Surviving Monastery Beach Diving Video Snippet

[scubajunkee]

Doc,

Great video so far. I cringed as I watched you roll through the surf. I'm glad you had safety divers on hand. I would like to see fin-less entries as well. Majority of the times I dove Monastery was on very calm days, where I was able to walk in with fins in hand, then slip them on once I'm past the surf. There were times where I almost got caught up in the surf--I would manage to put one fin on and use that one fin to move me further out then put on the second once I was out of harms way. I look forward to the finished product. I also have two websites that would benefit from having the video posted. I can PM the details later.

Thanks again!

Ericson

 

[Paco II]

I can't wait to see the final/full video. I've been diving Monterey for about 8 years, but amazingly have never dived Monastery. Shortly after I got certified, I watched a diver get rolled even worse than in the video clip. It definitely scared me away from Monastery for a long time. I wish a video like what you are putting together had come out years ago. As it were, I'm hoping to finally do Monastery in the near future. Any of you experienced Monastery divers want to buddy up with me and show me the ropes?

 

[Ben_ca]

I would urge caution.. the waves that Doc Wong shows in that little snippet are over my maximums and like Ericson will not dive Monastery if it is anything over ankle slappers.. and also only on weekends (beach is deserted on weekdays and rescue will be difficult)

Just because you saw it on a video doesn't make you an expert at Monastery grab someone who's been before and who is not braver than your self...

Oh and if there's no one diving Monastery that might give you a clue...

 

[DocWong]

I would urge caution.. the waves that Doc Wong shows in that little snippet are over my maximums and like Ericson will not dive Monastery if it is anything over ankle slappers.. and also only on weekends (beach is deserted on weekdays and rescue will be difficult)

Just because you saw it on a video doesn't make you an expert at Monastery grab someone who's been before and who is not braver than your self...

Oh and if there's no one diving Monastery that might give you a clue...

Thanks for the warning and reminder. This just being a snippet of the whole project does not have all the caveats, warnings and cautions. The whole goal is to help prevent and reduce the problems we've had out there.

Yes, now that you've seen it done in those conditions does not mean that it is now safe to do. The problem is that we've seen divers less skilled attempt to dive Monastery in worse conditions and have gotten themselves in a lot of trouble.

 

[AirInHere]

Great work! I was cheering for you when that final wave came crashing down on you.

 

[blewgrass]

Great video. Thanks for posting this for the safety of the general public. Is the safer way to experience this dive from the Boston Whaler in the background? Hey, that looks a lot like Chuck's boat!

 

[redrover]

Big Mahalo for sharing this. Would really like to see the other, as many variety you can get. Nothing like a video vs written description of how to enter exit surf. Any way to film from along side?

Less zooming in and out, keep the camera on the diver.

Some form of rating the surf or condition the shot is videoed. Pretty good is nebulous, a number perhaps? This is a 2 hazard day with surf at 6’ and regular…just something more of a reference point to compare with what is happening at another time.

I wish I could hear the conversation going on before you came up to the mike. And wouldn’t mind a narrative of what an experienced (with the situation) diver doing a blow by blow along with the action. My questions included: Why turn and enter now? Dove on the opportunity, it didn’t matter, waiting for X, Y and Z to be in the right place. Is he hanging out there now, trying to come in but needed the surf to cooperate? Was there a point and how determined when to make a move or ya just deal with what happens? When does the excitement begin, when know everything is cool? See, that's getting rolled. Looks like ok by now but is not yet, doesn’t know what is happening behind and still getting clear or, saw that coming see, and reacting by…

The voice of what happened was great. As a diver completely unfamiliar with that type of entrance and exit I want all the details. Ie. Watching in and out looked very easy, I had no clue mask was flooded, it was a challenge, didn’t ‘see’ getting tossed…I mean it looked like a piece of cake. Help me understand what I’m seeing indicates – because I’m obviously wrong. It looked exciting to me, or I’d be concerned, but you made it look like no big deal.

I want to see all, everything, the good bad and the ugly.

Oh! Reading along it appears I’ve mis-heard you. This was a very dangerous day? I think you might want to be very clear about that for twits like me.

 

[mislav]

YouTube - Monastery Beach Dive Video Preview

Thanks for this preview of your video. Funny enough, I've seen this post only 30 minutes after I've had an entry and exit in very similar conditions with my divers! Yet, for me it was on the rocky beach with lots of slippery pebbles that caused even more problems than what you can see on this video. Luckily, we were all ok! Masks were on and regs were in their mouth. Not mine though - I had taken my reg out to be able to tell my divers how to exit.

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?

Exactly.

I had been through a couple of situations where I advised divers to put the reg in their mouth in conditions like these and it helped them calm down and regain control. I had to rescue a diver once in Thailand in rough sea close to the boat who kept spitting his reg out of his mouth and kept replacing it with a snorkel - only to start swallowing water and getting into panic mode. The reg is the way to go!

 

[micboucher]

Oh! Reading along it appears I’ve mis-heard you. This was a very dangerous day? I think you might want to be very clear about that for twits like me.

That was a really calm day at Monastery. He did the entry in the middle of the beach (where you would normally stay away from) just to have some waves for demonstration purposes.

Great video Doc! I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[sarita75]

Great video Doc. Glad we could have been apart of it, even though I was only on photography detail! It was informative and very educational to be on site that day, and I look forward to SAFELY diving Monastery in the future! Kudos on the good start!

- oh, very professional entry into the video. I like the transitions.