Surviving Monastery Beach Diving Video Snippet

[DocWong]

Hi,

Monastery Beach, south of Monterey, California is a wonderful place to dive, but it does have it's dangers, claiming numerous lives over the years. This video is a short snippet of the full dive video with local SF Bay Area divers sharing their views on diving Monastery Beach.

Jim Stoddard and I are still going over the video footage for the "Surviving Monastery Beach Diving Video" as there is a lot between the 2 hour panel discussion and the 2 hours of video we got on our first video shoot at Monastery Beach.

I've had numerous requests for the video and have been asked how long it will take. If it's finished this year, that will be good! It's not a small project.

Here's a small piece of it:

YouTube - Monastery Beach Dive Video Preview

Thanks to all those who have and are contributing to this project. The plan for this video is to graphically cover most of the salient points brought out during our panel discussion and get it effectively demonstrated on video and then distributed to various websites and onto the Calif Dept of Parks and Rec's website to share this compilation of opinions by our local diving community.

Any feedback on what you would like to see in the video is appreciated.

 

[sea nmf]

I liked it very much.

I feel for you, in your volunteer status to get rolled. You probably had lots of sand to clean out of everything!

We only see one entry & exit on this clip. Does the other entry involve walking in, carrying your fins?

 

[DocWong]

I liked it very much.

I feel for you, in your volunteer status to get rolled. You probably had lots of sand to clean out of everything!

We only see one entry & exit on this clip. Does the other entry involve walking in, carrying your fins?

I'm glad we got good footage on the first and try of me getting rolled. I won't be asking for anyone else to demonstrate that skill as it can be very dangerous. I purposefully let myself get rolled parallel to the waves. Getting rolled straight into the waves can get you face planted right into the sand....more than ouch!

The full video will have more entrys and exits with more voice overs to explain what the diver is attempting to do.

It looks like the majority of divers (me included) prefer to go in with fins on. I do have footage of a diver going in without fins, makes it past the breakers, but then drifts back in because he couldn't put his fins on.

If I find more divers who like the finless entry, then I'll get more footage on that.

 

[divinotter]

I am still after some years arguing with my buddy/husband over this. Every time I think I've one the battle, someone comes along and messes me up. I am a firm believer in reg in the mouth. I've been held under a couple times and thought- well thank goodness my reg is in my mouth. Only to be chewed out by my buddy/husband who was told/ trained by an 'expert' at one time or another that the chance of embolizing in shallow water makes is too dangerous as you can embolize in only a couple/few feet and the instinct is to hold your breath when hit by a wave. so, always wear a snorkle- yeah right. My arguments are:
1. How often does a wave throw you skywards - they seem do drag you down or roll you.
2. If you are miraculously thrown skyward - just remember to breathe.
3. How often have people embolized during a beach entry - I mean come on back it up with some statistics.
4. On the other hand, how many people have drowned at a beach- don't you think they wished they had air on their back and a reg in their mouth?
Sorry - just had to vent- I'm worried someday I'll find him floating face down in an entry because of his stubborness- luckily we don't dive the beach with big waves - the viz is lousy and it's just wait for a better day. Still it's the principal of the matter and he makes me doubt my method.

 

[Diving Demon]

Cool video Doc. *As for recommendations of what could be included, I think it'd be cool to have a bit about navigating between Lobos and Monastery. *Someone posted on here about a dive you planned and carried out, and that just sounds like it'd make some exciting filler for the video.

 

[alibi 2]

The Video looks great! I'm assuming the final will be longer ..or is this just a shorty for the parks site......anyways its great advice...I got my basic certifacation at Monastary in '74...we used to come in put our tanks away and then go "Belly Womping"....which was playing and rolling in the surf in our wetsuits...I was younger and dumber ....

We learned then to always enter with our regs in our mouths...I do enter now with out the fins but only on a very calm day...I like the crawling exit there best...

Good Job...you do well speaking at all after your roll...lol..

 

[DocWong]

As with any diving technique we all have to weigh the pluses and minuses and make a personal decision on the best course of action.

He does have a point, it is possible to embolize while holding your breath while on a reg and get tossed from 4' to the surface. However I value still breathing and having a reg in my mouth over the small, and for me pretty improbable chance of holding my breath and embolizing.

Being personally thrown and tossed on that dive certainly gave me much reality on what it's like.

Also on shallower beaches this may make a bit more sense to have a snorkle in your mouth because the depth changes are more gradual. At Monastery Beach, there's a short but steep lip that drops down about 4 feet real fast. There is where people get pulled under, slammed to the sand, lose air and drown.

And it's pretty much a moot point anyway if he and you dive when the waves are very small.

This last weekend, the waves were only ankle deep. Any technique would work in those conditions.

I am still after some years arguing with my buddy/husband over this. Every time I think I've one the battle, someone comes along and messes me up. I am a firm believer in reg in the mouth. I've been held under a couple times and thought- well thank goodness my reg is in my mouth. Only to be chewed out by my buddy/husband who was told/ trained by an 'expert' at one time or another that the chance of embolizing in shallow water makes is too dangerous as you can embolize in only a couple/few feet and the instinct is to hold your breath when hit by a wave. so, always wear a snorkle- yeah right. My arguments are:
1. How often does a wave throw you skywards - they seem do drag you down or roll you.
2. If you are miraculously thrown skyward - just remember to breathe.
3. How often have people embolized during a beach entry - I mean come on back it up with some statistics.
4. On the other hand, how many people have drowned at a beach- don't you think they wished they had air on their back and a reg in their mouth?
Sorry - just had to vent- I'm worried someday I'll find him floating face down in an entry because of his stubborness- luckily we don't dive the beach with big waves - the viz is lousy and it's just wait for a better day. Still it's the principal of the matter and he makes me doubt my method.

 

[DocWong]

The Video looks great! I'm assuming the final will be longer ..or is this just a shorty for the parks site......anyways its great advice...I got my basic certifacation at Monastary in '74...we used to come in put our tanks away and then go "Belly Womping"....which was playing and rolling in the surf in our wetsuits...I was younger and dumber ....

We learned then to always enter with our regs in our mouths...I do enter now with out the fins but only on a very calm day...I like the crawling exit there best...

Good Job...you do well speaking at all after your roll...lol..

Thanks,

Yes, the final video will be much longer with a lot more content for diving safely at Monastery. Of course we'll have all the obligatory warnings, etc.

 

[Brewski]

Great Job. I can't wait to see the finished version.

 

[TSandM]

Doc, I just want to voice my admiration and thanks to you, for conceiving of this project, and putting the energy behind it to complete the sign and get the footage for the video. Monastery has been notorious for a long time -- I had heard of it before I even began diving -- and if your efforts save even one person from an utterly unnecessary death in the surf, it will have been well worth it.

And fie on you, DivingDemon, for being very small.