Entries through breaking waves.

[Phil_C]

I'm with northernone - with side mount in breaking waves I have my fins clipped off onto a shoulder D ring, I turn side on to the waves to reduce my profile and get negative as soon as I can. My fins have spring straps so I can get them on quickly. If it is a shallow sloping entry and I can easily get beyond where the waves are pushing me in I will put fins on at the surface, otherwise I get negative, go to the bottom and sort my fins out there.

If I have to get negative before putting fins on I tend to 'walk' my way out using my hands on the bottom.

If it is too rough to do one of those I don't dive the site.

It is probably worth mentioning that I dive side mount with hard connectors at the shoulder D ring (Dive Rite Ring Bungees) so the tanks don't have that much movement compared to bungees alone.

- P

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

As a fairly experienced shore diver and one who has encountered some pretty respectable surf, I believe after having my ass kicked more than once that the less gear and the least encumbered the person is the more agile they are and the better they fare.
I've never sidemounted personally but I've studied photos and heard enough that I think it would be very taxing and maybe even dangerous and foolhardy to try a surf entry with that much clutter with anything larger than a shin slapper.

When I shore dive I typically choose a single tank that isn't so big that if I get knocked over I have trouble getting back up before the next wave hits. It's usually the second and third waves in the set that do the damage once the first one takes you out. Rolling around in the surf getting everything beat up and packed with sand is no fun, and it can get downright life threatening in some cases.

I go in fully suited up except for fins about 50% of the time. If the surf isn't bad, let's say one or two footers that break no higher than your thighs I'll have my fins in hand and march in and put fins on (as fast as I can!) in chest high water. If It's bigger than that I have fins on before I get in and side step or back step in until I'm in deep enough to flop in on my belly and kick like hell to get through the surf with reg in. It helps to wait for a big wave to come in first then when you hit the water it will help pull you out.
That would be tough to do with two tanks side mounted, and even doubles for that matter.

However, with all this said, the trip out isn't always the scary part, sometimes it's the exit. I've had surf build as I was out doing my dive.
Coming in tired from the dive, the surf entry, the hike to the beach, all of it adds up so the end of the dive and the exit can be the most challenging part. If the surf is big from the start you either have the option to not go in, or you could fail at trying to get in, and in both cases you go home. If you barely manage to get in and the surf builds while you're out there you're screwed.

There are strategies for getting out during huge pounding surf like completely emptying you BC and coming in on the bottom letting the surf go over you and crawling out on your hands and knees, but that could be a problem trying to do with two sidemounted tanks

 

[Razorista]

With a sidemount config you do not really have the single tank option, because it would unbalance you against the waves when standing up.
You can use small tanks, however.
The main advantage sidemount offers is to me that the tanks reach the water much earlier than when carried on ones back.
When they reach the water the weight does not matter anymore and you only have to be able to turn around when the waves finally push you over (hopefully after putting on the mask).

Coming back in with a mild surf is actually a lot of fun.
You approach close to the bottom, kick off the fins drifting, rise out of the water and only have to be fast enough to prevent the next big wave from pulling you feet out under you.
Tricky on slippery rock but great on sandy shores or free floating above a drop-off towards a ladder.

The main advantage to me of using a sidemount configuration in rough waters is the option of saving my life with the expensive emergency measure of dropping one or two tanks when I cannot manage to reach the shore encumbered or be crushed against rock when I manage to reach it anyway, an option not available an a backmount config.
But I also found that the configuration is ideal to take advantage of moving water:
You can always decide if you want to present a very large or very small profile or anything in between, just by turning 90 degrees.
You can 'surf' any current and can twist and turn instinctively to increase the survivability when loosing control.
You can also walk much more freely and are generally more stable against being pushed over or falling.
When you fall you can do so without hurting yourself even on hard surfaces and you can also stand up faster and with less risk of unbalancing yourself halfway.
...

Try it, you will love it. (but - of course - do not overestimate yourself, small steps). ;-)

 

[Bennno]

It's easier in BM. You can walk in with tanks attached but they will be moved by the waves and make it harder to keep your balance.
Entries in rough contitions with high latters and climbing over rocks are safer in BM because the tanks can't move about.

I generally like SM better than diving doubles but when diving off of small ribs or getting through the waves on shore dives, BM is the better config.

 

[rjack321]

Have your buddy enter with one tank, then ferry extra tanks and scooters etc out to them past the surf zone. Gear up together out there.

 

[geoff w]

I'm a regular beach diver and usually try to go out most weekends, even in moderate surf if it looks like decent visibility, up to should high surf. The things I found to make a difference for surf entries and exits are to have everything as rigidly affixed to you as possible, since breaking waves have a lot of power and will move anything not firmly attached, and take the absolute smallest gear and minimum as possible. Timing sets and being able to move quickly in and out is essential, and there's no shame in having to crawl out on all fours if needed. Keeping everything as high as possible is also key, so as not to be cleaning sand out of regulators until the next time they are serviced. For us, a lot of time visibility and surge gets pretty bad while we're still way out, so we'll frequently descent and surface several hundred yards off the beach, rather than diving by braille and risking banging in to rocks by the surge, with a long surface swim on our back to our entry / exit point

Which makes me ask the question, if conditions include big surf, why would you dive sidemount instead of backmount?