Shore Diving Class

[dytis-sm]

As noted above the 3R program by the LA county lifeguards is the best such course and it is free. Not only they teach you how to read waves but have you practice their techniques in the surf. They also teach you reading surf reports and determining whether it is safe to enter. Highly recommended

http://www.lacscuba.com/rocks-rips-reefs/

 

[DivemasterDennis]

When we are at a new site, and this was really important on Kona, where there is great shore diving but the entrance and exit at many sites is a little rough, we get a briefing from a ocal shop familir with the sites, and when possible go out with local divers or those who have the done the site before, usually meeting up at a dive center, or just seeing them at the site. After a few times there, we became the familiar ones to assist others new to the venue. The more you experience varied conditions and locations the better one gets at assessing the situation and creating a safe dive plan. It's not really a "take a class" thing. It's and experience thing.
DivemasterDennis

 

[tracydr]

Im surprised more shops with local diving dont offer something like this, but then it would probably take away from their "boat" revenue. I dont think an agency needs to get involved, as that will simply cost more. But it would have some value if you have never done a shore dive before.

I dont know if its "right" but I too struggled on the exit until I decided to climb out of my BCD before exiting. This allowed me to climb out quickly and then simply throw/lift the bcd to safe ground. (gentle as possible). I found I got out quicker and my gear didnt get knocked around as much.

Of course each entry/exit is different, and must be planned for accordingly. I also learned that getting in and out before the dive with just fins and mask gave me a good idea of potential problems.

That's a great idea, taking off your gear before exit. The only issue I can see with it is that if you do get knocked down, you're not connected to a ready air source. On the other hand, it's easier to stand up and get out of the shallows if you don't have weights and a tank weighing you down.

 

[Steve_C]

In NC there is relatively little shore diving done by most divers (not counting quarries). Depending on who is certifying them OW training dives are either done in quarry with shore entry which provides zero training in any other type of entry or conditions, or on boat dives at inshore wrecks. The shops that I know that do the boat OW training dives, use the boat for dives 3 and 4.

Getting back on a boat or on shore is radically different when rough than when calm. You need to time it when rough for both but with the boat you want as little time as possible between when you are a bit away from the ladder and when you are firmly planted on the ladder. A one shot movement. The surf seems to be more a series of timing issues. But I have a lot more boat than shore ocean experience.

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For a true beach dive. It can be a long way from the surf zone to dry land. No way to hand off equipment.

 

[nolatom]

Which beach were you injured at? Different beaches require different strategies. Vet's can have a steep step right at the shoreline at times. If there are small to medium waves you can crouch down behind the step and let the wave lift you over it. If you miss the timing you can always crawl out. Laguna Beach is relatively easy with moderate surf. Just keep making your way slowly toward shore. When the water stops moving, run quickly. La Jolla Shores can look brutal, but more often than not the waves have little power behind them. When you hear/see/feel a wave coming up from behind, turn sideways to it, bend your knees and let it pass by before continuing toward shore.
Marineland (Terranea) is another story. If the surf is three feet or higher, go home. You will probably join the long list of divers injured here. If it is diveable, surface behind the surf zone. When you can stand on the bottom, remove your fins and hold on to them for dear life. Take baby steps toward the rocky beach, stopping whenever a wave is coming. Never turn your back on the surf here. Don't rush when you get close to dry land. Continue taking baby steps until you are completely out of the water. If you fall you can either let the surf pull you back out and try again or crawl to the rocks and hope a wave doesn't smash you face-first into the ground.

Don't do it this way


Also, never try to enter from Long Point if there is any water movement.

Well, that looks to this boat diver to be worse than my New England rocky beach entries, big rock field plus the surf.

Question re learning how to handle a particular beach--would it be wise for random beginners to try the entry with no gear first, just swim it to get the feel? Then ditto for exit as you come back in to shore for your gear?

 

[tracydr]

It's surprising how often we hear of divers doing the OW dives from boats. Some instructors just don't want to deal with beaches/tides. Also it's good steady business for the charter operator.

I agree that this is an under taught topic. Too often it's blown off as common sense but so a new diver, especially one not raised at the shoreline nothing could be further from the truth.

Pete

Or, more likely, the instructor doesn't know how to shore dive.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

One of the best tools for safe shore entries and exits I've used is an old-school "surf mat". These were a fixture on California beaches back in the '60s. The original purpose of the mat was for surfing, much like a boogie board, but it turned out to be a great tool for shore diving as well.

Some photos from the old days at Monastery Beach.



By the late '70s nobody surfed with these mats anymore (boogie boards worked way better) but we continued diving with them well into the '90s.

For beach entries, the mat would get you up and over breaking waves, and past the surf zone quickly. For rock entries, it provided a lot of flotation, so you could kick out in very shallow water instead of stumbling through to snorkeling depth.

For beach exits, you could literally "surf" waves that would deliver you far up the beach. Then stand up, turn around and shuffle backwards. And for rock exits, you could kick in much closer to the water's edge, to minimize stumbling through the shallow rocks.

Oh, and the mat also made long surface swims a breeze. And it was a great platform for rescues.

These mats are long gone. Nobody uses them any more. However, in years of shore diving sometimes very heavy conditions in Carmel/Monterey, I never saw a person using one get worked over in the surf. During those same years, we ended up rescuing lots of "crawlers" getting pummeled by shorebreak.

Laugh all you want, but these things were great. I actually still have two in my garage, and used one as recently as 2011 on a pretty big day at La Jolla Shores.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's a GREAT question. Until I visited Bonaire for the first time around 2006, essentially ALL of my diving had been from boats, and I hadn't made a shore entry/exit since my OW class 10 years earlier. And even in the OW course, only the initial training dives were done from shore (La Jolla Shores!); the final OW checkout dives were boat dives. I was really apprehensive about Bonaire and asked questions here on SB about shore diving in general. The idea of just walking into the water, without really knowing if there were any recommended procedures and without any dive op personnel about to offer assistance, was daunting. I have always thought it bizarre that PADI offers a Boat Diving specialty, since boat diving seems like a no-brainer to me, yet does not offer a Shore Diving specialty, since it seems to me that shore diving comes with a host of considerations for the diver to think about and often no one around at the site to offer assistance.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't really understand the question. Does it really take a specialty class to learn how to get into and out of the water? OW class is supposed to train you for diving in your local conditions (assuming that's where you train).

I learned how to dive in an area that's predominantly shore diving. My OW class covered how to enter and exit the water without hurting myself.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[nimoh]

One of the best tools for safe shore entries and exits I've used is an old-school "surf mat". These were a fixture on California beaches back in the '60s. The original purpose of the mat was for surfing, much like a boogie board, but it turned out to be a great tool for shore diving as well.

Some photos from the old days at Monastery Beach.

View attachment 176037View attachment 176036

By the late '70s nobody surfed with these mats anymore (boogie boards worked way better) but we continued diving with them well into the '90s.

For beach entries, the mat would get you up and over breaking waves, and past the surf zone quickly. For rock entries, it provided a lot of flotation, so you could kick out in very shallow water instead of stumbling through to snorkeling depth.

For beach exits, you could literally "surf" waves that would deliver you far up the beach. Then stand up, turn around and shuffle backwards. And for rock exits, you could kick in much closer to the water's edge, to minimize stumbling through the shallow rocks.

Oh, and the mat also made long surface swims a breeze. And it was a great platform for rescues.

These mats are long gone. Nobody uses them any more. However, in years of shore diving sometimes very heavy conditions in Carmel/Monterey, I never saw a person using one get worked over in the surf. During those same years, we ended up rescuing lots of "crawlers" getting pummeled by shorebreak.

Laugh all you want, but these things were great. I actually still have two in my garage, and used one as recently as 2011 on a pretty big day at La Jolla Shores.

sounds great for entry/exit, but what do you do with it while diving?