Another Drowning at Monastery Beach . . .

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This is a hazard most people aren't well-informed about. I had no idea this was a hazard. Even now it sounds surreal; I've seen enough of TMHeimer's posts to take him at his word. I imagine going to a shoreline, standing there on dry rocks well away from the water with my back to it, looking at the timber or whatever...when suddenly this freakish big wave out of a horror movie sneaks up behind me, snatches me off the rocks and drags me out to sea and drowns me.

One of the warnings that is given to those that hike the NorCal shoreline. Another danger is the way big waves carve the shore during a storm, after the storm and it is calm an pretty you can walk out into the Ocean and the water can go from ankle or calf high to six feet deep 50 degree water in a step. It's usually a wake up call for the victim, but if waves are still coming in it can be fatal, especially to kids.

It's not that important for what a lot of us do. There are many scenarios in life where a hard-bodied fitness devotee might overcome the odds and survive. But in terms of the odds of that coming up, vs. the price of transforming and maintaining oneself in that way...well, obviously for many people, the juice just ain't worth the squeeze.

Don't always bet on the hard-bodied fitness devotee, a lot of survival is attitude and stubbornness.


Bob
 
I've been to Monastery Beach, well over a thousand times since the late 1970s and enjoyed the change of seasons and fish life over the years; am well accustomed to the steep beach, with its almost pea gravel, in lieu of sand; its step-up to get out of the water. But there are days where I will simply not enter, having been through the spin cycle and fluff and fold, on a few Winter days.

There were also times where conditions changed over the course of ninety minutes; and we had to wait to exit between wave sets, on the North shore. It is a spectacular site and among the top five places I have ever been, regardless of country; though its reputation is a bit saddening.

Here is a portion of a longer video, when we were first futzing with a GoPro:

 
Years ago, there was a t-shirt, sold through local dive stores, illustrating a poor sap doing the "monastery crawl." Techs, who worked on regulators, even recognized the pea gravel within, so-called "monster berries . . ."

This snippet, was from a nice Winter day, if I recall; and the depth at the very beginning (at the kelp holdfasts),was 20 meters, out near the splash rock -- great visibility . . .

 
Of course, we can't talk about Monastery without the Monastery Crawl.
Amazing stuff.
Yeah, I gotta look for places like that for a challenge.........will get right on it tomorrow.
 
For those who have not heard of sneaker waves, here's a video of one coming into Coos Bay, Oregon.


For those unfamiliar with the Pacific Coast of the USA, realize that there is nothing between this Coast ane the coast of Asia but the Hawaiian Islands, and they don't shield much from waves.

Some also take refuge on things like high logs on the Oregon Coast, not realizing that these rogue, sneaker waves are big enough to float and roll these logs, with those on them ending up under them.

I would also like to second Nemrod's comment about diver swimming ability and fitness; divers in my opinion need to be fit, with good cardiovascular fitness too. Many divers have adopted the cave divers' and technical divers' techniques, and they need to realize that the frog kick won't help them much in heavy current or a rip.

SeaRat
 
Of course, we can't talk about Monastery without the Monastery Crawl.

There's a bit of hyperbole to that clip. Almost, without exception, we were able to walk out of the surf, fins in hand, at the northernmost section of the beach. The almost carpet-like kelp canopy there, by the exit point, year round, served as a dampener to the waves.

Exiting in the middle of the beach was always a mistake; and we've dragged out both divers and equipment on more than a few occasions. I still have a basket with the odd mask, fin, weight, snorkel, or glove that we've retrieved from just offshore . . .
 
Years ago, there was a t-shirt, sold through local dive stores, illustrating a poor sap doing the "monastery crawl." Techs, who worked on regulators, even recognized the pea gravel within, so-called "monster berries . . ."

This snippet, was from a nice Winter day, if I recall; and the depth at the very beginning (at the kelp holdfasts),was 20 meters, out near the splash rock -- great visibility . . .

Wow! Epic vis
 
I love Monastery on a calm good vis day. I do get a laugh when I tell people what a great dive it is and they look at me like I just said I go sky diving without a parachute.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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