Posted by George Austin on December 03, 2001 at 12:49:13:
In Reply to: Re: entry procedures posted by Jason on December 03, 2001 at 12:14:32:
We have to assume that the diver is properly weighted. A properly weighted diver is positive at the surface. Without a drop of air in the BC. One of the main reasons we teach these procedures is to get the new diver to be comfortable in the water and to not be what we call "gear dependent" Sure, after a few dozen dives a new diver can be caught backsliding-e.g. kicking out on their backs, having air in the BC while kicking out on their backs, etc. But the theory about never air in the BC goes to learning how to properly weight yourself, no?
Being overweighted is the single most destructive habit that I see. Besides having the HUB nightmare, but thats another story. Yes, beach entries vary from place to place but we are, in this instance, talking about Laguna Beach.
The thing that cracks me up more than anything is watching these classes just start walking backwards into the water,BC full of air, fins on, mask on top of head, right in the middle of a set. I see this more than any other type of entry. And naturally, people get very discouraged trying to learn beach diving when they aren't being instructed correctly from the get go. We regularly pull out instructors and their entire classes while we're standing on the beach shooting the breeze. We, fortunately have been able to train L.A. County Sheriffs S&R Dive Team as well as the Laguna Beach Lifeguards in the technique that I posted about beach entries. When you have your home shop 400 ft from the beach, you get to see what works and what doesn't