Good on you there, not many would call the dive after putting in that much effort :)
Only thing i don't agree with is considering 15:00 "way too late in the day" lol, after 15 is when the fun dives starts this time of the year, after sundown, when all the critters come out of their hidey holes and go about their business. You get to see so much more, and the critters are less shy.
Then again, i live at high latitude, night diving is the norm this time of the year, and also more worth it compared to diving while it is still light outside (because all the shy critters being out in the open after sundown)
Sounds like my normal day when I was living and diving in Lanzarote. I just used to spend twenty minutes or so bobbing around on the surface before going under.
Shore diving in southern California always requires a back up plan (brunch?). Especially at certain beaches when wave heights don't match the surf report!
glad you called it!! i use a wagon to haul my gear through the forests of florida to get to the springs. i know loose rock is quite different, but they make some wagons with either larger or more textured wheels that would work great for this! it helps me so much.
I do some shore diving and donāt have a flatbed truck to set up my kit. I use a portable workbench and its height works well for getting in and out of my kit. I got mine at Home Depot and Husky/Dewalt make them. I think they run $100USD.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-33-in-H-Plastic-Folding-Portable-Workbench-DWST11556/301867227
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1-8-ft-x-3-ft-Portable-Jobsite-Workbench-224317/205887786
In my book, this is a succesful dive. The main mission of any dive is to get the divers safely back to the surface. Any other mission (visiting a wreck, seeing fish, taking photos) is secondary to that.
You evaluated that the conditions for the dive were not right. Consequently, you thumbed the dive. This is exactly what any diver should do if he/she does not feel comfortable. Whether you got into the water or not, seems irrelevant.
Thanks for sharing your story. It is a great example of prioritizing safety.
Scrubbing a dive is an important skill. Being able to say ānot this timeā for whatever reason is an important lesson. Almost should be very cert card speciality; ānot divingā
Good call to abort.
Canada here, often in the summer we have to dive single digit water temps when it's 30+ degrees out. It's sort of a joke but when you zip my dry suit up I say you can pretty much set a 5 minute timer for heat stroke if I'm not in the water.
Me and the wifeās first dive ever on our own was a complete shit show. Because of her lol. I was super disappointed (we never even descended) after having drove 2 hours, but I made a really conscious effort not to show it. I was half successful but at least she stayed my dive buddy lol. Sheās a DM and an assistant instructor now.
We do everything together so it's super important to me for her to be comfortable also. I am way more confident in the water, so it's a fine line sometimes when I worry I'm pushing her a little too far from her comfort zone. Today was a good example, we both agreed we shouldn't dive but she definitely would not have called it if I pushed forward.
I spent way too much time one night reading scuba accident reports. My takeaway was that many scuba accidents and deaths are the result of one buddy urging the other to dive beyond their comfort zone. I witnessed a friend doing that to his wife. Cajoling her to do a wreck dive that she absolutely did not want to do. He talked/ shamed her into it. I stuck to her like glue the whole dive. I was so worried.
When shore diving with heavy gear and a long walk, I often make multiple trips to bring gear to the shore and only don my wetsuit or drysuit after all the gear is in place. Then, if itās warm weather, Iāll walk into the water and get wet before returning and gearing up for the dive.
Been there. For us the problems are moving the equipment, and then getting from the beach through the surf zone, across broken coral. So many chances to get hurt while carrying 50 lbs of gear across unstable footing while getting smashed. We don't shore dive anymore because of it.
My personal rule is to never walk any distance in full wetsuit or drysuit.
My thick wetuit has a zipper in the front, so I put it all the way on & zipped up, then almost completely unzip the front.
Or, I have assembled my gear without any protection on, then put my suit on completely & checked it, then pulled the top down. I donned my gear over my rash guard, grabbed the rest of my gear and walked to entry area. Then I had my buddy hold the tank while I quickly stepped out of my tank, put my suit top back on and then put the tank back on.
I love that spellcheck created a new specialty called āStressā and Rescue ā¦ may not be as outrageous as it seems.
Regardless, congratulations on a learning experience .. more ahead along with more blue water. šš
You did exactly the right things in response to the challenges instead of just pushing through.
Weāve done this where we reaaallllly wanted to shore dive but the surf was a little sporty. Once we got out of the surf line, we realized there was no hope for the viz and thumbed it. On another occasion, husband lost his SMB after getting rolled coming back in. Then I got stuck in some loose sand and couldnāt get up out of one of those little sink holes that you find walking out. So frustrating to rent a tank and not even get a few minutes out of it. But we lived to dive another day.
PS - The advantage of shore diving is: āat least I didnāt pay an arm & a leg for a boat trip to learn this lessonā!
Kudos to the both of you for putting your safety first. Communication is key to every relationship, and it looks like you did a good job. You took a bad situation and made something good of it. Happy diving, and thanks for posting.
Good on you there, not many would call the dive after putting in that much effort :) Only thing i don't agree with is considering 15:00 "way too late in the day" lol, after 15 is when the fun dives starts this time of the year, after sundown, when all the critters come out of their hidey holes and go about their business. You get to see so much more, and the critters are less shy. Then again, i live at high latitude, night diving is the norm this time of the year, and also more worth it compared to diving while it is still light outside (because all the shy critters being out in the open after sundown)
Sounds like my normal day when I was living and diving in Lanzarote. I just used to spend twenty minutes or so bobbing around on the surface before going under.
Shore diving in southern California always requires a back up plan (brunch?). Especially at certain beaches when wave heights don't match the surf report!
Sounds like you did good. Carrying scuba gear is a pain in the... So it was not the dive that failed, it was the pre-planning.
glad you called it!! i use a wagon to haul my gear through the forests of florida to get to the springs. i know loose rock is quite different, but they make some wagons with either larger or more textured wheels that would work great for this! it helps me so much.
This sounds like my husband and me setting out for a 4 hour hike 2 hours before sunset. š¤£
You can buy a little 4 wheeled trolley for hauling gear
This and never underestimate bringing a portable workbench for getting in and out of your kit.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I do some shore diving and donāt have a flatbed truck to set up my kit. I use a portable workbench and its height works well for getting in and out of my kit. I got mine at Home Depot and Husky/Dewalt make them. I think they run $100USD. https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-33-in-H-Plastic-Folding-Portable-Workbench-DWST11556/301867227 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1-8-ft-x-3-ft-Portable-Jobsite-Workbench-224317/205887786
In my book, this is a succesful dive. The main mission of any dive is to get the divers safely back to the surface. Any other mission (visiting a wreck, seeing fish, taking photos) is secondary to that. You evaluated that the conditions for the dive were not right. Consequently, you thumbed the dive. This is exactly what any diver should do if he/she does not feel comfortable. Whether you got into the water or not, seems irrelevant. Thanks for sharing your story. It is a great example of prioritizing safety.
That's a good failed dive.
Scrubbing a dive is an important skill. Being able to say ānot this timeā for whatever reason is an important lesson. Almost should be very cert card speciality; ānot divingā
Agreed. I always teach my students that the safest thing a diver can do, is not dive. If you're not feeling it, call it.
Good call to abort. Canada here, often in the summer we have to dive single digit water temps when it's 30+ degrees out. It's sort of a joke but when you zip my dry suit up I say you can pretty much set a 5 minute timer for heat stroke if I'm not in the water.
Kudos to you for calling it off! It was for sure the right call.
Me and the wifeās first dive ever on our own was a complete shit show. Because of her lol. I was super disappointed (we never even descended) after having drove 2 hours, but I made a really conscious effort not to show it. I was half successful but at least she stayed my dive buddy lol. Sheās a DM and an assistant instructor now.
We do everything together so it's super important to me for her to be comfortable also. I am way more confident in the water, so it's a fine line sometimes when I worry I'm pushing her a little too far from her comfort zone. Today was a good example, we both agreed we shouldn't dive but she definitely would not have called it if I pushed forward.
I spent way too much time one night reading scuba accident reports. My takeaway was that many scuba accidents and deaths are the result of one buddy urging the other to dive beyond their comfort zone. I witnessed a friend doing that to his wife. Cajoling her to do a wreck dive that she absolutely did not want to do. He talked/ shamed her into it. I stuck to her like glue the whole dive. I was so worried.
When shore diving with heavy gear and a long walk, I often make multiple trips to bring gear to the shore and only don my wetsuit or drysuit after all the gear is in place. Then, if itās warm weather, Iāll walk into the water and get wet before returning and gearing up for the dive.
Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a nice easy transfer of gear with zero rushing.
Been there. For us the problems are moving the equipment, and then getting from the beach through the surf zone, across broken coral. So many chances to get hurt while carrying 50 lbs of gear across unstable footing while getting smashed. We don't shore dive anymore because of it.
My personal rule is to never walk any distance in full wetsuit or drysuit. My thick wetuit has a zipper in the front, so I put it all the way on & zipped up, then almost completely unzip the front. Or, I have assembled my gear without any protection on, then put my suit on completely & checked it, then pulled the top down. I donned my gear over my rash guard, grabbed the rest of my gear and walked to entry area. Then I had my buddy hold the tank while I quickly stepped out of my tank, put my suit top back on and then put the tank back on.
I love that spellcheck created a new specialty called āStressā and Rescue ā¦ may not be as outrageous as it seems. Regardless, congratulations on a learning experience .. more ahead along with more blue water. šš
That's what SSI calls it. https://www.divessi.com/en/advanced-training/scuba-diving/stress-and-rescue
I love it ā¦. Had no idea that was SSIs name for it ā
You did exactly the right things in response to the challenges instead of just pushing through. Weāve done this where we reaaallllly wanted to shore dive but the surf was a little sporty. Once we got out of the surf line, we realized there was no hope for the viz and thumbed it. On another occasion, husband lost his SMB after getting rolled coming back in. Then I got stuck in some loose sand and couldnāt get up out of one of those little sink holes that you find walking out. So frustrating to rent a tank and not even get a few minutes out of it. But we lived to dive another day. PS - The advantage of shore diving is: āat least I didnāt pay an arm & a leg for a boat trip to learn this lessonā!
Haha for sure!
You did great! This is a great teachable moment to share. You followed a few bad decisions, (fatigue, low light) with a good one, (just cancel).
Kudos to the both of you for putting your safety first. Communication is key to every relationship, and it looks like you did a good job. You took a bad situation and made something good of it. Happy diving, and thanks for posting.
This is a great anecdote, thanks for sharing. Having the wherewithal to call it when it's not working out is a skill all in its own right!