Shore diving tricks and tips

[UrbanJungle1966]

I grew up in Cronulla so spent my youth snorkelling and surfing in all kinds of conditions. Now I dive if it looks a bit hairy I first go out in just my swimmers as some shoulder height waves will go straight past you and some will put you flat on your bum. Anything bigger than that unless you are skilled at it I reckon you could get into trouble or worse hurt yourself carrying 30kg of dive gear.

In anything large I kit up completely and as soon as there is enough water under me put on my fins, reg in and hug the bottom going out. I also make myself as heavy as possible.

High tide is better than low tide as usually the waves are fuller and don't dump as much or they break right on the beach which is easy as you just wait for a lull and run/swim as fast as you can to get out. If you look out and the waves have a definite tube shape to them consider not going out as you will get smashed if it is shallow enough to catch you. If the wave is breaking smoothly down the face you are usually pretty right.

Getting in well again it just depends. You can body surf fully kitted up, you can also curl into a ball, hold on tight to everything and let the waves do their work on you. You will get in . Again when getting in I go in a heavy as possible hugging the bottom until the waves start affecting me. Once they start taking hold I usually inflate fully and let them carry me in. Rocks can be a bit of a bitch but if you go in feet first and try to stay as far inside the wave as you can you usually miss most of them. When it gets shallow enough to stand take fines off and just jump back into the wave as they hit letting the wave push you to shore.

 

[seattlepaul1975]

One thing I have noticed as most of the dives I do here in Seattle area are shore dives is the prep area. Look for a spot where you do not have to get down too low to put on your gear. Example, the Alki beach COVE2 area has a nice high sidewalk from beach so it's much easier to "back" into your BC....the Edmunds site is lower and it's more of a bending to put on gear.

 

[iluvtheocean]

shore dive entry/exits i say depends on where you're diving... in cali is going to be different that florida for example. in florida - hold/clip your fins until you're waist/chest deep with mask on -- depending on wave height/frequency. walk in normal or backwards...
once in a while i've actually had to crawl out of the surf here to avoid wrenching my knee since the last few feet of sand likes to pretend it's quicksand sometimes. (between the dry sand and the sandbar)

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

We would inflate our BC just enough to float and wearing tabbies we'd walk out. Once we could swim we'd put on our fins and mask. Small waves presented no problem and with larger waves we'd duck dive our gear. Once we were deep enough we'd dawn our tank and go down. Adventure-Ocean

 

[bracko]

One point that I haven't seen yet (or missed) is being able to read a beach. for some sites in sydney the rips that go out to sea are in the same areas as the dive spots (headlands). knowing where and how strong they are may save an embarrassing surf rescue RIB trip back to the beach at best, or worst, well, as bad as it gets.

know what a rip looks like, where it ends and how strong it is. If you see surfers shooting out behind the breakers in under a minute, chances are you need to find a new dive site because getting back to shore with dive gear on in a rip just isn't going to happen and trying to body surf in may have rather amusing and dangerous results.

waves come in sets everywhere in the world where there's clean swell. wait till the end of a set and go hell for leather between them and you should make it out in one go or at least in deep enough water to grab the reg and drop under for the rest of the swim. Also if you're in a group know who's the weakest and make sure they get out with one of the first people, it's easy to sit and wait behind the breakers, if a weak or cautious diver gets suck in the middle of a set then the dive is only going to get wrose for them if they continue.

 

[Doc]

One easy trick solves TWO problems in Bonaire (and other places)

I spent 4 weeks in Bonaie doing every shore dive as possible. Never gained great familiarity with u/w landmarks. How to not get lost and miss the exit on the way back?


To solve the rough footing problem, I wore Tevas or Crocs. When I was deep enough, I transitioned into fins. I clipped the sandals together with a carabiner (snap link).

As we went out, now in 20' of water, I clipped the sandals to a 5# weight and laid them on the bottom. From this, using a 5' string, I floated a 2 Liter pop bottle (3/4 full of water)

Then, we turned left or right on the reef structure (considering any current) and began our dive. On the return trip, all we had to do is end up in the zone of 20fsw. Finding our exit point to turn-in was easy, and now I had my shoes again.

I have found that, even in Bonaire, your pricey shoes are safe if you stash them u/w

 

[Kharon]

To solve the rough footing problem, I wore Tevas or Crocs. When I was deep enough, I transitioned into fins. I clipped the sandals together with a carabiner (snap link).

As we went out, now in 20' of water, I clipped the sandals to a 5# weight and laid them on the bottom. From this, using a 5' string, I floated a 2 Liter pop bottle (3/4 full of water)

Then, we turned left or right on the reef structure (considering any current) and began our dive. On the return trip, all we had to do is end up in the zone of 20fsw. Finding our exit point to turn-in was easy, and now I had my shoes again.

I really prefer to wear hard sole boots and open heel fins - but - I thought about doing this with my blue Lazar-Stik flasher on a night dive on Bonaire but didn't have a weight. I'm going to add a sinker to my kit so I can do this when needed. I'll probably laminate a note - "Hands off - I'm coming back for it" - my luck another diver would make off with it. LOL

 

[Rich Keller]

A trick I learned on Bonaire (after flubbing around on severtal shore entries). Watch the waves and count. Usually there will be a pattern of increasing wave height with several much smaller waves following the largest. Once you figure out the pattern you wait for the largest and then enter as it's receeding. Quickly go out far enough to float (chest high) and put your fins on.

The pattern is seven waves, the last being the largest, go in as that recedes, the next wave will be the smallest of the group. The other thing you want to look for is how the water is receding after each wave. This will show you the best entry and exit points. You also want to reduce your profile and weight as much as possible so going through the waves is easier. Use the minimum amount of equipment needed to make the dive and leave the rest behind. Most shore dives are shallow water dives so if you know how to weight yourself so you do not need a BCD you would greatly reduce your profile. You would also make it easier using a smaller tank, less weight and a lower profile. I use single or double 30 cu/ft tanks for this type of dive attached to a commercial diving harness so the tanks rest right against my back. Once you get down to a smaller profile you could swim past the next wave and put your fins on when you are floating out past the surf zone. If the waves are not too big you might be able to put your fins on before you get into the surf zone and then walk out backwards through the waves.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I really prefer to wear hard sole boots and open heel fins - but - I thought about doing this with my blue Lazar-Stik flasher on a night dive on Bonaire but didn't have a weight. I'm going to add a sinker to my kit so I can do this when needed. I'll probably laminate a note - "Hands off - I'm coming back for it" - my luck another diver would make off with it. LOL

For Bonaire diving I've often thought about leaving an underwater exit marker of some sort and/or leaving sandals, but I am concerned that if for some reason I can't find it then I have just left trash in the ocean.

 

[Rich Keller]

For Bonaire diving I've often thought about leaving an underwater exit marker of some sort and/or leaving sandals, but I am concerned that if for some reason I can't find it then I have just left trash in the ocean.

Try burying two sticks upright in the sand so that when you line up one in front of the other you will be on a direct line back to the spot you want to exit from.