you didn't have multiple exit points?

If I was in that situation, the only issue would be-- could I come in
safely anywhere down-current..If so, I would do the whole drift dive,
then swim in as the dive neared the end. I would then get on shore,
and figure out who would come and get me--how to get ahold of them--or
I would walk a mile or so--no big deal either way....Then the next
time, I would know how to plan the dive. Sometimes, you have to do a
dive to figure out the "best" way to do it.
It's not like it is a dangerous dive--safety is a non-issue on the
dive situation we are discussing. This is more about how to make it
easy. Trying to fight the current would just make the experience a
clusterf*&%k.
DanV

Find shore as best you can.  Your situation describes it as being
cross current.

The first solution is not to have gotten yourself into that predicament in
the first place.  If you were dealing with a tidal current, you had the
ability to determine, in advance, that the current would exist and which way
it would be running.  If you were dealing with a consistent flow, such as we
get off the coast of south Florida, you could have anticipated, more or
less, where you would be exposed to it and been alert to when it began to
affect you, allowing you to react while it was still mild.

Sometimes, however, currents show up unexpectedly.  If that was the case,
where you were diving has a lot to do with how you should handle it.  Here's
a few options:
1. If the shoreline allowed, you can swim diagonally across the current
until you're out of it and able to return to shore.  If you can get out of
the current, you have the option of swimming back the way you came or coming
ashore where you can and walking back to your vehicle.  One of the many
advantages of a buddy system is, with a buddy, one of you can watch the
equipment while the other takes a walk.
2. If you must exist near where you entered, depending on conditions, you
can opt for swimming diagonally until you're out of the current and then
swim along the shore.  The disadvantage to this is that, if the current runs
all the way to the shore, you may not get out of it.  If this happens, you
may have to resort to 3 or 4.
3. If your exposure to currrent is related to your location and you believe
that returning a ways toward your entry point will get you out of it, you
have the somewhat undesirable option of pulling yourself along the bottom.
The bottom is rarely, if ever, completely dead, but the bottom you described
sounds like it's close to it.  Either sand or rubble can sometimes offer
sufficient purchase to allow you to pull yourself along.  You knife, used as
an anchor can sometimes help.  The problem with this is that you're going to
use more gas to fight the current.  When you run out of gas, you're done
pulling yourself along the bottom.
4. Your final option is to go with the flow, return to the surface and
signal for help, assuming that help might be available somewhere in the
area.

The correct answer, of course, depends on the conditions at the time,
something you've not shared and something that may, in fact, be very
dependent on where you are diving.

Lee

What did you do?