Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
We went beach diving this weekend off Deerfield Beach. I had a new BC I was trimming out, but couldn't take the time to do a boat dive. So I bundled everyone up in the car and we hit the beach so the rest of the family could catch a few waves and rays and watch our stuff. For those of you that know the area, we parked in back of the Embassy Suites and set up camp just beyond the rock line that marks the end of the public beach. Straight out from the beach is Trespasser's Ledge.
My shore diving experience has been very limited, this was only the third one out of 40 dives. With winds out E-SE, the surf was up on the shoreline, and there was a fair chop, with 2-3ft swells before they broke closer in.
Reason #1. Instead of hauling everything down where we had set up on the beach, we decided to gear up out of the back of the van as I scored a great parking spot right in front of the stairs down to the beach. However temps tipped 90°, and walking with all the gear on and 3mm suits was darn hot. Even with the tops of the suits tied off around our waists, we worked up a pretty good sweat. Wetsuits are a ***** to pull on whern you're all sweaty.
Reason #2. We decided to try gearing up and walking so we could avoid getting sand everywhere. It worked fine until my daughter discovered she had left her weight belt back in the van. Being the good father I am I took off my stuff and went back to get it. In my westuit. In the 90° sun. Muttering unkind things all the way there and back. Of course being extra careful when taking my gear off and putting it back on, I got sand everywhere.
Reason #3. We did the backwards waddle and shuffle in, but of course I was just about knee deep when a combination of a big wave and a hole in the sand knocked me on my butt. After waving around like a turtle on my back, I fully inflated my BC, and crabbed backwards dragging the tank along the bottom, getting more sand everywhere. When I got deep enough to turn over and pulled myself along the bottom until I could swim. The whole time waves were crashing over me. I got rather winded fighting the water and was sucking air like a perv in a peep show. I pulled my tank down a couple of hundred of pounds just getting past the breakers.
Reason #4. After a long backwards swim so I could catch my breath and we got past the breaking waves, we finally submerged in about nine feet of water to - nothing. In my limited diving career I've never seen nothing underwater before. All you could see out to the limits of viz was just sand. It was pretty strange as we finned out another 50 feet until we hit the first reef line.
Reason #5. The current was pretty good on Saturday and even though we were swimming into the current most of the dive we surfaced about halfway down the public beach. After trying to surface swim back to our entry point against the current, we gave up and came ashore on the public beach. We were the center of attention as we confidently strutted out the water in full gear looking akin to Navy Seals doing covert ops until a large wave broke and planted my daughter mask first into the sand. (See reason #3.) Also our exit to the beach seemed to cause much concern amongst the lifeguards who were quick to tell us that diving off the public beach was not allowed. They didn't seem the grasp the fine point of my reply that we weren't diving OFF the public beach, but coming ashore.
Reason #6. Coming ashore a good distance from our entry point made for a very long walk back to where all our stuff was. (See reasons #1 and #2.)
I think I going to stick to charters from now on.
Marc
My shore diving experience has been very limited, this was only the third one out of 40 dives. With winds out E-SE, the surf was up on the shoreline, and there was a fair chop, with 2-3ft swells before they broke closer in.
Reason #1. Instead of hauling everything down where we had set up on the beach, we decided to gear up out of the back of the van as I scored a great parking spot right in front of the stairs down to the beach. However temps tipped 90°, and walking with all the gear on and 3mm suits was darn hot. Even with the tops of the suits tied off around our waists, we worked up a pretty good sweat. Wetsuits are a ***** to pull on whern you're all sweaty.
Reason #2. We decided to try gearing up and walking so we could avoid getting sand everywhere. It worked fine until my daughter discovered she had left her weight belt back in the van. Being the good father I am I took off my stuff and went back to get it. In my westuit. In the 90° sun. Muttering unkind things all the way there and back. Of course being extra careful when taking my gear off and putting it back on, I got sand everywhere.
Reason #3. We did the backwards waddle and shuffle in, but of course I was just about knee deep when a combination of a big wave and a hole in the sand knocked me on my butt. After waving around like a turtle on my back, I fully inflated my BC, and crabbed backwards dragging the tank along the bottom, getting more sand everywhere. When I got deep enough to turn over and pulled myself along the bottom until I could swim. The whole time waves were crashing over me. I got rather winded fighting the water and was sucking air like a perv in a peep show. I pulled my tank down a couple of hundred of pounds just getting past the breakers.
Reason #4. After a long backwards swim so I could catch my breath and we got past the breaking waves, we finally submerged in about nine feet of water to - nothing. In my limited diving career I've never seen nothing underwater before. All you could see out to the limits of viz was just sand. It was pretty strange as we finned out another 50 feet until we hit the first reef line.
Reason #5. The current was pretty good on Saturday and even though we were swimming into the current most of the dive we surfaced about halfway down the public beach. After trying to surface swim back to our entry point against the current, we gave up and came ashore on the public beach. We were the center of attention as we confidently strutted out the water in full gear looking akin to Navy Seals doing covert ops until a large wave broke and planted my daughter mask first into the sand. (See reason #3.) Also our exit to the beach seemed to cause much concern amongst the lifeguards who were quick to tell us that diving off the public beach was not allowed. They didn't seem the grasp the fine point of my reply that we weren't diving OFF the public beach, but coming ashore.
Reason #6. Coming ashore a good distance from our entry point made for a very long walk back to where all our stuff was. (See reasons #1 and #2.)
I think I going to stick to charters from now on.
Marc
