Komodo has a well-deserved reputation for strong currents, but there are many sites where the flow is minimal and diving is easy. Some reefs are also suitable for drift dives, allowing you to sail with the current rather than fighting it.
T
he outboard motor on our speedboat wined in protest as a furious current tried its best to thwart us from reaching our destination. The texture of the water was another clear indication that this dive was going to be far from sedate. Resembling a fast-running river rather than an ocean, in some parts the sea seemed to boil and performed an agitated little dance, in other areas whirlpools drifted along the fast-moving surface. In contrast, different sections of the sea were as flat as glass and, for a split second, we were afforded a brief glimpse of the utter mayhem below. Our experienced driver dropped us a little way in front of the reef, to give us some hope of reaching our target. We aimed to get down to 20-25m as fast as possible and to find a good place to secure a reef hook before the current swept us off the dive site. With this feat completed, it was now time to watch the show. Immense schools of fusiliers and yellow-masked surgeonfish had congregated where the current first hit the reef, known as the split. They, in turn, attracted the unwanted attention of a whole host of predators.
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