Posted by Converted on July 10, 2002 at 19:56:04:
In Reply to: Beach Diving - Unscientific Poll posted by Ken Kurtis on July 08, 2002 at 22:25:52:
After 58 boat dives (and 3 beach dives for certification) scattered throughout the prior 7 years, I have done 29 dives in the last 7 months. Only 4 of those were from boats. (93% beach) I am definitely converted to beach diving. I see far more life from the beach. Sure the visibility is usually better from a boat, but I've also had terrible viz from a boat. And as others have written, going out on a boat involves all kinds of hassles.
Perhaps the greatest benefit from beach diving is the skill set. I have encountered far more varied and difficult diving conditions on beach dives than on boat dives. Most of my scuba learning has come from the beach. OW really did not prepare me for diving. AOW was a virtual waste of time. I learned far more from my 25+ beach dives than I did on the 58 boat dives.
I'd like to add that I am a petite woman diver and I carry my own equipment.