The dive supervisor who told me to trust the current, not fight it

Back in 2019 I was doing inspection work on a platform leg off the coast of Galveston. The current was ripping something fierce, maybe 3 knots, and I was burning through air trying to hold position. This old supervisor, name was Ray, he came over the comms and said, "Stop fighting it, kid. Work with the water, not against it." At first I thought he was blowing smoke, but then he had me turn sideways and let the current do half the work on my swing. I finished the job with 800 psi left in the tank instead of tapping out early. That stuck with me because it goes against everything they teach you in school about staying put. Since then, I've told every diver I mentor the same thing, but about half of them look at me like I'm crazy. The other half swear it's the best advice they ever got. So I'm curious, how many of you out there were taught to fight the current hard and fast, and how many learned Ray's way? And for those who learned the hard way, what made you finally switch?

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blair_martin4d ago

The ones who look at you crazy are probably the same ones who go through a tank in 20 minutes and wonder why. The mental side matters too, because once you stop panicking and just flow with it, your breathing slows down and that alone saves you air. I've seen guys fight a current for an hour, blow their reserve, and still end up exactly where the water would've put them anyway if they'd just let it.

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