Dtaine
Contributor
I was at Dania Beach today (technically yesterday) for the first shore dive I've ever done. It also happened to be the first dives beyond OW certification for a few friends of mine. I figured it would be an easy dive with a nice relaxing time at the beach - and I'll tell you I was surprised by how new of an experience it was.
Things started out with a 100 yard walk or so from the parking lot. Lesson learned, next time bring a cart to put gear in and don't put the wetsuit on in the blazing sun before taking that hike.
After that hike did the standard buddy check (got some interesting questions about my bp/w setup) and reviewed the dive plan. Sounded simple, swim out a bit, drop down and do a nice, long, 20 fsw dive parallel to the shore. Well, 5 foot surf will complicate things.
A little ways out from shore (could just hit the bottom between swells, and I'm about 6'2'') my friend's tank falls out of the cambands and is hanging beneath her bc. Myself and another friend got it secure in about 5 minutes, and we both got pummeled by the surf in the process. A little farther out and his tank does the same. Same deal, 5 minutes and mouthfuls of saltwater. It's clear our equipment check could've used some work.
We all get out to a point where it's deep enough to dive and drop down. I was thinking nothing else could possible go wrong. Well, no sooner do I get to 20 feet does my mask fog up completely. So I partially flood it with a bit of water to clear it, which works, but in the 15 to 20 seconds it took me to do that I lost sight of everyone else (~ 5 foot vis, 10 at some parts of the dive). I knew the dive plan so I swam in the direction I knew everyone went, after a minute of not seeing anybody I surfaced. I looked around for the surface marker being pulled by another member of the group, but with the surf I couldn't find it.
So I waited for a few minutes to see if my buddy would surface, as I expected he did, we met up and continued the dive (although neither of us could spot the main group). For the most part it was uneventful, saw a nice puffer, and it lasted about 50 minutes. I actually enjoyed the effect of the surface swells on our dive (at least while we were at 20 feet).
So why do I care to share this experience with all of you? Well, hopefully some newer divers like myself out there will be able to take a few lessons away from the odd chain of events that occurred (having solid equipment checks, and having a plan in case of buddy separation), and some of the experienced divers can get a good laugh at my first attempt at shore diving. I'm definitely sure it was hilarious for anyone on the beach watching my exit.:eyes:
Things started out with a 100 yard walk or so from the parking lot. Lesson learned, next time bring a cart to put gear in and don't put the wetsuit on in the blazing sun before taking that hike.
After that hike did the standard buddy check (got some interesting questions about my bp/w setup) and reviewed the dive plan. Sounded simple, swim out a bit, drop down and do a nice, long, 20 fsw dive parallel to the shore. Well, 5 foot surf will complicate things.
A little ways out from shore (could just hit the bottom between swells, and I'm about 6'2'') my friend's tank falls out of the cambands and is hanging beneath her bc. Myself and another friend got it secure in about 5 minutes, and we both got pummeled by the surf in the process. A little farther out and his tank does the same. Same deal, 5 minutes and mouthfuls of saltwater. It's clear our equipment check could've used some work.
We all get out to a point where it's deep enough to dive and drop down. I was thinking nothing else could possible go wrong. Well, no sooner do I get to 20 feet does my mask fog up completely. So I partially flood it with a bit of water to clear it, which works, but in the 15 to 20 seconds it took me to do that I lost sight of everyone else (~ 5 foot vis, 10 at some parts of the dive). I knew the dive plan so I swam in the direction I knew everyone went, after a minute of not seeing anybody I surfaced. I looked around for the surface marker being pulled by another member of the group, but with the surf I couldn't find it.
So I waited for a few minutes to see if my buddy would surface, as I expected he did, we met up and continued the dive (although neither of us could spot the main group). For the most part it was uneventful, saw a nice puffer, and it lasted about 50 minutes. I actually enjoyed the effect of the surface swells on our dive (at least while we were at 20 feet).
So why do I care to share this experience with all of you? Well, hopefully some newer divers like myself out there will be able to take a few lessons away from the odd chain of events that occurred (having solid equipment checks, and having a plan in case of buddy separation), and some of the experienced divers can get a good laugh at my first attempt at shore diving. I'm definitely sure it was hilarious for anyone on the beach watching my exit.:eyes: