Beach/Shore Entry Techniques

[Walter]

Here's what I'm doing: BC fully deflated; no mask on face or reg in mouth; fins in one hand; time the wave sets; lean sideways into a breaking wave in a kind of "sumo wrestler position"; hope for the best. As I say, I bat about .750, which is great for baseball, but not so hot for beach diving. Plus getting the washing machine treatment is fatiguing.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Bill

Looks like good technique. Duck under the breakers. Breakers will sometimes strip off even a properly placed mask. Put the mask on after you're past the breakers or underwater. Practice - your % will increase. No one bats 1000.

 

[ScubaRev]

On my last shore dive, I noticed some divers taking the breakers head-on "surfer style." They dove straight into the wave as it crested, then popped up on the other side. When I asked them about it, they said they always enter with BC totally deflated so as not to bob on the surface of the wave.

Nice to know that no one bats 1000 at the surf entry game. A tired diver crawling out of the surf sure makes for a clumsy show for the bubble watchers on the beach, but hey, we experienced stuff they can only imagine.

Thanks for the tips. I'm beginning to realize that with many aspects of diving, "your mileage may vary" as you try various ways to accomplish the same thing.

This is a great forum, by the way. Great people, good humor, lots of advice along with passionate opinions. Should be mandatory reading for all new divers.

 

[limeyx]

The best method depends a lot upon the topography of that specific beach. The most important variables seem to be how rapidly the depth increases, and whether the bottom is sand or rocks and boulders.

Watch experienced divers and ask for tips.

My method for beaches where the entry is sand, and the shorebreak is more than waist deep:

Enter the water with mask and reg, but carrying fins.
In waist deep water or so, just a little ways inshore of where the waves break, put on fins.
Wait for next breaking wave, turn sideway to take the white water, then submerge and swim rapidly to get past the spot where the next wave will break.

On exit, I stay submerged all the way through the surf zone. On a gradually shallowing beach, you should be able to time sets of waves by watching the surge and swim through the surf zone right after a big set. I surface when I get to around 3' of water. Even if the surf is churning up sand such that the viz is zero, it is pretty easy to use the surge as a directional cue as you swim in through the surf zone while touching the bottom. As with the entry, this is for a beach with a gradual slope, where the waves break well off the beach.

That exit technique will not work in SoCal very well (from my experience). You will likely be "washing-machined"

What I do is get to about chest height in water, duck under the waves (like a surfer I guess) until you see a break. Get both fins off (reg in mouth and mask on) -- spring straps really help here!

Then slowly back toward the shore, keeping your eye on the waves.

Do the "reverse" on the way in. Realistically, you are going to be chest deep and still in the surf zone down here, so you need to spot a bit of a break, get in (with reg and mask on) then get fins on and in ASAP (again spring straps really help!)

If you get hit by a breaker, try to "duck under" the wave if possible. if not, turn sideways and "plant" your feet and take the force of it.

getting tumbled sometimes is just a reality in SoCal I think.

 

[ScubaRev]

I wrote an article on this just last year for our dive club newsletter. The article is too long for the scubaboard limits...send me an e-mail at philmangiaracina@pacbell.net and I'll e-mail the article to you.

This is a great article, Phil! Well written and informative. You might consider pinning it as a "sticky."

Thanks.

 

[rakkis]

A very common entry in and around Orange County, CA.

BD 1/3-ish inflated. All gear in place except fins. It's all about timing. There is no need to either enter or exit as soon as you get there. A little patience keeps your diet sand-free.

Entries: Turn sideways and lean forward into a wave so as to present as little surface area as possible. Hold mask/reg giant-stride style. Keep walking until chest deep. Turn around and put one fin on; kick past the surf zone. Put the other fin on. Of course if yo utime yoru entries well, there should be no need to brace against waves at all

Exits: Surface behind the surf zone. Wait for a lull. Kick on your back until you can stand. Fins off and walk backwards keeping the ocean in sight. Brace against waves as before if necessary.