I wanna sneak around

[maderadiver]

Misleading title

I have a sunday boat dive and i am going to be staying the night on the boat which boards at 8 sat night due to weather on the grapevine i was planning on comming down much earlyer in the day sat to avoid icy conditions

So the question is are there any beach sites for a first time beachdiver close to ventura. I don't need a amazing site just one thats somewhat calm and i can practice entrys and exits and get my legs warmed up some

On the other hand is it worth the added residual nitrogen and dcs risk to beach dive before boat diving granted we all like to dive as much as we can but I always error way on the side of caution for residual because several reasons

Im overweight and have been told this put you at higher risk due to the offgassing nature of fat tissues

My sac rate is pretty high

I am a ex smoker (recent quit around 5 months)

The drive home involves the grapevine which is a pretty high mountain pass ( depending on my final numbers i may be getting a hotel room for sunday night )



So all that combined is why I try to stay above k on my pessure groups

 

[geoff w]

Given all the conditions you stated, if this is your first beach dive you might want to go out with someone experienced to guide you through the process, even though beach diving conditions now are excellent. If all you want to do is practice beach entry and exit, definitely start getting acclimated without any dive gear, i.e., just with mask, fin and snorkel (and no weights). It's easy for experienced beach divers to lose gear if an unexpected wave hits, so keep that in mind if you're planning a boat dive on Sunday. Also, you should probably find a place with a lifeguard and check in with them so they can help you if you have a problem. Leo Carrillo on the north side of the parking lot might be a good option, and has showers for washing all the sand off your gear; no dive boat is going to be happy if you show up with gear covered in sand

Spring straps for your fins really help for beach dives

If you do go out on Saturday to splash around off the beach, keep in mind your wetsuit is going to still be wet and probably pretty cold when you put it on the next morning

Tejon Pass summit is 4,160 feet, which is kind of high after diving all day

 

[stevensamler]

Misleading title

I have a sunday boat dive and i am going to be staying the night on the boat which boards at 8 sat night due to weather on the grapevine i was planning on comming down much earlyer in the day sat to avoid icy conditions

So the question is are there any beach sites for a first time beachdiver close to ventura. I don't need a amazing site just one thats somewhat calm and i can practice entrys and exits and get my legs warmed up some

On the other hand is it worth the added residual nitrogen and dcs risk to beach dive before boat diving granted we all like to dive as much as we can but I always error way on the side of caution for residual because several reasons

Im overweight and have been told this put you at higher risk due to the offgassing nature of fat tissues

My sac rate is pretty high

I am a ex smoker (recent quit around 5 months)

The drive home involves the grapevine which is a pretty high mountain pass ( depending on my final numbers i may be getting a hotel room for sunday night )



So all that combined is why I try to stay above k on my pessure groups

Hello , welcome and congrats on passing your open water cert it's just the beginning. Most weekend boats have ow students onboard so most sites will be shallow with little or no current and good surface conditions, listen to the dive briefing , don't be afraid to ask for help or information regarding the dive site. Captain usually drops the hook in 20'/25' of water with 35'/50' under the boat and may be shallower on repetitive dive sites. As you had mentioned you have some conditions that are of concern , if I were you I would plan on diving in 25'/40 fsw and with your high sac if you make it 30/40 min of bottom time that's great. Most SI are one hour +/- depending how eager you are to get back in the water , so technically you will be a b,c,d or e diver for most of the day. Enjoy your diving whilst working on relaxed breathing and buoyancy. Even though there won't be much rnt after such profiles every ones physiology is different I would wait to drive the grapevine. Cheers.

 

[maderadiver]

Well the best laid plans of mice and men


Got to the first site bj cove on santa cruz

The bad vis 10-15 feet 70 foot bottom multi directonal surge water temp 58-59

The good a experienced diver was there as moral support for there friend taking there ow dives he dove with us and i am so glad he did

So I'm last in the water we all sign down and i deflate my bcd. Get about 4 inches down. Not enough weight 6 more pound still not going down I'm getting hot so i vented my suit from the neck ( farmer jhon style) huge air bubble between my legs fills and I'm 15 feet down before i can get neutral

So we continue the dive we cruised around had a few eq problems worked them out got to the rocks buddy scared a lobster out of its hole and showed it to me very interestings creatures so tryed to take a picture camera wont work stwrt to swim around asked wife for air pressure she signed 750 i had 1000. We got with buddy signed up and boat found the ancor line

We started up i was just a few feet away from the line a group of seals buzzed me and turned to see them swim away durring that time my back was turned the surge got me and pushed me away from the ancor line i had not twken a proper heading so i swam they way i thought i had come but I'm in blue(greenout) water can't see buddy can't see bottom can't wee line I'm at 15-20 feet of water for a few minutes and i was just about to call it and do my safety stop. And surface when i saw the buddy we come down with he guided me back to the line. Were my wife was doing her stop we are 10 feet off the boat i check my air i had burnt it down to 300 I came up the second i hit the step they told me to strip gear and stow it wway thwt the heli was inbound and we had a dcs emergency a old gentmen in annother group

Somehow my dive computer would not turn on so i have no idea what my real bottom time depth or rnt. I declined to dive the rest of the day


I admit the site was over my head and i was grateful for the diver that dove with us he kept us both from getting hurt and i think it might be time to find a pool and drill skills untill there natural

 

[catalina_mike]

You have just learned a very important lesson. "I admit the site was over my head and i was grateful for the diver that dove with us he kept us both from getting hurt and i think it might be time to find a pool and drill skills until there natural" Good for you to know what you do and don't know. Experience is just that and it takes time to learn. Now that you have the keys to the castle the real learning starts. Keep diving and self analysis. I see plenty of people think they are under weighted and it is because they are anxious and not exhaling a normal breath. Day trips to Catalina are very popular and it is a great entry at the park.

 

[Drin]

tryed to take a picture camera wont work stwrt to swim around asked wife for air pressure she signed 750 i had 1000.

I'm very glad to hear you made it back safely given the conditions and the events you described.

I'm concerned that you're carrying a camera and trying to use it at this point in your diving experience. I think you'd be better off minimizing your added task loading and leaving the camera at home. I know and understand that it's tempting to carry it along and that you want pictures to show your non-diving friends but using a camera adds a level of complexity to your dive that you're better off without right now.

Focus on becoming comfortable in the water, learn to use bottom structure to navigate and work on your air consumption and buoyancy. No-one can tell you when you'll be "ready" to take your camera on dives but given the situation and circumstances you described I'm reasonably sure now is not that time.

-Adrian

 

[Damselfish]

I agree about the camera - I was surprised when your description of the dive mentioned one, especially since you said you wanted to practice entries and exits. I know it's tempting but it's definitely too soon for you to be messing with one on top of everything else. (Even my husband, who is an experienced UW photographer with around 800 dives, will occasionally leave his camera topside for the first dive in certain situations. Granted it's a BIG camera, but the basic idea still applies.)

Sometimes dives don't go well. You seem to have the right attitude and should learn lots from this experience. When you have enough potential issues and new things on a single dive, the odds of something going wrong go up. You want to improve your odds by reducing the number of things that can go wrong.

As far as beach diving before boat diving being ok or not, that's too general a question. Heck, people are known to go on vacation and do 5-6-7 dives a day. It depends on your profiles, the environment, your experience, and the degree of conservatism that is right for you.

 

[orangelion03]

Good advice about keeping your workload light as you develop your skills. I had at least 30 dives under my weight belt before I purchased and used a camera underwater. With the camera, and any new kit I was trying out (dry suit, strobes, etc.), I made a point of heading to Avalon's dive park. About as controlled an open water site as you will find with (generally) easy entry/exit. Perfect for practicing skills and learning to use new gear. Winter rates at the hotels are cheaper and you can find some good deals.

Oh, it's a great place for night dives too!!!

 

[maderadiver]

Thanks for the feed back and i agree that it was a bad idea to bring the camera in my denfense i usually just put it on video strap it down and forget it but it does add weight a snag point and distraction while i attach it

I wish i was closer to the sea so it was not such a huge production to get into a dive