MissyP:
Do they exist?? As a new diver in coastal California, I'm getting frustrated with doing shore dives because I always seem to end up on my rear end in the surf....Does dealing with the surf get easier with time & experience, or am I doomed to be a boat diver?
I might have 50 o 60 beach dives in. I still get knocked down now and then. but
yes it does get easier. Just watch the local surfers. The trick is to do it a lot. get out there
at least once a week.
One thing you might try is to go to the beach with just snorkling gear. No tank or weights. Spend a good long time in the surf getting in and out. It is much easier with out the tank and weights. You need to lean about waves and using the water to _help_ you and use the forces
in the water you advantage. It is only natural for humans to be comfortable in an environment in which they have spend a lot of time in.
Most experianced beach divers carry the fins in one hand untill past the surf zone then lean back, floatng on back to do a figure four and put the fins on. Some other things you will see them (and surfers) do is to _not_ take the force of a wave face on. Stand sideways to the smaller ones, feet speard out and "duck" the larger ones, Just bend way down and let the wave go over the top of you. That white foammy stuff will knock you down if it hits you straight on but under the water it is calm. The wave passes in five seconds, you stand up and continue walking. Put the fins on before the water is to deep to stand in.
Tip when getting out. Pick a good depth the remove the fins. If to shallow you can fall over while standing on one foot, I deeper water you can pick up a foot and float. So you want water depth you can stand in but still float in. In the surf zone the watr depth changes with every passing swell and wave so _timming_ is everything.
The best advice I've gotten about diving is "it should be easy". If you are working hard you need to find a way to avoid that and relax. Once in waist deep watr you can float and the weight of the equipment disappears. use that to advantage and do the fin on/off routine leeting the watr support your weight. It's a matter of timming if the water is the wrong depth, wait a few seconds or move.
One importent thing: keep the reg in your mouth while in the surf zone and if you do get dropped and rolled hold on to mask and reg like they told you when learnning about the "giant straid"entry. The best way to get up after a knockdown is in deeper (three or four feet) water so wait for another wave to just pass and raise the water level s you can use "float" to lift your and the gear up.
One other tip. To avoid loosing a mask you can put the strap on _under_ your hood. A little hard to do with a snorkle but it works. Later whaen out past the surf fix it with mask outside hood.
