Shore diving is a rather special form of diving because, as its name suggests, it involves diving from the shore, without surface assistance or boat. This style of diving has undoubted advantages. The cost of diving is derisory compared to “boat” diving and the “shore diver” has the immense pleasure of being totally independent of traditional structures, their schedules, their sometimes restrictive internal regulations or a director. from diving to the "little master corporal" mentality. In return, he is on his own and can only count on himself or his peers to ensure his safety. Usually the “shore divers” are experienced divers who are particularly well documented on the diving conditions of the sites they practice. They must not only study the weather, the topography, the currents, the route to follow to reach the site but also establish a strategy for entering and leaving the water in the best conditions. Likewise, they must also establish their own evacuation plan with adequate means of communication in the event of an accident.
The Ix-Xatt I-Ahmar wrecks in Gozo - Excerpt from: Shore diving, another way to dive
The 10 commandments of the responsible shore diver
- Provide loved ones with their dive schedule (location, schedule, etc.) and instructions in the event of prolonged absence.
- Have on the site a mobile phone directly in working order, that is to say having a charged battery, an unlocked keypad and the list of emergency numbers.
- Provide a first aid kit and preferably oxygen therapy equipment.
- Bring food and drinks (non-alcoholic!).
- Be very attentive to the planning of the dives and be well informed on the particularities of the site as well as on the local regulations in force.
- Recognize the terrain before diving and above all do not forget that you must transport the equipment back and forth.
- Provide a place for easy launching and especially a place to get out of the water easily.
- Provide an evacuation plan in the event of an accident: address of the hospital and the nearest hyperbaric chamber.
- For night diving: Recognize the terrain during the day and do not forget to leave an easily recognizable lighting on the edge.
- Never hesitate to seek advice from local divers.
A real institution in certain countries
When we talk about shore diving, we immediately think of quarries, lakes and gravel pits, but this is only a tiny fraction of the possibilities offered to diverse shore. Marginal in France, countries like the Netherlands (Zeeland), Bonaire, Curaçao and Malta have erected this practice as a true national institution. Among our neighbors across the Atlantic, the practice is common in particular in the maritime fluviomaritaries of estuaries (St-Laurent, Puget Sound, Georgia Strait in Vancouver) and in the states parks of the United States. There is even a "Disneyland" submarine, theEdmonds Underwater Park in Seattle !
Scharendijke in Zeeland (Netherlands) a site for diving on board. In vignette, the diving center with hotel, restaurant and an automatic bottle inflation machine (50 cents coins)
Extract from: Diving from the shore, another way of diving.
For lovers of diving off the beaten track
Scrap metal lovers… diving on board is also for you! Around the world many wrecks are accessible from the edge. The most famous is the USS President Coolidge in Vanuatu, difficult to miss with its 198m long. But there are many others, notably in Malta which abounds in pluneable shipwrecks on board, in Bonaire, in Curaçao, in Scotland and the Satil in Israel. Le Satil was one of the five stars of Cherbourg. Those who love "special" and "out of the ordinary" dives will find their happiness by visiting St-Abbs Cathedral, Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto in the Cayman Islands, the Spooky Channel in Roatan, the Mermaid Cove in British Columbia, the tubes lava (cooled) from Makena Landing in Hawaii, Grotto and the Bat Cave in Saipan.
Poor francophone literature!
Unlike Anglo-Saxons, the specific French-speaking literature on this subject is almost nonexistent. In the guides, barely a few mentions of the possible possibilities of diving from the edge ... nothing apart from a website or two! A good guide should, in my opinion, answer the following questions: who, where, when, how and why.
- Who: What is the level of technicality and experience necessary to dive on the site?
- Where: How to join the site? Where to get in and out of the water?
- When: When to dive? Are there time requirements? Should we take into account the tides? Should we dive in the stalls?
- How: How to dive? Which route to follow? Do you need specific equipment?
- Why: Why dive on this site? What are its particularities (fauna, caves, tunnels, wrecks…)?
Diving on board, another way of diving
"Shore diving, another way to dive" is an electronic book in PDF format. This guide describes, using drawings, photos and technical sheets, the best diving and snorkeling sites accessible from the shore. It is intended to be practical and easy to use, without however omitting the cultural, historical, humorous and anecdotal aspects. About twenty countries, distributed around the globe, are approached in this work. Finally, it allows you to answer security and logistical questions: How to organize your trip, what are hyperbaric services and emergency numbers, what are the habits and customs, where to rent diving equipment ...
The sale price is € 12 including VAT, to find out more and download:
http://plongee.bord.voila.net/
440 pages
130 dive sites described
210 photos and 140 illustrations
200 active links to diving centers, tourist office, tide calculators, etc.
PDF - 40Mb
Tablets, PC, Mac
French
Corsican
Dutch
French
English
Spanish
German
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Swedish
0 comment
Bonjour à tous
I agree a little with the “classic” and that's why this year I decided not to have a Blue Lagoon stand. I find that the Salon is Luxembourgish and the fact that it is “the” only diving event, everyone feels obliged to participate even if they are unhappy. And year after year, the team members (those who stay because this year CRESSI and MATES were not participating either) try to have stands that are bigger and bigger (it helps to fill the Hall) and more and more decorated. but unfortunately I did not find much new material. It is true that stands like PLONGIMAGE, PHOTO DENFERT, DIRTY DIVE, VIEUX PLONGEUR… .. are doing “business” but I don't think tour operators do. And, as long as this show does not open a little to the general public and does not become more festive (the stands where there were people and the animation was the stands that offered drinks) and less long (mobilization of 5 - 6 days is heavy) I think that the number of visitors will decrease and we will find ourselves with a hard noutau… .. We must also pay attention to the figures announced by the organization. It's a bit like “after demonstrating them and according to the police”. The fact of changing halls every year confuses us to compare. We had the impression that there were more people on Saturday than last year but beware the aisles were much narrower than in 2010….
Finally, I am convinced that the living room in its current form is slipping away and that's a shame.
Good bubbles to all
osman ERSEN