The most common is called a long shore current, which is reserved for a current that is fairly constant, of sufficient magnitude, and usually present at some distance from shore; however, on a more practical sense, many divers use this name to refer to any current that flows on a more or less parallel course to the shoreline. In an area with other divers in the water, the direction and velocity of the long shore current can be estimated by watching those other divers. On boat dives, the anchored boat heads into the wind/surface current, provided that those two parameters are moving in the same direction. This means that the boat’s bow, or front end, points in the direction that the current is coming from. Accordingly, the dive professional/boat master can give proper directions to have the divers move down the anchor line and keep heading in the same direction. Depending on the velocity of the current, purpose of the dive, and the capability of the divers, the dive plan could call for an upstream heading for half of the air supply, downstream for 1/4 of the air supply, and surface at the proper ascent rate, making a three- to five-minute safety stop at 5m, and still end up upstream of the anchored boat. This would then make it fairly easy to swim back to the boat. Avoid plans and dives that place the divers downstream of the boat in any kind of strong to moderate current conditions. Watch the first pair of divers in the water at the surface; this will give you the true relative strength of the divers versus the current. Caution all of the divers to get all gear adjustments done on the boat prior to entering the water, so that a minimum of time is spent on the surface drifting downstream. At the end of the dive, the divers should aim for a point well upstream of the boat, instead of the stern of the boat. The currents can be so strong that a miss of 2m will mean a tow back to the boat or retrieval by skiff.