Northwest Dive Club

CaptnJack wrote:

Penopolypants wrote:fight it

This happens periodically at keystone and often ends badly. A number of heart attacks there have been precipitated by the urge to fight the flow. I'm sure a number of our younger members would and could succeed, but may of us are older and potentially at higher risk than we think we are.

True, and it's rarely an option I would promote or choose - again, it's better to be alive on the surface than dead under water! There are worse things in the world than having someone come pick you up.

Yea the ferry at keystone scares people (rightly so) but they will stop and help you. You can also stay down and low and transit under the dredged ferry channel and get out on the beach to the north. That is the safest option if you get "swept away" but there's a strong instinctual urge to claw your way up current - which has definitely killed a few divers with previously undisclosed heart disease.

Penopolypants wrote:My worst (non-drift) current experience was at Fox Island West Wall of all places. Absolutely no current in the beginning, and then whoosh! Think the Redondo River on steroids, pushing us aggressively away from shore. No rocks to help so we dug our hands in the bottom and tried pulling - no dice.

Pen, Bradmond and I had the same experience at FIWW a few years back. We dropped in approximately right above the wall, and immediately were reduced to clawing our way upslope. Unfortunately, during this, Brads zipper came apart, flooding his suit. We made it up to about 20' and the current slacked enough for us to kick up and get the heck out of there! For a non current sensitive site, that was really a suprise

Gdog wrote:Pen, Bradmond and I had the same experience at FIWW a few years back. We dropped in approximately right above the wall, and immediately were reduced to clawing our way upslope. Unfortunately, during this, Brads zipper came apart, flooding his suit. We made it up to about 20' and the current slacked enough for us to kick up and get the heck out of there! For a non current sensitive site, that was really a suprise

Poor Brad! I am sorry y'all had that happen too. Currents are weird.

Sunrise Beach shore dive. I correctly calculated the predicted time of slack current, but failed to notice the huge tidal range that day (Nearly 18 ft. at the Narrows). The current didn't really have a period of slack, but just turned. I should have known better.
-Curt

Agree with Richard ... if you can't pull & glide, then float & ride ... you're priority at that point is to get to the surface, not necessarily your point of entry ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Worst unplanned for current was a bad day at Deception Pass. Highest current was probably a planned Agate Pass drift dive.

Jeremy wrote:Ripper of drysuits, mocker of divers...there are no atheist divers in a mistimed Deception Pass dive.

Swipe!

Haha. I was sending Jeremy a pm asking to use that for my tagline. Quick moving Wayne!

Second dive of the day at Netarts Bay. Became separated from buddy immediately and had to hold on to the rocks to stay in place. It took about 10 minutes to cover about the same amount of area as the first five which took 30. I learned that you can only get about one good dive in at Netarts and I learned what my comfort zone limit was on current.

Also got into some bad current/surge in the channel islands. The liveaboard had to send two chase boats to pick up seven divers that got blown away, including myself. I learned that you should never feel ashamed to not find your way back to the boat and that if the going gets tough to simply ascend. And to have good SMB skills.

Jeremy wrote:

fmerkel wrote:

Jeremy wrote:Warren Avenue Bridge receives my honorable mention for number two

Outside that, how is that dive?

I was skeptical of the dive initially but have to say it was one of the best dives in Puget Sound that I have done. Definitely up there with Deception Pass! I liked it better than DIW, Watermans Wall, Dalco...personally. Highly recommended!

Warren Ave bridge is a great dive. has my vote. its also the spot where i encountered the hardest current, even on slack tide. Lots of fun hitting eddy currents behind boulders.