Posted by Anastasia Laity on September 13, 2004 at 15:35:08:
In Reply to: Re: Any tips for a new beach diver? posted by ChrisM on September 13, 2004 at 15:07:01:
I second all that advice... as far as the fins on-or-off debate, just do whatever works for you (I'd recommend trying both approaches once, since I know plenty of people who swear by either method). Also, if you think the waves are too big for you to go in ,DON'T GO IN. I went against my better judgement early in my diving days and got rather smooshed; put me off beach diving for years.
Oh, one more tip: make sure to keep your regs up off the sand. A friend of mine dropped all his gear in the sand when he got out from his first beach dive, and proceeded to drag it by the tank valve THROUGH the sand because he was too tired to carry it. Both second stages required servicing after that, because the sand permanently kept the purge open!
Conditions seem pretty great lately, though - you should have a good time! I'm slowly learning to love beach diving, as it's a lot easier on my pocketbook than lots of boat trips. :)