How many consider entry and exit of a shore dive a skill?

[Z Gear]

It is an ever-moving target depending on location and conditions.

Monastery Beach in Carmel California is well known as a difficult entry & exit even though it often looks quite benign:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1w_VCCjFA

[video=youtube;on1w_VCCjFA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1w_VCCjFA[/video]

Monastery is often called Mortuary Beach by locals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdPFysQjfCM
[video=youtube;CdPFysQjfCM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdPFysQjfCM[/video]

This place has kicked by butt more than any other sand beach I have ever dove off. Diving off the rocks in Northern California is a completely different skill and can be extremely dangerous.

Akimbo I have to say that is some thing I did not consider doing. Going in with my fins on was what I tried before but the difference was that I attempted to go in backwards. I totally lost my balance after the white water hit me. I really like this video you shared with us. I want to try this method and see how it works for me. I think this is going to be a step up from what I have been doing.

Thanbks
Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear Dive Mounts

---------- Post added October 10th, 2015 at 08:30 PM ----------

Shore entries and exits in surf or in a rocky terrain are very much a skill. It requires strength and some knowledge. Learning how to read the waves, time the sets and judge the intensity, are not something that can be learned in a book or taught in a lesson in a 2 day class. If a diver is weak or unskilled they can get in trouble in minor waves AND this is pretty much solo diving. Each diver needs to make it through the surf zone alone (unless the waves are trivial).

Most of the places I have dove, if the seas are really rough then the visibility is crappy and it is not worth diving anyway. If I am unsure of the conditions, I will check it out with a snorkel instead of scuba gear. If I make it out and back with little trouble, then I may decide to try it with a tank.

Yeah its kind of solo dive until you get past the surf zone, which is where we agree to surface and meet back up. Then proceed to kick out together to drop site location.

---------- Post added October 10th, 2015 at 08:39 PM ----------

We can talk all we want about shore entries during OW classes, but without a good opportunity to practice, what we say will not stick. Additionally, we can't teach every possible situation, so we usually go for the most common methods.

I have completed well over 1,000 dives in a wide variety of locations. Only a relative handful of those dives involved true surf entries. A lot of people will go through a long scuba diving career without even seeing one. Friends I certified as new divers two years ago have more knowledge and experience at it than I because they live and dive near San Diego. On the other hand, they don't know how to do some entries that I do routinely.

We teach new divers that when they dive in new locations, they need to seek some kind of local orientation. In many cases, that's the best you can do.

You're probably right about that. You can give good advice or instruction but it really needs to be practiced to become a skill set. I have tried certain things some have suggested on this board previously and they have helped me alot. Know Akimbo showed me a clip of a diver entering the with fins on, but he actually went on side ways and then did a turn and burn! That is a step up from what I have been doing. I also liked the example of the video showing his exit skills during a rough shore break situation. Really important to keep the reg on and crawl out. Very clearly showing how to perform these tasks was an eye opener for me and I hope it helped others as well.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Entries and Exits are definitely a SKILL. I primarily shore dive but I have had some pretty hairy boat entry/exits.as well.

My OW instructor insisted on preparing us for the local dive conditions. He refused to take his students to the "easy wade in and out sites". Instead he gave us rock platforms and jumbled boulders and the giant stride into "The Gutter" Some students refused to do the entries and went for the Instructors who did the easy sites.

His voice still echoes in my head when I face a challenging entry... "Reg IN Mask ON Mother Ocean is a B**** NEVER turn your back on her or she will GET YOU!" He taught us to count sets, to time it right all the necessary stuff for our entries here.

Just as important he taught us that we weren't prepared for diving where we weren't trained but the LOCALS ARE so the most important thing is to watch the locals and follow their advice/example.

I've only been trashed here once.. rock platforms are not very forgiving. The do bad things to your gear and body parts when they collide.

I've been trashed in a California surf entry but only once. It still seems all wrong to be in full scuba gear passing people surfing Getting over the breaking surf of the sandbars in Florida is another skill set.. yep follow the locals is the best advice.. but make sure you are following the RIGHT local

 

[TMHeimer]

No, it's not a skill. It's logic. I like Boulderjohn's mentioning that you should get an orientation when you visit an unfamiliar place that may have surf concerns. But that's just to know what you're up against. I was in Baja 2 decades ago and elected not to swim on the Pacific Coast one day because the drop off was apparently quick considering the huge waves crashing 10' from the beach. And it takes a lot to keep me out of the surf. Diving--geez, gage the situation. Eric S. pointed out folks losing equipment, breaking bones in the Cal. surf. I've also swam there--if it's that bad, don't dive that day. Another interesting (and much colder) place is Pacific Rim Park on Vancouver Island, BC
Hold your mask, firmly grip your negative fins while holding that damn dive flag (if needed and/or required). Take the wave sideways in some cases. Put your fins on at a time that makes sense--like maybe between wave sets. I talk like I'm the surf guru, when my serious surf diving has been maybe 2 times in New Jersey. 8 foot waves one time, quite an experience. But no, I didn't tumble, break bones, or consider what I did a "skill". Next week I have the usual benign Nova Scotia dive for scallops which entails climbing down seaweed covered rocks. Not a skill-- logic. A lot of it has to do with experience in and around the water. Regarding a few of the the open water students I've seen the last 4 years, I can easily imagine some of them losing equipment or breaking bones in real ocean surf. Hell I've seen stuff lost in the benign bays here in Nova Scotia.

 

[Searcaigh]

Perhaps a different type of shore diving, but when I lived in Saudi I did over 700 shore dives in the Red Sea, most were rather benign but we frequently had a few days of rough conditions when a southerly was blowing.

Technique was to loop the fins through the chest strap of the BCD, dump all air, mask on, reg in mouth and dive under each wave before it reached you until it was deep enough to put the fins on.

Exits were usually trickier and you need the fins off before it gets too shallow and this is where your buddy is useful so that as soon as your feet hit solid stuff hang on to each other and get out as quick as possible.

To make things a wee bit more challenging add a couple of DSLRs in housings with double strobes

 

[Neilwood]

Have to say I have no experience with swells but the shore entries I have done so far have all had similar issues - slimy, seaweed covered rocks that appear to repel rubber soled booties!

Technique that I am using is very small steps and taking my time - doesn't help that my right ankle has very poor lateral strength so as soon as I go off balance on that side, I am falling (due to twisting it very badly a number of years ago and re-injuring it a number of times later). Going to try a stiffer boot next time.

 

[spoolin01]

Most of the shore diving I've done is off the lava benches around Kona, Hawaii. It's definitely a skill to be learned the hard way when there's almost any swell at all. Identifying a spot where the risk of being dragged in or out is low, and learning to read the sets and anticipate the effect of tide change on the shoreline conditions over the 60-90 minutes you're underwater takes some experience. Making a poor choice can have dangerous consequences.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

My Dive number 13 we coined the phrase "Dive Warrnnambool and Die! Warned of the tricky entry Exit. Big wave hit me and knocked me off the ledge. Buddy grabbed my arm and I tucked so I didn't hit my head. Got be up without too much bruising and only 1 tear in the suit. Then he stepped onto a flat seagrass covered rock. He was ahead of me and when I saw his food go down deep into a hole and a big wave heading towards us. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed hard to keep him from falling and breaking the leg that was stuck. When w did a stride in off the rock platform viz was lousy and the surge was throwing us around and we were having trouble getting down. He started picking up some rocks.... Lava rocks are not good for weight Surge caught him and so did I as his head nearly impacted the ledge. The bottom lifted up and the biggest stingray I have ever seen before or after carried half the sand with it as it swam under us. We decided to thumb the drive and tossed about on the exit too.

Dive log reads.... We got tossed about.. we got wet, we saw a huge sting ray then we got tossed about some more! He was uspset with me for not warning him about the dive being 13. Bruises weren't too bad so we did Ewin Ponds the nest day. We should have BROUGHT Local with us but non of em wanted to die altho they gave directions and said.. it should be ok :doh:

 

[CuracaoJ]

It's most certainly a skill, and one that needs a lot more practice then just "teaching." I think the best thing you can do as far as learning is learn to read waves and learn to predict wave sets. Lots of surfing websites and you tube videos out there to help. Having the set info and the way the waves break on hand before you start your entry can make a very large difference.

 

[Neilwood]

BOP - the best thing I read there was when you both decided to thumb it before one of you got seriously hurt. It sounds like it would have been a matter of time.

Think that should always be in the mind of everyone as soon as anything unplanned happens or either gets the feeling - thumb it. Better to cut a dive short than get injured or worse.

 

[oldschoolto]

I've cleaned the entrance of a few sites on Bonaire of slime and sea urchins for the wife... Then walk in front to tell her where to step and when to move... No falls or problems , With she really likes.. And, It's good MAN CARD points....

Jim..