Posted by JRM on July 09, 2002 at 16:35:03:
In Reply to: Amen brother posted by Kevin on July 09, 2002 at 06:52:34:
Yeah, I seem to remember a big surf incident last year and something about a concerned surfer? I'm not sure exactly what happened though. My nightmares are filled with rolling in the surf, but my conscious brain has blacked out something about a hike back up some stairs. Must have been fuzzy from all the Oxygen I sucked down.
I do remember fish, clams, and crabs though. Even baby fish. The Kevmeister once brought back a crab so large that he broke the cracker trying to get the meat out ;-). (I know, I was there. Nothing that a few whacks with the sledge couldn't fix, though). I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to get those suckers back through the surfline without losing any fingers or toes...
I think that beach diving comfort has a lot more to do with surf comfort than with diving comfort. If you're comfortable in the surf without gear, it makes a world of difference when you strap the tanks on. It always amazes me how many people try to dive who are afraid of the ocean. There's almost as many of those as people who try to climb but are afraid of heights. Although, now that I think about it, trying to get a task loaded student through any kind of real surf would probably be a bit over the top, as they have a hard time just walking with the gear on, much less sneaking out under the pounders.
There isn't much about beach diving that a heavy dose of common sense doesn't cover. And even those parts are easily covered by a few dives with an experienced group or buddy.
JRM
-- T - 39 hours till departure for Fiji. My favorite new phrase is "unlimited shore and night diving"