freewillie
Contributor
The simple answer is how far before you can't kick back in on a surface swim. The obvious factors about current and surf conditions will apply. Also, you do have to worry about boat traffic. A dive flag may mark your position in the water but the boat operator still has to see you. There have been posts here about boats coming much to close for comfort.
You should always tell someone where you are going and what time you should be back when shore diving. If you have seen the movie 127 Hours the main character Aaron Ralston never told anyone where he was going and what time he was due back. He found himself in a life and death situation because nobody knew where he was to even start looking for him when they knew he was missing.
If you are taking a floating device for the dive flag then in addition to the other support gear don't forget to include some drinking water. The biggest concern for anyone in a survival situation is having enough drinking water.
Personally, all of the shore dives I do in California are only a hundred feet off shore or less. If the reef is too far off shore I'm not really interested in kicking out that far. I prefer to dive closer in anyways and always within a comfort zone.
You should always tell someone where you are going and what time you should be back when shore diving. If you have seen the movie 127 Hours the main character Aaron Ralston never told anyone where he was going and what time he was due back. He found himself in a life and death situation because nobody knew where he was to even start looking for him when they knew he was missing.
If you are taking a floating device for the dive flag then in addition to the other support gear don't forget to include some drinking water. The biggest concern for anyone in a survival situation is having enough drinking water.
Personally, all of the shore dives I do in California are only a hundred feet off shore or less. If the reef is too far off shore I'm not really interested in kicking out that far. I prefer to dive closer in anyways and always within a comfort zone.