Anyone else like shore dives?

[lowviz]

It happens. Sometimes it comes back around, other times it just dies. The difference between the endless sea of lurkers and the SB community is little more than the ability to grow scar tissue.

-give him his time.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Ok, I'm sorry, and from now on I'll shut up when the grownups are talking. Apparently, I'm not qualified to have any opinion yet, nor ask questions.

Sure you are ... but you need to understand that other people's answers may not be the same as yours because they have different perspectives. I'm happy that you have such easy access to shore dives. I do too ... got a nice site just a few minutes from my house that has pretty easy access. But a friend of mine broke his leg there a couple years ago getting out of the water. You don't see that happening too often from boats ... but he's not the first one who's hurt himself getting out there. Because even with easy access, it's more effort picking your way through rocks than it is clambering back up onto a boat.

My initial reply was in response to the OP talking about Maui. Have you ever been there? I have. There's a dive site there called Five Caves. It's accessible either by boat or from shore ... and lots of people dive it both ways. I can tell you that the folks who do it from shore put significantly more effort into getting to the site than the folks who go out on a boat. Same goes for some dive sites here at home ... Sunrise, Day Island Wall, Saltwater State Park, Northwest Island, Alki Fishing Reef, and a few others that folks commonly dive both ways ... in every one of them, the shore access is harder. But plenty of folks do it that way because it's cheaper, and it's worth doing. Head down the coast to California and you'll find plenty more like that ... I've done some of them. Go dive Deadman's Wall in Laguna, or go to Bonaire and do 1000 Steps or the Hilma Hooker both ways ... and decide for yourself which way takes more effort.

It's great to say you don't do those sites ... but then don't take issue with people who do, and who point out that doing them from shore often requires more effort. Because I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who's actually done them.

EDIT: I asked an honest question, man. Why the snark?

... because your response to me was pretty snarky. I tried to respond to your honest question with an honest answer, and you came back with more snark ... like you knew way better than me what the "correct" answer should be. I didn't deserve it, and I won't just passively accept it. You're as entitled to an opinion as the next guy ... but wait till you get out in the world and get a little experience before you presume that your opinion better represents a more "correct" perspective on the subject than somebody who's actually been there.

BTW, don't bother answering, I'm outta this thread anyway.

Your choice ... as always ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mike]

I can't believe even a benign subject like shore diving finally got a wing shot off and took a nose dive.
Does every thread here on SB finally unravel and go straight down the sewer hole?

It's the uncanny ability of some people to take posts that total over 20,000 words and pick out 6 words almost always irrelevant to the topic and to argue about them.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As far back as I can remember, I have always looked at the shore and wondered what was below the water.

If there is a place to dive, I would want to dive, just because I want to know what is there.

Was just up your way a couple weeks ago. Some nice shore dives in Saanich Inlet. Wanted to go do McKenzie Bight, because I had read that it's an awesome dive site. But we walked the trail down from the parking area without gear, looked at the entry, and decided that we just didn't want to work that hard. Ended up down the road at Willis Point, which is a pretty nice wall ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[IceCreamPirate]

Reading this thread made me realize that I have never actually been on a commercial dive boat. I was certified and made my first 80 dives in Bonaire, and only a few of those were boat dives. Since I was on an academic program, the small handful of boat dives I did do were all exclusively with classmates and professors, no more than 13 divers on the boat. After two years landlocked and low on funds (I am a student...), during which time I did nothing but some aquarium-cleaning dives, I now live in south Florida and am able to dive again. Hooray!! All of my dives so far here have been shore dives, and I am okay with that for several reasons:

1.) Cost (most important): since I already own my gear (besides a tank) and have been fortunate enough to usually have access to a borrowed tank and free air fills, I don't have to consider my budget if I want to go on a shore dive. I was invited on a boat dive tomorrow night but it costs roughly $80...just can't do that as a grad student.

2.) Convenience: if my dive buddies get off work late, a midnight dive is totally possible from shore.

3.) Enjoyability: since I've never been on a typical dive excursion, I don't really know what it's like to be dive with a random mix of people. However I have been on lots of snorkel boats for work and have witnessed the level of chaos that exists on the boat and in the water. I'd like to think a dive boat might be a bit more organized...but I just know I would hate to be diving and having people bumping into everything and scaring away animals. That's not a problem when you are diving with a group of 1 to 5 of your regular buddies.

I know I'm a relatively inexperienced diver, but I do think that the high frequency of unsupervised shore diving that I did in my first three months of certification in Bonaire was a good start to becoming a responsible diver. Diving with just myself and my buddy from shore caused me to be more aware of potential dangers as a new diver (knowing that there was no divemaster to bail us out if we were unprepared). Planning dives independently (as opposed to assuming that whatever a DM on a boat says is a good idea) also made me more aware of my personal standards for safe diving. Bonaire was/is a great place to see amazing things from shore and also to learn to dive responsibly without the aid of a pro (albeit, in basically ideal conditions).

That all being said, sometimes entries and exits can be rough. On my first shore dive in FL, I was (fortunately) the only person in a group of four who didn't spend some time rolling around in the surf on the exit (everyone was fine, just frustrated). Also, my understanding is in south Florida the underwater scenery is much better from boats. Still, there are some pretty cool ledges within ~400 yards of shore, and I don't mind a bit of surface swimming.


Edit:

Just saw a post above mention 1,000 steps in Bonaire and wanted to agree that it is a PITA to shore dive...getting to the water isn't so bad, but getting back to the vehicle is work. (Still worth it, though )

 

[TMHeimer]

IceCreamPirate, Agree with all you say. That's the way I started. There will always be a "random mix" when you are a "single" diver on a charter. I never thought of it as a situation where a DM would bail me out. I was lucky with my training here at Torpedo Rays.

 

[Bob DBF]

I can't believe even a benign subject like shore diving finally got a wing shot off and took a nose dive.
Does every thread here on SB finally unravel and go straight down the sewer hole?

You just get here ZKY, this is as predictable as a sunrise.



Bob
---------------------------------------
On the Internet you can choose to be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid.

 

[Searcaigh]

Kinda late on this thread, but here is my Riyals worth

When I lived in Saudi not so long ago, boat dives were rare and expensive.

Shore dives on the other hand were plentiful and for many years more varied with cost being as little at less than one US$ for a tank of air, plus fuel costs, which back in the 90s was negligible, even now fuel in Saudi is 18 cents a litre.

There were two types of shore diving

1. From a private beach

Cost around $20 to enter, but showers available as well as toilets etc plus usually food available too.

Sometimes these beaches were rather busy especially at weekends.

2. From a public accessible area

We did a few dives in Jeddah itself, but the coastguard were always an issue, always tried to avoid them when going in but it could be hit an miss coming out.

The best part of Saudi is the long Red Sea coastline, most of it uninhabited and the fringe reef running along most of it. It took a little bit more organising some times (4x4 was useful), and we would frequently travel in groups of at least two vehicles and camp out over a weekend, but we managed to dive some incredible virgin reefs.

I probably have over 700 shore dives in Saudi, and since I left in 1997 I frequently go back to Jeddah on business and always manage to squeeze in at least a couple of dives.

Here in UAE, two dives from a boat cost around $100 minimum with my own gear, two shore dives in Saudi probably less than $10

The advantage of shore diving for me is;

1. The ability to dive more or less in my own time.
2. No rush to catch a boat.
3. Solo diving always an option
4. Early morning dives if camping or staying at a private resort.
5. Proper night dives if camping or staying at a private resort, although sometimes we did night dives off the north corniche in Jeddah itself with the added thrill of avoiding the coastguard.

One of my criteria for choosing a dive location on holiday is the option to shore dive

 

[Diving Dubai]

I refained from this one.. but as I'm in a hotel bored.......

When I first saw the title of the thread my immediate thought was no,no,NO. I hate shore dives! But then I thought some more. I actually hated the 6 I've done. Only because they were on a beach, sand everywhere, and the dives were rubbish. Of course boat diving is much better.

Then I read some more, and thought some more and could identify with loads of opinions.
If i dive off a boat for 2 days then that means I lug 7 x HP 120 steels down the pier to the boat, and then the girlfriends 7 x tanks and of course 2 days later tired and hot we do the reverse... Hmmm

I chuckled at Ericat#75 complaining about boat maintenance - I look after the two boats at the club, which each go out at least once a weekend if not both days, and they need to be in the water the next weekend. Yup thats a PITA too, especially when even in the evening the temperature is in the 90's and the humidity in the 70's and above - not great fun.

So all things considered I've come to the conclusion that I don't care where I dive as long as someone else gets my gear to the water and all I need to do is strap it on and get wet - well thats how I feel sat behind my computer, however on Thursday when I get the call to go divign I'll be packing the car not caring about anything but getting wet... after diving of course I'll be muttering about wishing my gear could load itself, wash and dry itself and pack itself ready for next time ....

 

[markmud]

Hello OP,

I like shore dives. Some of my best dives have been shore dives---Puako, Two Step at Captain Cook, The Rubicon Wall, the reef in front of my brother's house in Manzanillo, and a few others.

I am usually a vacation diver. We live in Roseville CA, which is landlocked. If I am going to make the investment in time and a money to go diving, I may as well spend a few more dollars and boat dive.

Boat diving can be easier. Boat diving can give you more dive site options. Boat diving can fulfill the social aspect of SCUBA diving because the boat usually has other divers onboard.

Furthermore, my wife and I are 60 (average age of both). Our ability to perform long surface swims and then pack gear up stairs, up beaches, or to a parking lot has become an issue. We both exercise and try to stay reasonably fit. Age and mileage have taken its toll.

As we grow older, we will continue to focus on boat dives.

I have a friend who is on Scubaboard. We have discussed the use of Nitrox v. air. He is an air diver. My wife and I are Nitrox divers. One of my arguments for using EANX is that I am already spending a decent amount of money and time, why not spend a few more bucks. Nitrox has made our diving more pleasurable on some occasions--unfortunately, we don't know when EANx will pay off until we are diving and need more bottom time. This is the same argument that I am using for Shore v. Boat diving.

Sometimes shore diving works, and sometimes it does not (for my wife and I).

markm