lost my fins and weight to big waves... need advice

[John Marr]

hi there,

i was freediving and snorkeling on a little bay at the spanish coast recently and during my stay in the open water, the waves at the beach became very strong - 2-3m waves on a clear blue day... when i got in the water and on my previous visits of this spot the sea was pretty calm and easy.
when i realized that the sea was becoming more rough, i decided to leave the water since i had been in already for around two hours and was getting tired.
my plan was to ride the waves and let them take me to the beach.
this did not work. i guess mainly to the fact that i have never done this with long fins and weights before. when i reached the breakers i did not manage to ride them, instead they took me under, hurled me around and ripped the fins of me. i tried to save the fins, but instead was caught in a lot of big waves. at some point i had to let go of my weight-belt which made it hard for me to stay up in the surf and i finally made it out of the water feeling very exhausted and small. i saw one of the fins somewhere in the waves, but felt way to unfit to rescue them and i guess i would have lost them again.

my biggest mistake was to dive and swim alone in waters that are not familiar to me but i am also looking for ways to help me with similar situations.
so how can i manage to leave the water during big waves without loosing the fins.

any help and admonitions ( ) welcome

 

[spaghetti]

When the waves are 3 meters and getting worse, there is only one advice more intelligent than "leave the water immediately", and it's the following: leave the water BEFORE conditions get so rough.
In any case, if you find yourself inside the turmoil, I think that surfers can give you some good tips better than anybody. As a spearfisher, this is what I do:
assuming that waves come in a regular time sequence, I take a couple of deep breaths and dive to the bottom watching up, try to count the timing of the waves sequence and keep going up and down, letting the waves pass over me. When the wave is passed, I surface and follow it, when a new wave is arriving, go down and repeat, until I make it to firm land or better, to some sheltered bay when waves don't break.
The big trouble is when you get close to firm land: risk of being smashed against rocks or stoney bottom, and the strenght of breaking waves pushing you back. I'd say that somehow this might be fun, but fun to die for.
May your waters be gentle and your new fins be cool!
PS- If you don't want to loose your fins in the surf again, you might want to try a fin-holder like this one:
Fin holder CRESSI Spare parts Fins Italy Dive Scuba store .com

 

[monkeyhatfork]

- as mentioned there are products you can get to secure your fins, for open heal you can get a fin leash, many bodyboarders and bodysurfers use them.
- the weight may not of helped, but sounds like you may have misjudged the waves. There is a skill to bodysurfing, It could be good to go out once in a while when there are waves and just mess around with bodysurfing-loads of fun.
- the local weather i.e. sunny/calm has nothing to do with wave size, I would suggest looking at a site like surfline.com or wetsand.com they have realtime swell models and forcast and with relative accuracy can tell you in advance what size the waves will be, along with currents and swell direction
- I don't know much about where you are diving, on most california beaches, fins usually find a way back to shore and end up at a lost and found at the lifeguard station. If this is an option in your area you might just get lucky.
- overall I would suggest going and playing in the waves allot, high comfort level in surf has to be learned like anything else and could add an extra thrill to your ocean experience

hope any of this helps

 

[spearheads]

I had a similar experience last week while spearfishing.
I started spearing in the morning with a calm sea but after 2 hours the sea became very rough. I had to strap my guns to my flout so i could use my arms to swim back to the bay i started in, which was at least a mile away.
I was lucky that the waves were pushing me to the bay and not the opposite.
If i had checked the weather conditions for later on in the day i wouldn't of got caught out.

Well i did catch some bass so the day wasn't a complete failure.

I don't use fin holders anymore i find them uncomfortable and a pain to put put on and off.

 

[deep thinker]

Waves normally come through in sets, count the waves and youll see the set it will perhaps be 3 or so strong waves and then a short interval with smaller waves. While the waves are smaller swim normally to gain ground when the waves pick up or when theyre breaking where you are turn and dive under them, the wash should push you back out the other side of the wave follow in the wake and do the duck dive again. Allthough I wont be diving in 3m waves easily... A fin pair of fin savers will be a good idea I think

 

[The Killer's me]

how can a diver lose his fins??? i always use fin keepers...but your fins should fit properly and should never slip out!

strange

 

[John Marr]

thanks for all the replies.
i just wanted to add, that i looked for the spot where i dove in the net and found that my problem seemed to be the strong undercurrents at this spot when the sea is rough.
i used to bodysurf before and never really got so torn apart, so i assumed it was the fins or weights.
@The Killer's me:
my fins (cressi gara 3000 ld) did fit very properly.
but this is of no use if you enter a wave in the wrong way.
my mask, which fits like a glove was also ripped from my face!
luckily it was still strapped around my neck.

 

[azapa]

I had the same thing happen too, its scary. To be honest I have learnt to read my local spot better and either:
a. don't go in when I see a certain threshold passed
b. take a real long swim around troubled areas, you can often find calmer pools, to enter and exit, but they may be 1Km from your dive spot: swimming for them is always better than a beating on the rocks

PD, this is what happend to me: http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediving-stories/71095-floatline-follies.html

 

[Rollout]

When the surf is 2-3m, do what I do...go home and get your surfboard :friday

 

[azapa]

yep! or get boat from the docks out past the breakers. Swell is no problem, other than dizzy making.

 

[kmo]

Its pretty easy to lose things in the surf. After bodyboarding for 15+ years, I've had fins blasted off, savers snapped, and leashes/leash plugs broken.

Sometimes no matter how much you safe guard against it, the surf will beat you.

One time I had a disposable underwater camera zipped into my wetsuit on the small of my back. I was rolled around by a small but heavy wave and came up and the camera was gone. The zip on my wetsuit was still done up and I hadn't even felt it come out past my arms or legs! (short arms and legs on the wetsuit). And no, I didn't suddenly feel constipated.

 

[land shark]

try a kayak instead of a float or better yet use both

 

[covert]

Not that you want to be lecutred but ... dude NEVER dive alone!!!!!!!!!!

Ok now that i got that off my chest here is the best way to handle rough exits according to me. Those of you with any brains will just ignore me completly.

If i have to exit in rough conditions long fins do make that incredibly difficult, and as you mentioned they can be ripped off you feet. What i normally do is very similar to what deep thinker advises, since we dive in the same conditions its probably not suprising,

1 count the sets, seperate the big swell from the little ones,
2 Remove your fins before you hit the breakers, I put them blade to blade
and then I shove them as deep into my weight belt as I possibly can at
my back. (also an easy way to carry fins if your suited and finding an
entry spot.
3 Once your fins are out of the way handling swell and body surfing back
to shore shouldnt be much of a problem. Since youll still be boyant with
your weight belt.
4 Once your feet hits terra firma your fins are safley tucked into your belt
and you just stroll out