SDI Drift Diver

The SDI Drift Diver Course at OCD Divers teaches you how to safely and confidently dive in moving water using natural currents to guide your dive. You will learn how to plan, execute, and enjoy drift dives while maintaining control, communication, and situational awareness. Training may be conducted at a local Texas lake using controlled drift simulations or during OCD Divers trips where natural drift conditions are available.

What You’ll Learn

This course focuses on the skills and techniques needed for safe and enjoyable drift diving:

• Drift diving procedures: How to enter, descend, and exit in moving water.
• Buoyancy and trim control: Maintaining stability and positioning while drifting.
• Use of drift equipment: Floats, reels, SMBs, and signaling devices.
• Buddy and group coordination: Staying together and communicating effectively.
• Environmental awareness: Reading current patterns and avoiding hazards.
• Boat pickup procedures: Surface signaling and safe retrieval during drift dives.

Program Overview

The Drift Diver Course is ideal for divers preparing for travel, river diving, or ocean drift environments. Skills may be practiced in a Texas lake using controlled drift simulations or completed during OCD Divers group trips where natural drift conditions are available.

Prerequisites: SDI Open Water Scuba Diver or equivalent.

Minimum age: 18, or 12 with parental consent.

Equipment needed: A complete scuba kit appropriate for the dive environment. A surface marker buoy (SMB), reel, and whistle are strongly recommended for drift diving.

Where Training Takes Place

Training may be conducted at local Texas lakes using controlled drift scenarios or during OCD Divers trips where natural drift conditions are present. This ensures divers gain real‑world experience in both simulated and true drift environments.

Required Gear

Divers must have a complete scuba kit including mask, snorkel, fins, boots, BCD, regulator set, gauges or computer, exposure protection appropriate for conditions, surface signaling devices, and a cutting tool. A surface marker buoy and reel are recommended for all drift dives.

Gear packages and rental options are available. Visit our continuing education gear options here: Continuing Education Diver Add On Options

What Comes Next

After completing the Drift Diver Course, divers often continue with specialties such as Boat Diver, Navigation Diver, or Deep Diver. This specialty also counts toward the SDI Master Scuba Diver pathway.