Surf Entry With Scooter - How you do it?

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Rick Inman

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What's your exact method for doing a DPV surf entry when there is some good surf up? When do you don fins, clip off scooter? Swim past surf or scooter out? How about exit method as well?
 
Rick,

I teach the DPV Pilot specialty course and the short answer is that not many people like to lug the things across the beach. However, if you can handle that the rewards are many.
The easiest way to do a surf entry is with close coordination with your buddy team, of course ideally the surf will be reasonable for a normal entry. I always clip off the scooter and sort keep it out of the way to help minimize any complications...however understand, that for a new diver without a lot of surf entries this will be a complicated procedure no matter how you slice it. Float your BC and put on your fins in about chest deep water quickly between wave sets. Use your buddy to steady yourself if needed and then switch off. Once you get kitted up, use your snorkel and motor out to your dive spot on the surface, be prepared to punch through waves if there is any swell, this is actually kind of fun, however some folks feel more comfortable using the reg for big surf.

If this sounds challenging it does not have to be. Use common sense, take your time and try not to do any sort of beach entry without having any and all gear attached to you in some way IF you want to leave the water with it.
If you need to practice, try going down the beach and playing around with the scooter in the surf without your full SCUBA kit (try mask/snorkel/fins) just to get comfortable swimming around in surf with it. This is actually quite fun, people will think you are crazy but they all eventually ask if they can try it too.
 
I walk in with fins in hand. The scooter trigger is unlocked and the tow cord snapped to the scooter ring. Ready to dive, in other words.

As soon as it's deep enough, I flop down and scooter out. The fins go on when I'm out of the surf zone.

"Make sure" items: drysuit exhaust is open, wing is deflated, prop at max pitch.

Works easiest with a Sierra, naturally.


All the best, James
 
Oops, just saw the exit method part of your post.

Fins off well out of the surf zone, scooter in until waist deep, stand up.

Generally I drag the scooter by the nose strap (the fabric one on an X) on the exit, where as on the entry I'm carrying with right hand on handle and left hand on nose strap.


All the best, James
 
Works easiest with a Sierra, naturally.

Will be doing it today with a Sierra, thanks. :D
 
This is the fastest, easiest way to shore dive a scooter anywhere.

This is one trip from car to shore:

1. Traverse dunes(where I dive anyhow) in gear with scooter(Sea-Doo Seascooter GTI or VS Supercharged at 18# are the only scooters light enough to pull this off) in one hand, flag and fins in other
2. Wade into water
3. Drop scooter
4. Don fins, mask
5. Grab scooter and go

I've tried this with the Sea-Doo Seascooter Explorer at 32# (possible but arm fell off) and Apollo at 44#(forget about it)
 
I did not see a snorkel on Rick's avatar. He may need to get one at the dive shop first.:D

Ha! Not a chance!

We set up a table on the beach and took our time with my doubles, my buddy's rebreather, the scooters and 2 stage bottles each. We clipped on the stages (letting them rest on the table), clipped the scooters to our crotch rings, clipped our fins to a ring and walked into the mild surf. As soon as we were knee deep, we scootered past the break zone and put on our fins.

Easy. Then we came back in reverse.

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Paging Mo2vation...
 
Same as Jame's procedures.... (and Ricks) We use the X-tables to not clash with our X-scooters :)

On the exit I leave the scooter clipped onto tow ring then just start walking out holding the scooter by the shroud or t-handle....

I would not suggest leaving it clipped off to your shoulder then walking out as the sacrificial anodes do weaken and fail. This would make for a really bad day if it did...

Here's some pictures from older reports...
Scooter exits at Monastery

Step 1 Remove fins (either above or below the surface... your preference)
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Step 2 Hit Trigger
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Step 3 Walk out
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Step 4 Keep walking until you feel silly
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Obviously depending on local conditions your results may vary...
 
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