Question What are easy shore dive conditions?

[Eric_K]

Terrain makes a big difference - how far do you have to lug your gear from where you parked to the waterline? What will you be walking on as you enter/exit - nice sandy bottom, or softball-sized ankle turning rocks?

Hello I am interested frequenting a beach in Malibu, California, for shore diving, scuba. I know I should be looking for days and times when the surf is less than 2 feet. I believe I should be looking for days and times when the tide is coming in, not when the tide is going out. What else should I be looking for please? I am PADI OW with 50 dives.
Thank you.

From a former NorCal diver, easy access is strongly preferred ie walk-in and out. Also, a point is to get a gently sloping beach so easy to back in. I'd also look to understand how far out the kelp line is so you're not doing the kelp crawl with heavy surge. Perhaps you can even find a boat launch. There was one right by the Pebble Beach Lodge, as I recall. The goal is to enjoy being under the water, not getting beat up in waves.

 

[happy-diver]

Also, a point is to get a gently sloping beach so easy to back in.

You must be talking about your car right, not walking backwards with fins on

 

[TMHeimer]

Terrain makes a big difference - how far do you have to lug your gear from where you parked to the waterline? What will you be walking on as you enter/exit - nice sandy bottom, or softball-sized ankle turning rocks?

Yes. Exiting is almost always harder than entering as you go shallower.

 

[Grey Beard’s Scuba]

Hello I am interested frequenting a beach in Malibu, California, for shore diving, scuba. I know I should be looking for days and times when the surf is less than 2 feet. I believe I should be looking for days and times when the tide is coming in, not when the tide is going out. What else should I be looking for please? I am PADI OW with 50 dives.
Thank you.

I grew up diving SoCal.

Dive in the early AM, at slack high tide.

Swell and surf acceptability is limited to your experience.

Entry technique is very important, do a negative entry with your regulator in your mouth and have your “spring strap” fins in your hand when you enter.

Strap up under the swell, surface, then inflate on the back side of the swell then fin out

Exiting is another story

Cheers

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I watch the live beach cams before every dive.

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[Still Kicking]

I have never timed my dives with tides - it might make a slight difference but generally I have found vis is more influenced by algae, ground swell etc. than tides.

Don't be put off by poor vis inshore. I have often started dives in Malibu with terrible vis on the surface swim out only to have it clear up dramatically when I got to the reef. That's probably the tidal influence.

Currents are rare from shore in my experience, though you should be mindful of them when present. Point Dume/Westward Beach is a notable exception .... there is often a strong current there so assess the situation and plan accordingly. I always reserved extra air and planned to swim back as far as possible on the bottom. Plan B is to swim in to Pirates Cove and hike back over the top of Point Dume if necessary.

Offshore Santa Ana winds are very good for diving. They knock down the surf and push surface water out to sea, causing an upwelling of clean (but cold) water. Watch sea surface temps on weather buoy data.

When I started beach diving, Dale Sheckler's Southern California's Best Beach Dives was my bible. It doesn't have all the best dives (you have to do some exploring) but it has enough good info to get you started.

Hopefully you were trained well on beach dive entry/exits but if that wasn't part of your class, seek out an instructor or experienced buddy who can show you the ropes (literally, if you branch out to some Palos Verdes spots LOL).

LA County's 3Rs (Reefs, Rocks, Rips) program is great training in beach diving if you need some formal instruction.

As someone else said, remember to be negative as long as you can stand in the surf zone -- dropping to the bottom is your get out of jail card if you get hit by a sneaker wave.

Have fun!