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

[Cowtown44]

Yes, it's most definitely a skill. With the exception of one boat dive in AOW, all of my dives have been off the shore in Monterey. If you can't walk in, don't expect to walk out. My advice? Get some advice from divers with experience AT THE SITE, not just general shore entries. Each site is different.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

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.

Yep most important thing for a new diver to learn. Trust Me dives should be minimized IMHO all dives on course are Trust me dives to some degree. The first few off course are too.. Trusting the site information and more experienced divers. The sooner a diver learns when to refuse a dive or thumb a dive the safer they are! Next most important is to be comfortable telling anyone who questions you on it to get stuffed!

Shore dives at different sites have different features to be sure. Check with the locals, ideally watch them do it first then decide if you skill set is adequate to the dive. I have more different shore dive skill sets now because I have expanded my experience in steps that were appropriate for me. LOL right now my Entry Skill SET and my physical ability to execute one mean my decision is no entries till I get clearance Things change we need to keep that in mind as well.

 

[abscuba]

Shore diving is a very important skill and can very much be an art form. It is funny that people go get a boat diving specialty and they do not have a shore diving specialty. Shore diving can be much more challenging than boat diving depending on the site and the conditions. Divers must know them selves and their skill level and be honest when conditions are too rough for them. Here in Hawaii a dive spots can go from very easy to very challenging in a short amount of time. It is a good idea to talk to local divers if in a new area as they may no the unique challenges dives sites have. New divers should spend time with an experienced diver conducting shore dives to build skill and confidence. Even if people are seasoned divers with a lot of shore diving experience new locations have different challenges and can get folks into trouble if they are not expecting them. We see it all the time here and I have had to pull a few divers out of rip currents and rocks. Shore diving is an important skill and one that is never completely mastered.

 

[Dnaber]

I agree with ABSCUBA. I have never shore dived but would love to learn. As I see it more skill would be required in learning to read and understand the waves and current at shore dive site than falling off a boat.

 

[The Chairman]

It is funny that people go get a boat diving specialty and they do not have a shore diving specialty.

I disagree that either should be a specialty. Learning to read currents is incredibly simple and it's part of my dive briefing on the first set of dives. Wave height, direction, undertow and rip currents are all topics of how to read a beach. It's less than five minutes, albeit five important minutes. The second set of dives are off of a boat so they learn about space and time management there. Why? Both kinds of diving are quite common here in the Sunshine state. I want my students to be prepared for either scenario. I have upset a few dive ops since I don't use their boats for the first set of dives, but I'm OK with that.

 

[archer1960]

I've never had to deal with much surf here, because the sites I've dived so far have been very protected coves. But slippery rocks are the big issue, and the beach slopes are so shallow that you're walking quite a ways before you're in more than waist-deep water and able to put on fins and start swimming. At first I was not keeping my regulator in my mouth (though I did have my mask on), but a couple of near-falls told me that using an extra minute or two worth of air was much the better choice, over falling on the rocks with potentially no immediate air source.

 

[scubadada]

I spent my 1st 10 years of diving doing mostly shore dives in Southern California. Some of those dives were quite tough and we called several due to the conditions. Shore diving can be much more difficult than boat diving. If I lived in SoCal, I'd seriously consider taking the 3Rs (Rocks, Rips, and Reefs) from the LA County Underwater Unit.

 

[gchilcott]

Monastery Beach got mentioned a few times in posts above, and it's a good example of a difficult surf entry. In my training course we practiced entries and exits there over and over again -- and it does get easier. A surf mat is a big help in conditions like that, especially getting out when you can surf quite a ways up the beach on the mat. It's also a nicer way to kick out to a site in the kelp, or if you're lucky you can find a rip to float you out with less kicking. The mat can just be tied off to the kelp during the dive. A good, secure, harness is an asset if you get tumbled, as is a minimum of devices dangling from your rig. Being able to actually walk fast in your fins is also helpful. It looks silly, but it's possible with a little practice. Divers with big cameras, scooters and doubles must have a different set of tricks, but they do work it out even at entries like Monastery.

 

[TMHeimer]

I disagree that either should be a specialty. Learning to read currents is incredibly simple and it's part of my dive briefing on the first set of dives. Wave height, direction, undertow and rip currents are all topics of how to read a beach. It's less than five minutes, albeit five important minutes. The second set of dives are off of a boat so they learn about space and time management there. Why? Both kinds of diving are quite common here in the Sunshine state. I want my students to be prepared for either scenario. I have upset a few dive ops since I don't use their boats for the first set of dives, but I'm OK with that.

Yes to all of that. No specialties here. Perhaps I should re-phrase my response that surf diving is not a skill. It's really semantics, depending on your definition of "skill". A semi-experienced mountain climber checks out an area and decides he/she has the skill to do it, or better not. This to me is more experience and logic rather than a skill. But again, semantics.

 

[spoolin01]

I've never had to deal with much surf here, because the sites I've dived so far have been very protected coves. But slippery rocks are the big issue, and the beach slopes are so shallow that you're walking quite a ways before you're in more than waist-deep water and able to put on fins and start swimming. At first I was not keeping my regulator in my mouth (though I did have my mask on), but a couple of near-falls told me that using an extra minute or two worth of air was much the better choice, over falling on the rocks with potentially no immediate air source.

Felt-soled booties take care of slipper rocks pretty well. I never see them around here but they are commonly sold in Hawaii, and that's what I use there. The felt is sold as an add-on at places that sell fishing waders, I've noticed. The downside to felt booties is they don't work well on fiberglass boats.