New to coldwater diving - help please!

[Ben_ca]

Just to add to the other comments, if you're after dive buddies there's a pretty strong community around here. It's not the easiest diving, but it's absolutely amazing and totally worth it.

...and find a mentor.

 

[kimbalabala]

Teresa, I'm 5' 0" and when I got OW certified I also got drysuit certified at the same time. In retrospect, that probably was more of a challenge than was prudent for ME. I weighed about 110 and whined so much about the weight I was carrying I'm still surprised nobody decked me!! I was carrying 26 pounds of weight for the drysuit dives (fresh water). I'll never be a drysuit diver but I got a Henderson 8/7 (hooded) and it seems to be fine down to about 55 degrees. In my 8/7 I carry 18 pounds of weight (again, fresh water) and I have switched to aluminum 63's. One of the guys from our LDS got a Lavacore wetsuit and swears by it.

Btw, I LOVE how organized you are about this! Your log book must be a thing of beauty!!

 

[iztok]

OP, Breakwater was my first successful shore dive in the ocean (doing quarry diving from shore before) and it is fairly well protected compared to some other sites around Monterey (so I've been told). Community there is awesome (I miss PacificGal/Kristina!) and you should have no problem finding people to help you master drysuit diving there.

To perhaps add to what people said (steel tank, BP/w) what I found beneficial (and changed from my first attempt of shore diving in LA - Veteran's Park) is to ditch my split fins with paddle fins (F1 Hollis) that have spring straps. This way I can walk in past the surf area and then put fins on quickly. Same way on exit, take the fins off and walk out. Easier to time the surf and be in and out quickly.

Another option is (but might complicate things) to get off of backmount into sidemount. Where you can bring tanks to the water and put them on there. However that is whole another animal by itself to master.

Breakwater is nice to learn as you can stick to the right side where surf is minimal or you can move towards the center where there is more surf to practice it. I know dive shop right at the peer carries steel tanks for rental in various sizes for you to try out.

 

[NorCalDM]

" it's ok to put on / take off the gear in the water"

I would not recomend this one for most of the shore dives in Monterey/Carmel. You will be dealing with some surf at most of these sites and it will be safer to have your gear secured on your back so you can bust through the surf zone you don't want gear bouncing around in the surf. If you have to carry gear to the water it might as well be on your back. It does get easier!

 

[jar546]

My humble opinions and comments in RED below. Almost every piece of advice given by others is pretty darn good:

Hi:

Many, many thanks to all who weighed in (so to speak). Here's the summary:

Equipment
- Go to a steel tank (NorCalDM, Bubbletrubble, Jorgy, TSandM, kenns, sambolino44, mathauck0814, Colliam7) Yes, yes, yes
(a smaller steel tank may work for short/shallow dives but watch for air consumption)
- Go to a BP/W with steel backplate and cam bands (Bubbletrubble, TSandM, sambolino44, mathauck0814, Colliam7) yes, yes, yes
- Use a weight belt instead of integrated weights (thalassomania, sambolino44, Colliam7)
- Distribute weight for better trim (NorcalDM, sambolino44) Yes, should go without saying
- Try a neoprene drysuit to stay warmer (kenns)
- Try Gator wraps to manage boot bubbles (FinnMom, Colliam7)
- Try Weezle Extreme+ undersuit to stay warm even when flooded (FinnMom)
- consider double tanks (FinnMom)
- Consider a wetsuit instead of a drysuit (temet vince)

Skills
- Do a weight check to avoid overweighting (thalassomania, Bubbletrubble, Colliam7)
- Work on buoyancy and trim control to reduce weight requirement over time (Colliam7, Bubbletrubble)
- Learn how to figure out when conditions will be benign and good for diving (Bubbletrubble)
- Learn the "tricks" of entries/exits when surf is present. (Bubbletrubble, kenns, Colliam7)
- Stick to an exercise plan with aerobic and strength training (Bubbletrubble, sambolino44, kenns, FinnMom) Yes, absolutely
- Learn the tricks of how not to flood the suit (scoobydrew, Bubbletrubble)
- Be smart about managing gear, e.g. put equipment on when standing up, gear up close to the entry point, work with your buddy, use a rocky ledge to stand up (scoobydrew, sambolino44, FinnMom, TSandM, Colliam7)
- it's ok to carry weights in/out separately (Jorgy, TSandM, FinnMom)
- it's ok to put on / take off the gear in the water (TSandM, FinnMom, Colliam7)

Other
- Keep diving and it'll get better (kenns, NorCalDM, Bubbletrubble, scoobydrew, sambolino44, FinnMom, heck, that's about everyone!)
- Do a lot of dives at some of the easier shore dive sites, and try other locations - Carmel or Macabee (NorcalDM
- Find a dive buddy with similar goals (Bubbletrubble)
- Get a DM or experienced diver to assist in the learning process (scoobydrew, Bubbletrubble)
- Yes, the weight of the gear can be overwhelming when starting - it gets better (TSandM, FinnMom)
- Yes, female divers can enjoy cold water diving (NorCalDM, kenns, FinnMom, TSandM)
- It's ok to ask for and accept help (TSandM)

Thanks again to all - I feel much better and will keep at it. You guys are awesome!

Teresa

I commend you for your attitude, keep up the good work and safe diving.

 

[XS-NRG]

I haven't quite read all the posts but being a very cold water/shore diver myself I have had the same problem of being tired, falling down at the shore and needing to get back up to get out of the water. There is a very simple trick though that will accomplish this (depending on surf conditions). If you find that you've fallen down, and on your knees, spin around and actually proceed away from the shore with your BCD inflated and in no time your feet will be off the bottom and you'll be floating. Now turn back to the shore and once you are on your feet again (take your fins off, if you haven't already) and then continue to slowly walk up the shore. If the gear is too heavy and you're tired then doing this will take away alot of stress and requires virtually no effort (again, surf conditions considering).

Try that next time you're absolutely exhausted and having some issues. Just remember to keep that reg in your mouth in case you fall again.

 

[Frosty]

OP just to offer some reasurance. Im a fairly fit mid build bloke. My early dives were all boat dives in warm water so about as easy as it gets.
When I did my first shore dive I was in a 7 mm wetsuit in NZ. Frankly I was covered in sweat just getting into the water. The dive itself was great fun but then getting out and I could barely stand let alone walk back up the beach with all my gear.
Fast forward to now and I don't think twice about walking to the shore or even carrying extra gear for other people.
If you are like me you will find that you learn ways to lift your gear and get more dive fit as time goes by

 

[phishphood]

I don't have much to add to this discussion. Anything I can think of as a non-drysuit diver has already been mentioned multiple times over. But just out of curiosity, have you tried diving in a 2pc 7mm suit? It should help with the buoyancy issues at the very least since there's no air bubble moving. What I can offer is to be a dive buddy that'll be more than happy to sit on the bottom with you and trade weights til you get the right amount you need. With holiday from school coming up, my availability during the week increases. And yes, Breakwater seems to be about as calm as it gets around the area and you can't beat the parking lot being right there w/ Glenn's Aquarius II also.

 

[volauvent]

Hi:

Thanks to all for your help and encouragement.

I'm happy to report that I've done 6 more dives in Monterey Bay, and am going to dive Point Lobos next week!

The steel tank and BP/W helped a lot. Having my own gear helped a lot. And most importantly all the love from the SB community helped me get back on my fins (so to speak)!

Here are the little things that made a big difference:
- Going with an HP100 instead of an AL80. (OMG it was night and day!)
- Going with a BP/W configuration
- Getting a Husky X-sawhorse worktable (a common sight in Monterey) for gearing up and to rest the tank on until the last possible minute.
- Rubber fins with spring straps

On my most recent dive, -there was some very soft sand at Macabee and it was a bit difficult at first to get on my feet, but then I remembered the advice from XS-NRG (relax & back away - try again when ready), and got it on the second try. Not stressing out made all the difference!

Thanks again and happy holidays to all!
-Teresa

 

[iztok]

Awesome!



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