TEK Diving in Currents: How to Avoid Drifting, Deadly Traps, and Come Back Alive!

Ascend, yes… But to the right area!

In diving, safety doesn’t stop at merely surfacing. You still need to reappear in the right place: beach, boat, or sheltered area. This exit point represents the crucial link between your underwater playground and solid ground. Unfortunately, various factors like currents can complicate this return, pulling you away from the watchful eye of the mariner or out of reach to rejoin your extraction point, especially in tek diving where decompression stops prolong the wait before returning to the surface.

Real drift stories

There are many anecdotes of dives ending unexpectedly: drifts in the channels of the Maldives or Polynesia, strong currents during the exploration of the wrecks in Var or Brittany… Sometimes comparable to cartoon scenes where, like a coyote on a rocket, the diver completely loses control of their trajectory. These incidents have even inspired disaster films. Whether divers are recovered in a few minutes or castaways drifting in the blue for hours—or even days—accompanied only by their anxiety (and sometimes the curiosity of oceanic whitetip sharks), it quickly becomes clear: this risk is not just about ‘others’. To ensure your adventures remain a source of pleasure and not fear, Plongez! offers you a set of cautionary advice, fueled by feedback.

Authentic story: icy dive in the calanques

To illustrate the importance of this theme, here is a true story experienced by the author. March 2019, the calanques were covered in snow, an icy carpet crowned the boat, and the team set off from Marseille to explore l’Impérial du Large despite difficult weather: icy mistral and slight southern swell. Everything seemed under control—aside from a moderate surface current—until the dive started. A teammate was delayed by a few seconds due to a mishap with his suit, slightly offsetting the group’s descent. To visually locate the relief, the descent sped up… 20m, 40m, 60m… still nothing in the light of the lamps.

Lacking reference points after 3 minutes, the decision was made to ascend. At 40m, a safety buoy was deployed and, upon reaching 6m, only two minutes of decompression stop remained. Yet, no sign of the boat in the vicinity: enough to seriously worry…