With the exception of a shark bumping into you, and posturing like a cat coughing up a fur ball there is nothing more scary in scuba diving than being lost at sea, in a current, at night, with the boat no where in sight.
In ocean diving and large lakes you can have currents next to a dive site moving at 4 mph or faster. I have been caught by changing conditions a couple of times and done drift dives scuba diving adventures that weren’t planned. I have also seen dive boats drift off the dive site pushed by the wind, with the current underwater going in the opposite direction. Another scenario is the boat engine won’t run, and there in no back up engine or chase boat, single engine boats being common in Asia. Any of the scenarios can result in you getting out of sight of the boat and traveling a long way in 50 to 60 minutes.
These things do happen and 99.9 % of the time there is no drama. Dive companies and dive professionals have lots of things in place to help them like equipment, with binoculars and radios being standard equipment, as well as procedures to minimize the potential of Murphy rearing his ugly head, but that being said, there is still a possibility that 2 or 3 things could go wrong and you are adrift.
Plastic Whistles, Safety Sausages, Snorkels and a Light.
Like the Boy Scouts say be prepared! The 4 best things to have are a loud plastic whistle, a fat long safety sausage, a snorkel and a light. The good thing is these will all fit in a dive pocket quite easily, and are relatively inexpensive to buy considering the peace of mind that they will give you. Dive Professionals are required by most diving agencies to carry them when engaged with customers.
As usual the best defense is a good offence, keep the software in your head engaged, stay within your dive abilities and training, be aware of strong currents, monitor local weather forecasts, keep your dive gear in good order and plan your dive and dive your plan . These will always be your best bet from being Lost at Sea
