Beach disaster with getting fins on and not being able to get up

[Ben Prusinski]

I have spring straps what happened was that I had a rough time getting the fins on due to my gloves not being dextrous enough in the entry area.
Add to that a poor instructor and bad dive buddy who rushed into the dive site way ahead of me and I was by myself to get in.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I have three rules for beach diving.

1. Never go in when it's rough. There will be surge and poor vis, so why bother.

2. Never hesitate in the surf zone. Time your entry/exit and get through the fastest possible way. Do not expect anyone to remain in the surf zone to help because you didn't make it past the surf. I am more then willing to help a buddy out with any problem, but hesitating in the surf zone creates a potential problem for anyone who tries to help.

3. Never blame anyone else for something that happens to you in the water. You are responsible for yourself. If you put yourself in harm's way to help another, it's a choice you made.

That said, I agree with most other replies. Get through the surf before trying to put your fins on, or put them on before getting in and swim under the waves.

 

[Hatul]

I seem to don my fins within the surf zone, not sure if I'm tall enough to get beyond the surf zone standing comfortably. Next time I'll see how deep I can get. If a wave comes I just let it break above me, as I'm either on my back or front swimming into the wave with reg and mask in place.

 

[Peter_C]

as for dry gloves, I think they give worse dexterity on land oven if they fit well because in order to give you any dexterity, they need to have some loose material. This makes doing anything with them on difficult. In water tho, they are better because water squeeze the gloves on your hand.

I find most people think their hands and ____ are really bigger than actually are. A proper fitting dry glove should be very snug. Much like a well fitting latex glove that leaves no flapping material. I have excellent dexterity with my dry gloves, as they fit properly. If you think you are a large, try a medium.

Agree will try 30lbs of lead. I weigh 190lbs wearing 400g thinsulate in DUI CLX450 drysuit using 100 steel tanks

Even that seems high. Most all of us use a 400g set of undies and we wear a 100g of fleece for a base layer, and we carry 26lbs. Of course that is with a stainless BP/W setup. You need to do a weight check on your very next dive starting at 700 psi in 15 ft of water and start ditching weight with a 100% empty wing and see what you actually need.

 

[Chilly_Dipper]

Agree will try 30lbs of lead. I weigh 190lbs wearing 400g thinsulate in DUI CLX450 drysuit using 100 steel tanks

And I warrant you could trim even more lead off then that

 

[tphelps]

So today I set out to do a shore dive in Monterey and I had a challenge getting my fins on past the surf layer. I fell on my butt and could not get back up after bruising my ribs. It was embarassing as folks from shore had to carry me back to the parking lot. What can I do in the future to prevent this? I had a rough time getting my fins on my feet after I was about 10 feet from shore in Breakwater today as surf was kinda bad.

Sorry to hear that, hope your ribs heal fast! When entering the water (conditions permitting)... you can stay next to your buddy and lean on him/her/fish for support when putting your fins on. When you enter the water about waist deep, use the air from your BC to "float" for a second -leaning back on an angle so your feet are still touching the bottom but you are floating to a point where a portion of weight is relieved, then do the figure "4" with your legs to put your fins on.

In either case, I highly recommend spring straps. It took me about 20 seconds to get my old fins on but with my new ones that have spring straps, about 5 seconds. Another trick my first OW instructor taught me is just get 1 fin on and then kick out past the surf break, then put your other fins on. Hope this helps!

 

[TSandM]

I totally agree about the dexterity in dry gloves. For me, the blue gloves in a medium have fingers that are too long -- and with floppy material at the end of the fingers, you just about can't do anything. Find gloves where your fingers make it to the end of the glove -- even if you have to settle for a little thinner liner, you will be better off.

 

[Ben Prusinski]

Thanks I am finally starting to feel better after 4 months of recovery. Its weird, nothing was broken but bruised ribs take FOREVER to heal must be getting up there in age past 40 its downhill LOL. Anyways, I do need to get back into the water and this time boat dive in my drysuit. I've been busy finishing up my training to get my pilot license so that I can fly to Catalina, Seattle, and San Diego, Mexico for scuba trips.

 

[SeahorseDeb]

Oh, man, I don't want to turn my back to the surf, not EVER! Sideways, yes, but I always want to be able to see what's coming.

I'm really, really bad at surf entries. But what has worked best for me, assuming that the site doesn't have a really bad shore break like Monastery, is to clip my fins to my BC and watch the sets. When I think there's going to be a good lull between waves, and smaller ones, I run like a scalded cat out through the shallows and try to get past where the surf is breaking. Then I put my fins on (and I use spring straps, too). This has afforded me the most successful entries of any technique I've tried.

I followed this approach when diving Malaga Cove in So Cal for the first surf entry ever in open ocean. Just walking over the rocky beach and not do a face plant right there was dangerous. The closer I got to the breaking waves the bigger they got and I realized I was in for a good beating. When I finally got to the water i stood sideways and I timed the waves and had regulator in my mouth. With fins on, and assistance from my buddy, I made it. Will I dive there again? Nope, not until they clear a path to walk in sand to the water and also install a trolley to take me back up the five mile hike uphill. I think it was 1/4 mile going downhill, but that's a dive for the triathletes...not me.

 

[Peter69_56]

Most all of us use a 400g set of undies and we wear a 100g of fleece for a base layer, and we carry 26lbs. Of course that is with a stainless BP/W setup. You need to do a weight check on your very next dive starting at 700 psi in 15 ft of water and start ditching weight with a 100% empty wing and see what you actually need.

What is the approximate difference in weight between stainless and aluminium B/P. Were you using manifolded or independent and if independent were you using stainless bands or web strap?