Surf Entries and Exits

[kidspot]

Having done about 30 entries/exists through surf now, with few being "graceful" I was wondering what advice folks had for safely/simply entering and exiting through surf? By surf I mean 1-2 ft. waves - over that and I find another location. . . My usual entry is . . . lull in the sets so go fast and get past the waves - not too bad usually. Usual exit is . . . here comes a wave, let's imitate a beached whale being rolled up on the sand - lol

Ideas? Anyone able to do an "elegant" exit especially?

Thanks ahead of time,

Tim

P.S. I shore dive mostly the Lahaina coastline.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Elegant? Me?

Reg in mouth is important both directions. I slip my fins over my arm on the way out so fast is easier. I sit down once I'm deep enough, slip them on and swim through what's left. Below the surface. On the way back I pretty much do the same but usually there's a part of the beach where the waves are flatter. I'll use that for an exit.

If there is a rip current I use that to get out.

 

[Dive Junky]

I personally like all my gear on both ways unless the bottom is real rocky then you need to take your fins off and on. If the bottom is sandy just crawl in and out, oh thats right you said graceful, I don't know if that's possible with dive gear on.

Always time your waves and watch for a pattern you can usually figure out when the next small wave is coming in. Make sure all your gear is on tight and never take your reg out of your mouth till' your well onto land.

Dive safe, have fun

 

[kidspot]

This came up because of a dive I did 3 weeks ago. Coming out I miss-timed the waves and ended up getting rolled over several (4-5) times on the beach. I was laughing so hard by the second roll that I stand a chance - tourists were on the beach laughing "with" me (OK I know they were laughing "at" me) my buddy was having the same problems, but I seemed to attract all the attention - it was one of those moments of pure lunacy/idiocy.

Tim

 

[SteveDiver]

Having done about 30 entries/exists through surf now, with few being "graceful" I was wondering what advice folks had for safely/simply entering and exiting through surf? By surf I mean 1-2 ft. waves - over that and I find another location. . . My usual entry is . . . lull in the sets so go fast and get past the waves - not too bad usually. Usual exit is . . . here comes a wave, let's imitate a beached whale being rolled up on the sand - lol

Ideas? Anyone able to do an "elegant" exit especially?

Thanks ahead of time,

Tim

P.S. I shore dive mostly the Lahaina coastline.

The easiest way for me is to avoid a surf entry! I hate it and will not pretend to enjoy a surf entry..last time I got the hell beat out of me on the exit...it's (for me) miserable and exhausting. This occured in Oahu with 2-3 foot waves...on exit of course we stayed low and held on at the time the back surge came then let go to be pushed inward then held on again. I was hitting myself on rocks etc. What made it somewhat easier is that my divebuddy and I held hands on the exit and came in together so we would not be seperated from each other in case one of us didn't hold on...

 

[kidspot]

I had not considered holding hands - that might give you a little more stability. . . course it would look rather odd . . . there goes the "graceful" part again - LOL

It's always the last 15 feet of the beach that is the tough part - Once in awhile at airport beach you can make a beautiful "3 point" landing as it has a very steep drop-off right at the edge of the beach (about 3 ft) so if you do it just right the wave lifts you up and you are left standing looking like a gymnast who just landed a perfect jump (unless you lose your balance and tip over, then you just look foolish)

But really - keep the ideas coming as they are some good ones - and every idea will be a solution to a problem that may crop up in the future.

Tim

 

[kidspot]

I was at the beach snorkeling 2 days ago as some divers left the water - it was one of the calmest days I had ever seen out there - But they had never been in the ocean before and I realized that the ocean is always unpredictable compared to a lake. I've been swimming in lakes, but never diving.

Boats are fun - but I don't like the expense and my stomach does not like the ride - so I actually prefer beach dives, even though I'll take a boat dive when it's available.

I have noticed that the ocean seems calmest at slack tide - would it be best to plan your exit around slack tide? Or when (according to incoming/outgoing tides) is the best time to go diving?

It also seems much more placid in the early morning hours (4-7am)

???

Tim

 

[friscuba]

I've got one or two suggestions which haven't been posted yet. Nobody's mentioned open heeled fins and booties yet, you'd think that's a given but I'm surprised how many people are doing shore dives in full foot fins.

Now to the entries. Fins off, mask on as soon as you have water available to rinse your spit/defog. Easy entry? Don the BC and put in the regulator and go, fins go on or off in waist height water.

If rough water or shallow, uneven and rocky and balance is a big issue, inflate the BC and float it tank down and pull it out to deeper water behind you 'til you are about waist height and beyond the major break and then surface don the BC. This works great when you are shorediving with divers who are small, weak or elderly and have a tough time negotiating entries and exits with 50-60 pounds on their backs. Reverse the order for exits, make sure you are shallow enough when taking off fins to keep in contact with the bottom, but not so shallow you get clobbered by waves.

Another great trick for those who want to wear their BCs througout the entry/exit - Duckwalk. Once you hit 18 inches or so of water, either duckwalk leaning forward or just fall forward with your BC partially inflated and push yourself with your feet the direction you want to go rather than standing tall and repeatedly falling and risking hitting your head on a rock or trying to swim against the surge. On the exit I start duckwalking as soon as I take my fins off in 3 or 4 feet of water and only stand when I'm real shallow. I can negotiate 30 feet of 2-3 feet deep surge zone in about 6-7 seconds doing this without fighting at all and since one foot is pretty much always on the ground I've got pretty good control.

On exits, especially so, watch the waves coming in behind you any time you are standing. You may have to turn sideways and brace your feet so you don't go for a roll.

I don't know what the Lahaina coastline is like, but this works great here in Kona where we have a fair amount of lava and coral to deal with in some spots. As you said, much more than 2 feet of surf you might as well find another spot or sit back and watch the ocean.

later,

Steve

Having done about 30 entries/exists through surf now, with few being "graceful" I was wondering what advice folks had for safely/simply entering and exiting through surf? By surf I mean 1-2 ft. waves - over that and I find another location. . . My usual entry is . . . lull in the sets so go fast and get past the waves - not too bad usually. Usual exit is . . . here comes a wave, let's imitate a beached whale being rolled up on the sand - lol

Ideas? Anyone able to do an "elegant" exit especially?

Thanks ahead of time,

Tim

P.S. I shore dive mostly the Lahaina coastline.

 

[kidspot]

You're not kidding about the open heal fins and boots - after the first time trying them I hope I never have to go back - SP Jets with spring straps are a "snap" to don in the water. And I got boots that have lug soles, so even over sharp lava rock it's like wearing my hiking boots - when I dive with friends who have full foot fins I am thrilled to have boots on (you can see their grimaces as they walk on the coral or whatever) I have a pair of jets and boots for all the kids I take snorkeling and they love em'.

I had never thought about dragging my bc out - of course I prefer having everything on and in order other than fins. But I'll remember that idea.

Lahaina is mostly reef and sand, not a lot of lava rock so at least if you fall down it's not as painful as that would be. But a number of the good dive sites have steep drop-offs (2-4ft.) right at the edge of the shore. Helps on entries to get deep water fast, but difficult to navigate coming out in the surge - unless you get that wave that just plants you on top of it standing up.

How many dives would you say it took before you were comfortable judging the surf and getting in and out comfortably?

Tim

 

[friscuba]

I tend to think I picked up my shore diving tecniques more by lucking into going out with the right people and figuring out what they did that worked for me rather than assigning a number of dives for comfort level. I ran into a gal early on when I moved over here who mentioned the duckwalking thing for getting out of a shallow slope that was surgy, it worked well. Avoiding big surf was more a matter of watching people get clobbered and nearly drowning themselves, I figured I'd just call it a day. The pulling the gear idea came from leading shore dives and watching women, kids and out of shape individuals really struggle with gear on thier backs... at first I pulled their gear and had them don in deep water or get out of the way on exiting, then I realized I didn't want to pull everyones gear all the time and found most people do just fine traversing the shallows as long as they didn't have the weight on their backs. Timing the waves came from taking classes in the surf in Oregon... I was lousy at it but at least learned not to dawdle 'til you get where you're going, of coure this was after several turns of getting rolled and becoming nearly exhausted.

I will say this, shore diving gets a bit harder (physically, a combination of leg strength and balance) if I've only done boat dives for a few months straight.

later,

Steve

You're not kidding about the open heal fins and boots - after the first time trying them I hope I never have to go back - SP Jets with spring straps are a "snap" to don in the water. And I got boots that have lug soles, so even over sharp lava rock it's like wearing my hiking boots - when I dive with friends who have full foot fins I am thrilled to have boots on (you can see their grimaces as they walk on the coral or whatever) I have a pair of jets and boots for all the kids I take snorkeling and they love em'.

I had never thought about dragging my bc out - of course I prefer having everything on and in order other than fins. But I'll remember that idea.

Lahaina is mostly reef and sand, not a lot of lava rock so at least if you fall down it's not as painful as that would be. But a number of the good dive sites have steep drop-offs (2-4ft.) right at the edge of the shore. Helps on entries to get deep water fast, but difficult to navigate coming out in the surge - unless you get that wave that just plants you on top of it standing up.

How many dives would you say it took before you were comfortable judging the surf and getting in and out comfortably?

Tim