New Divers- Should we hire a guide for shore diving in San Diego??
- Thread starter dksimoes
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scubadobadoo
Contributor
Yes, I would were I you.
Just be aware that if you are doing shore dives for the first time in Socal, plan on doing a ton of gear schlepping, walking a long way in full gear possibly up and down steps/hills, fighting for parking, possibly having to deal with serious surf that may or may not cooperate with your dive day choice, current, low viz, cold water and more that can make shore diving here very grueling for even the most experienced or in shape diver. Of course you may have tremendous luck and not have to deal with SOME of the things mentioned above.
Having a local guide could be the difference between getting in a dive or not diving at all since they can quickly switch to a better location for the given daily conditions. I find the dives are generally easy once I am in the water and past the surf zone. All the rest of the dive is the hard part IMHO. Honestly, it takes months to learn the idiosyncrasies of the various shore diving sites.
If you are gonna boat dive then I would still hire a guide/DM as you will likely be dealing with good number of the conditions/issues I mentioned. Boat or shore, you all will be dealing with a lot of new things and having another eye is never a bad thing. Either way, take it slow and be realistic with your comfort level.
Have fun and welcome to Socal! It's worth it!
Just be aware that if you are doing shore dives for the first time in Socal, plan on doing a ton of gear schlepping, walking a long way in full gear possibly up and down steps/hills, fighting for parking, possibly having to deal with serious surf that may or may not cooperate with your dive day choice, current, low viz, cold water and more that can make shore diving here very grueling for even the most experienced or in shape diver. Of course you may have tremendous luck and not have to deal with SOME of the things mentioned above.
Having a local guide could be the difference between getting in a dive or not diving at all since they can quickly switch to a better location for the given daily conditions. I find the dives are generally easy once I am in the water and past the surf zone. All the rest of the dive is the hard part IMHO. Honestly, it takes months to learn the idiosyncrasies of the various shore diving sites.
If you are gonna boat dive then I would still hire a guide/DM as you will likely be dealing with good number of the conditions/issues I mentioned. Boat or shore, you all will be dealing with a lot of new things and having another eye is never a bad thing. Either way, take it slow and be realistic with your comfort level.
Have fun and welcome to Socal! It's worth it!
H2Ocean
Contributor
get ahold of Scuba Diver Girls . com or Facebook them.
fisheater
Contributor
It's ESPECIALLY important to have a local guide if you don't have cold water, ocean and kelp diving experience.
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