drift diving opens up opportunities to explore new dive sites which can’t ordinarily be explored for the very reason that you can’t swim back to the starting point. On Nusa Lembongan, we dive from boats so that you can go with the drift and the boat will collect you from where you finish your dive.
Drift Diving is Scary
Not with a proper briefing and an understanding of the principles and techniques. If a diver is not familiar with currents and they are not given a briefing then yes, drift diving could be a scary experience – the same as in any situation which you were not expecting. A thorough briefing and instructions equip divers with what they need to know, what to expect and therefore reduces anxiety. Common causes of anxiety may be from the diver thinking they will need to swim back or from feeling out of control, which can easily be addressed in the dive briefing.
You Cannot Drift Dive from a Boat
Drift diving from a boat is one of the best ways to drift dive. Our team of boat captains and crew are trained in drift diving boat procedures which include tracking divers’ bubbles underwater and looking out for delayed surface marker buoys. These procedures enable the boat crew to manoeuvre the boat to the divers’ exact pick-up point.
Drift diving is also possible when shore diving but you will need adequate supervision on land to track your dive and meet you at your entry point.
The key to planning any successful and safe drift dive is to ensure you have surface supervision and support.
You Need Special Equipment to Drift Dive
Drift diving requires standard dive equipment plus a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB). A DSMB allows you to deploy your surface marker buoy from underwater (prior to surfacing) because it is attached to a reel or cord, for most divers a DSMB is part of their standard equipment. All of World Diving Lembongan's PADI Divemasters and Instructors carry DSMB’s to signal the boat. You do not need to carry your own DSMB when diving with us – although if you have one, we recommend storing it in your BCD pocket. Our team releases their DSMB’s during the safety stop so the boat can start making its way to you while you count down your 3 minutes!
You Have To Make a Negative Entry And Fast Descent
When fun diving along the north coast of Nusa Penida we have kilometres of stunning coastline and reef to drift dive. There is no need to make a negative entry and a fast descent because you will not miss the dive site.
However, in some areas, for example, when diving on a small submerged site or when trying to reach an exact point (which could be missed by drifting during descent), a negative entry may be required. We make negative entries when diving at Blue Corner for this reason, but this is an exception to the rule and not the norm around Bali.
You Don't See as Much When Drift Diving
When you are drift diving you see even more! Imagine riding a bicycle uphill for an hour versus going downhill for the same amount of time. You will cover much more distance when going downhill because you don’t get tired. This is exactly the same as drift diving. The current moves you along rather than you expending energy which means you cover a greater distance PLUS you don’t have to turn around halfway and swim back, you go even further.
When drift diving you continue in the same direction for the duration of your dive. If you want to see as much as possible, then drift diving is the way to do it!
All Diving around Bali is Drift Diving
There are two factors that affect if a dive is a drift dive or not:
i) the location and geography of a site, and
ii) the tides and phases of the moon.
Not all sites are drift sites:
Several of our dive sites are not drift diving sites because of their geographical location, some examples of these include Lembongan Bay and our House Reef, Manta Point, and Manta Bay. These sites are positioned in coves which are unaffected by the main current flow due to the topography of the sites and positioning of nearby landmasses.
Not all drift sites always have currents:
Our main drift diving sites have variable currents from no current at all through to brisker drifts. The moon phase affects the tidal differences which in turn affects currents.
- Around the time of the full moon there is the biggest difference between high tide and low tide, meaning a greater tidal exchange. During this period, there is a large body of water, moving larger distances, so it generally moves faster.
- During neap tides (no/new moon), there is very little difference between high tide and low tide so the tidal exchange is very low meaning much less to no current.
Diving on or around high tide and low tide at any time during the lunar phase will result in much less current as the tidal exchange is most static. This gives us the ability to time our dive trips according to when conditions are best, unlike operators on Bali who are limited by their trip logistics and need to dive at the same time each day regardless of tides.
Drift Diving Tips
Here are our top four tips for mastering drift diving and enjoying comfortable, safe, and memorable dives!
i) If you are diving in an area known to have currents, you have the opportunity to experience some phenomenal diving. To ensure you get the maximum enjoyment from your dives, choose a reputable operator and insist on a briefing before each dive. We have over 20 years of diving experience in this region and our team has made thousands of dives at our dive sites. This local knowledge and experience allows us to plan our dives and optimise comfort and safety.
ii) Get prepared for your dives in advance by working on your buoyancy skills or taking the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course. If you want to fully understand and master drift diving, take the PADI Drift Diver Specialty Course, or sign up for your PADI Advanced Open Water Course if you haven’t already taken it.
For students taking the PADI Advanced Open Water course here in Nusa Lembongan, we recommend taking drift diving and peak performance buoyancy as two of the optional dives in your advanced course!
iii) Be open with your chosen operator about your experience in currents and any anxieties you may have. A good operator will take your comments on board and plan dives accordingly. Remember, however, that they are not mind readers, speak up to help them to help you!
iv) Stay relaxed, enjoy the ride, and go with the flow!
DIVE WITH US IN NUSA LEMBONGAN
If you are interested in taking a PADI course during your stay, take a look at our full range of PADI courses, or send us a message using the links below.
If you have any questions about fun diving around Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, contact us – we would love to hear from you.
We look forward to welcoming you to Nusa Lembongan and diving with you soon!
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