Beach/Shore Entry Techniques

[ScubaRev]

Living in S. California, I find shore diving to be a great way to get some dive time without spending a load of money, especially while saving up for the big gear purchase. I'm seeking advice on best techniques for beach entry/exit in light surf (say 2 to 4 ft). I always seem to get rolled by a well-timed breaker on at least one entry or exit. Not fun.

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

 

[spectrum]

How about:

BC moderately inflated so that once you are in some water you will float should you get bowled over.

Mask in place so you don't get blinded should you get bowled over. I think there's a bigger risk of losing it in hand than on your face.

Gloves on.

Fins hanging from BC on finkeepers
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/AQUF...l&AdvSrchSortField=Relevance&SortDesc=0&Hit=1
I get rid of the little clip and attach it with a SS split ring.

If it seems at all risky, regulator in mouth. This also insures that your primary won't get filled with sand in the turbid water.

Now all of your gear is secure and you can weather anything except a pounding into the rocks. If it looks that ominous this may not be the day to dive.

Wade in and with your free hands you can brace with your buddy if needed, like doing the Tango. Watch the waves and brace yourself with your feet spread perpendicular to the wave.

Get far enough to be barely finding the bottom and remove and don fins one at a time.
Go dive.

Reverse the procedure to exit.

Pete

 

[Crazy Fingers]

I think that for rougher surf, keep your mask on and your regulator in your mouth, your BC deflated, and fins in the hand. I think that having the BC deflated keeps you more in control because you "weigh" more and can thus use your legs more effectively. To me it feels like an inflated BC makes the breaking waves float you up off your feet, then knock you down, from which getting up is very difficult.

Keeping your mask on keeps the salt water from burning your eyes, or even getting sand in them. Having your reg in your mouth allows you to just breathe and not worry about timing it with the swells. Once you get out past the breakers, you should be able to put your fins on and swim out easily.

Now what will really be miserable is an entry where there is heavy surf and a bunch of rock/dead reef, full of big nasty holes just waiting to twist your ankle, all hidden by dirty water of course. Ask me how I know.

 

[MyDiveLog]

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.

 

[RikRaeder]

They way we learned it was to back into the surf fully-equiped (while watching over your shoulder) and when the breaker gets you, roll over and swim out under the waves.
On exit we crawled up the beach out of the water, then had our buddy come take off our fins and we reciprocated. You've got to be careful not to drag inflator valves, etc in the sand on this one.
That was my training and experience and it worked well in some pretty hairy surf.

 

[Charlie99]

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.

 

[m3830431]

They way we learned it was to back into the surf fully-equiped (while watching over your shoulder) and when the breaker gets you, roll over and swim out under the waves.

That works fine if your enter point does not have allot of large rocks. We have large rocks but the surf in not that bad because depending on the wind we enter at a protected area.

Ususally fully geared slight amount of air in BC. Put fins on in knee deep water, swim out and dive down.

 

[Doc]

Here's a tip for ending your shore dive....as in: How to find your exit!

As you go out and make the decision as to which way to turn "into the current", place a marker at that point... so you know where to turn in-shore for your return.

So you swim out to 20fsw, then place a weighted (2# of lead) 2 liter pop bottle with a ten foot string. (You don't need but an inch or two of air in the bottle lest it float away!)

When you return, just make sure you're in that same level (20fsw etc) and you'll find your marker and know where to turn back in towards your entry.

This is a Bonaire "must".

 

[RikRaeder]

Sorry. I guess I should have qualified that. My post was based upon an entry which is at a sandy, non-stoney gradual downslope through surf. We went in with no air in our bcs, fins on, ready to scuba as soon as the waves knocked us down (which they did).

 

[sbrooks]

I would walk out 'till I'm waist deep in water, wait for the surf to pass, and toss on the fins. Surface swim until you're a little deeper and go down!