Anyone else like shore dives?

[TMHeimer]

Well, you really can't compare shore to boat diving without considering what the shore diving is like. If it's Nova Scotia, you do just drive up to the shore, park right off the road, and walk into the water. If it's Connecticut you're probably going to pay somebody to park somewhere--and maybe a fairly long walk. If Long Island you're lucky if the parking area is even available to "non-town" residents. Then again, if you do a charter you deal with all their timelines. If you do private boat diving there are another bunch of things to worry about (launching, docking, gas, will the motor conk out, etc.). So it is fair to say you have to consider the conditions for either type of diving before saying one is better than the other.

I don't know what rinsing gear has to do with it. You have to do it thoroughly and store properly after any dive.

 

[Trexmdr]

I hear you about the cost and pain of boat ownership.
Before I was diving I was fishing from my 16 foot center console Boston Whaler type fiberglass boat.
We would trailer the boat from Marina de Rey to San Pedro and launch from there because it was closer by boat from San Pedro and do an early morning run to Catalina Island and fish the yellows then fill up at Avalon and make a run to Clemente.
Back then it was $4 at Avalon and those boat engines like premium. Cant imagine what the costs are now.
Then we would cross the channel back in the very late afternoon when the wind and the cross currents and waves would pound us.
Arriving back dog tired and beaten up we would have to clean the boat and freshwater rinse the engine then drive back.
What a pain.
Good thing men have short memories otherwise I wouldn't have done it for two years straight.
I can't imagine owning a boat again, that is until my memory of how expensive and what a pain it was starts to fade.
RT

 

[shoredivr]

As you can tell, I like shore diving. My own schedule, and as Storker noted, the effort is about the same as with boat diving. I like that I can stay as long as gas and weather permits me to. There are lots of locations in Ontario to shore dive, too. High speed drift diving in the St Clair, Niagara, Chippewa, and St Lawrence Rivers, Tobermory and Wiarton on Georgian Bay, even Humber Bay in Toronto. Plus smaller lakes and quarries.

An advantage of always diving fresh water is there's no need to rinse unless you walked through mud.

if I want to do offshore wrecks I will take a charter, but I got ruined with easy shore diving in Bonaire in 1999 and it just stuck with me.

 

[TSandM]

We own a boat. I have figured the cost of diving off the boat is $1000 a trip. Makes local charters look REAL attractive!

 

[Frosty]

I don't actually care either way when it comes to the DIVING.For me though shore diving generally involves carting gear a fair ol distance both before and after the dive. THAT part isn't much fun.

---------- Post added June 18th, 2014 at 02:54 PM ----------

We own a boat. I have figured the cost of diving off the boat is $1000 a trip. Makes local charters look REAL attractive!

But everybody knows that owning a boat is like having a hole in the water to pour moneuy into.

 

[mathauck0814]

We would trailer the boat from Marina de Rey to San Pedro and launch from there because it was closer by boat from San Pedro and do an early morning run to Catalina Island and fish the yellows then fill up at Avalon and make a run to Clem

So... where are you fishing the yellows from shore these days now that you've disavowed boats then?

 

[TMHeimer]

We own a boat. I have figured the cost of diving off the boat is $1000 a trip. Makes local charters look REAL attractive!

Are you figuring in what the boat cost to purchase? If not, what are the costs you include--gas, maintenence, insurance, etc.? How big is it?--I imagine the larger the boat the more costly to use. $1,000 is a lot of money per dive day. I probably spend less than half of that per year (70+ dives) on equipment (purchases, maintenence, etc.) and Air/gas (when away from home) and one FL charter.

 

[socaljohn]

You know, even if money were taken out of the picture, I'd still be happy to shore dive. What I want, rather than using the money for a boat, is a chauffeur so I don't have to negotiate the traffic between my house and the dive site!

. Couple weeks ago, was diving Palos Verdes and spent the night before at my sisters house in San Pedro..told everyone I had avoided the most dangerous part of So Cal diving...the freeway.

 

[Nemrod]

Are you figuring in what the boat cost to purchase? If not, what are the costs you include--gas, maintenence, insurance, etc.? How big is it?--I imagine the larger the boat the more costly to use. $1,000 is a lot of money per dive day. I probably spend less than half of that per year (70+ dives) on equipment (purchases, maintenence, etc.) and Air/gas (when away from home) and one FL charter.

Justifying ownership of anything like a boat is difficult except when you factor in the freedom to explore on your own schedule as you wish and do as you want. However, I am pretty sure I do not spend $1,000 per trip. Well, see, I bought a new boat with a warranty and when the warranty expired now long ago, what little has broken over the years since is usually not a big deal because I can fix anything. I burn about six gallons per hour cruising at 25 MPH, I carry 65 gallons. It is a little boat and handles me and my wife for our various maritime explorations which include diving and near shore (near shore being open to opinion) fishing.

However, I love shore diving, especially solo, think nothing of swimming a mile or more out and back, even much further, though these days being somewhat older and perhaps a bit wiser will usually, for more long distance sites, do kayak assisted shore diving. The kayak allows me to blend aspects of shore diving and boat diving, often can launch directly from the beach much as a shore dive but reach sites normally boat dived or considered too far to swim to.

N

 

[Storker]

... I guess you're lucky enough to be able to park right next to the water

We can (and normally do) choose sites that don't require long hikes from the car down to the shore, so yes.

and giant stride in from shore.

No.

There's probably a convenient set of stairs or a ladder for you to exit when the dive is over,

No.

and someone there to assist you back on shore

Yes. Usually it's my diving buddy for me, and me for my diving buddy.

and help you out of your gear.

Yes. Usually it's my diving buddy for me, and me for my diving buddy.

Most of my dives require me to park somewhat away from the entry, suit up, walk in my gear from the parking area to the dive site,

boats almost always pick you up at a dock or boat ramp, where you can drive your car down near the boat for offloading/onloading dive gear.

Ok, I usually don' have long hikes from my car to the entry for my shore dives. That's basically where the difference is for me.


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