Hi SD fans, and welcome back. Drift dives can be a thrill-a-minute, rock-and-roll ride,
and the Scuba Diver team are hopelessly addicted to these kinds of dives. Here we select 9
of our favourites, though as always, there are a multitude of world-class locations out
there, but these should get you in the mood to go with the flow.
For those here for the first time, my name is Mark, I am the editor-in-chief of the Scuba
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In at 9, Streamstown Drift in Ireland The west coast of Ireland might seem an unusual
destination for a warp factor drift dive, but the Streamstown Drift sees divers flock
to ride six knot currents charging up an ever-narrowing inlet that spikes several miles inland.
Divers ride small inflatables into the mouth of the inlet, and then have to do fast negative
descents to the bottom in 10-11m as the current begins to take them inland. The vis at the
start of the dive can often be just a couple of metres, so it is difficult to fathom how
fast you are actually travelling, but soon this increases and you can see swathes of
seaweed and kelp whipping wildly beneath you as you are driven endlessly onwards.
The depth reduces further as you get into the inlet, and once you are in 5-6m it really
picks up the pace and it is all you can do to keep yourself correctly orientated. Some
25 tiring minutes later, you make your way cross-current into the shallows on the left-hand
side of the inlet and then stand in waist-deep water waiting for the inflatable to come and
pick you up. And because you don’t use much air on the drift, everyone generally opts
to go back to the beginning and do it all over again!
At 8 we have Protea Banks in South Africa Protea Banks in South Africa is known as a
hotspot for shark diving, but one of the most-exciting shark dives is also an extremely fast drift
dive as an added bonus. Dive boats anchor to mooring balls and deploy a baitbox, which
rapidly attracts scores of blacktip sharks, jostling and bumping one another. Then the
main event puts in an appearance - tiger sharks. As soon as tigers arrive on the scene, the
divers enter the water and the skippers will release the mooring line, allowing the RIB
- and the divers hanging at 6-8m near the baitbox among the gang of sharks - to drift
with the sometimes ripping current. However, because the bottom can be way out of vision,
and everything - boat, baitbox, divers, sharks - are all travelling at the same speed in
the flow, it can be hard to gain an understanding for just how fast you are going. Just occasionally,
a pinnacle of seabed will poke into sight, and then you will see that you are really
flying.
In at number 7, Grey Shark Wall in Fakarava, French Polynesia
French Polynesia might be an awful long way to travel, but iconic dives like Fakarava
make it all worthwhile. Located in the remote Tuamotus, this hot spot may be a dream for
adrenaline junkies, but it is certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Divers are dropped at the south end of the atoll near the mouth of the Tumakohua Pass,
a thin channel leading into the vast lagoon within. On an incoming tide, the current swirls
and boils through this cut at amazing speeds, firing divers into the calmer waters of the
lagoon. But the highlight of the dive actually comes
before the raging ride into the atoll. As you get to the point of no return and prepare
to enter the channel, you have to glide through Grey Shark Wall, a towering gauntlet of sharks
- grey reef, blacktips, whitetips and more - that block the entrance.
At 6, Palancar Deep in Cozumel Not a destination that registers that highly
to UK divers, Cozumel is to US divers what the Egyptian Red Sea is to European divers.
It’s only a short flight away from various North American hub airports, it offers warm,
clear waters, plenty of marine life, a wide range of facilities - oh, and more awesome
drift dives than you can imagine. In fact, Coz - as it is known to US aficionados
- is the unofficial drift-diving capital of the Caribbean, and one of the sites that has
helped it gain such a stellar reputation is Palancar Deep, just a small section of the
lengthy Palancar Reef system. Here deep cracks and swim-throughs litter the sheer wall, meaning
divers have the opportunity to dip in and out of the constant current as they marvel
at the colourful soft corals and sponges adorning every single spot of real estate. The currents
are also a magnet for marine life, including sharks, eagle rays and barracuda.
In at 5, the Clutha River, New Zealand Rivers can be one of the best places for serious,
hardcore drift dive addicts, but it isn’t always easy to find one that ticks all the
boxes for speed of current, depth and visibility. The Clutha River, in New Zealand’s South
Islands, manages to get a high score across the board.
Divers of all experience levels will find something to float their boat along a 20-mile
stretch of river, but for the real speed junkies, one section some four miles long is where
it’s at, with currents of up to 12mph screaming over boulders, beneath rapids and even through
whirlpools - one, at Devil’s Nook, is often described as an ‘underwater tornado’.
At 4, the Kuredu Express in the Maldives Due to the nature of many of the dive sites
in the Maldives, visitors to this idyllic Indian Ocean paradise can often expect strong
currents, especially on the many channel dives situated in the surrounding walls of the various
atolls. The Kuredu Express is one such dive in the Lhaviyani Atoll and, as the name suggests,
it is far from a gentle mooch down the reef. Instead, strong currents sweep down a channel
to a corner where the reef falls into neat terraced steps - the perfect location to select
your depth, reef hook in and take in the view, which will often involve sharks, rays and
other oceanic hunters effortlessly darting about in the whirling water.
Once you’ve tired of being constantly jostled by the current, you can unhook and allow the
surge to sweep you along the reef wall, where there are two large bays covered in brightly
coloured soft corals and home to large shoals of snapper, chromis and butterflyfish.
Coming in at 3, the Ulong Channel, Palau Think of drift diving, and it is highly likely
that the Pacific diving hotspot of Palau will feature on your list. Legendary names like
Blue Corner and Peleliu Cut offer promise of a wild ride, but if you really want to
buckle up and hit the launch button, then the Ulong Channel is where it’s at.
Divers are dropped onto the reef just upstream of the channel and are then swept into the
mouth like water going down a plughole. The trick is to deploy a reef hook as you enter
the mouth of the Ulong Channel, which will bring your rapid progress to an abrupt halt
and spin you around so you face into the maelstrom. You will now be bombarded by incoming missiles
of the fish variety, including sharks, grouper and trevally.
Once you’ve depleted your air supply, it is time to leave - and that’s when the ride
starts again. You just unhook and then drift with the current through the channel itself,
where the coral-smothered walls play host to all manner of reef life using the nooks
and crannies as shelter from the water whipping past.
At number 2, the Kamikaze Cut, Tobago Cozumel might be the undisputed king of the
Caribbean drift-diving scene for US divers, but the tiny island of Tobago has held the
title among European divers for many years. This Windward Isle, located near the coast
of Venezuela, is buffeted by strong currents, which disperse rich nutrients from the Orinoco
River throughout the coastal reefs, making them a Mecca for pelagic filter feeders such
as manta rays, a regular sight at choice locations. Japanese Gardens in Speyside is the entry
point for one of the most-thrilling of Tobago’s steaming drifts. Catch it on a good day and
you will be fired headlong through stunning reef gardens teeming with reef fish, moray
eels, turtles and nurse sharks. Just as you think you are getting to grips
with the wild ride, the current increases, sending you inexorably towards a narrow, two-metre-wide
passage in a set of towering boulders - the Kamikaze Cut. Once catapulted through this
opening, the current soon dissipates, allowing divers to thankfully catch their breath and
round out the dive cruising over beautiful coral gardens while relishing the drift they
have just experienced.
And at 1, Saltstraumen in Norway Saltstraumen in Norway has the world’s strongest
tidal current, which can reach up to 26 knots. Every six hours, more than 375 million cubic
litres of water pass through the narrow and shallow strait of Saltstraumen, creating the
world-famous Maelstrom and its whirlpools. Where better to go for a drift dive?
The boiling current brings with it rich nutrients from the deep sea floor, and this gives the
area a huge diversity and quantity of marine life. While there are dives suitable for any
divers, the best, most-thrilling - such as Brukaret - are reserved for those with experience,
good buoyancy control and drysuit diving skills, but even then, the strong currents and depths
make it a seriously demanding diving environment.
What are some of your favourite drift dives? What locations would be in your top five?
Leave your comments below, and if you have a question, fire away – if we can’t answer,
maybe someone in our community will be able to. Remember, if you enjoyed this video, be
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magazine subscription in the description below. As always, stay safe – and if you are going
diving soon, enjoy!