Posted by seahunt on August 09, 2002 at 09:59:16:
In Reply to: This maybe a silly question? posted by Eric S on August 08, 2002 at 22:06:01:
The Monastery Crawl or as I first heard it, the Monterey Crawl. It is good in Monterey where you have short beaches and you reach the rocks fairly soon. It's also good for rough stuff since you can't get knocked down as easily. That's where it gets its usefulness at Monastery Beach. It is a nasty entry by any standards (steep and rough) and a crawl has advantages there.
Then again, maybe it can get over used. I was at Monterey on a calm morning and just walked into the water until it was time to swim. Later though, I was watching and there were groups of divers crawling in to the lake like waters. Well, I guess you should use what you know.
I may finally respond to this post. It sort of amuses me because it makes some assumptions (there is one best way and one type of conditions for any entry) that go against reality. To clarify a minor point, SeaStar seems to be talking about the wide, softly sloping beaches of Sothern California that have no rocks to worry about. Putting that limitation on the question would make the answer simpler. ....
Hey, didja notice that no one mentioned that some fins are easier to get on in the water than others. Not only that, but different fins are easier or harder to walk in. At least somebody mentioned that perhaps even divers are different.
I sorta suspect that if a diver were to do a lot of beach diving for a season, under different conditions, they would know their best method of entry.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt