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George Irvine wrote on Wednesday, November 06, 1996 7:30 AM >> I do not know what the New England guys do, but I can not get down an = anchor line in a full Gulf Stream current , whcih is slightly less than = four knots. << Most divers have a tendency to misjudge the actual speed of a current. = More than once have I had divers tell me how they swam against a 3 or 4 = knot current back to the boat - and when questioned they had no way of = actually measuring the speed and had no clue how fast THEY are able to = swim in full equipment for any duration of time. They simply meant to = express that it was a "ripping" current - and 2 knots would sound too = wimpy to be true. <grin> Case in point - most dive master candidates are CHALLENGED to swim 900 = yard in 18 minutes during their evaluation. If I got my "imperial" = calculations correct, that this would amount to about 2.8 knots - and = that's in skin diving equipment (no cylinder and empty BC). If they had = to swim that with full scuba gear - potentially even doubles - I doubt = if they could sustain themselves against a 1 knot current for any = prolonged period. During my advanced classes I suspend a measured line under water along = which students conduct buoyancy control exercise and measure air = consumption in cubic feet - and swimming rate. On average, most scuba = divers casually swim less than 1/2 knots. With effort, they would swim 1 = knots - but at least one buddy would get tired quickly or cramp up - or. = I certainly would not be capable to sustain myself against a 3 or 4 knot = current (300 to 400 ft/min) - and I doubt that anyone could. Andy
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