Entry and Exit Techniques
How you get into and out of the water affects your comfort, your safety, and your impact on the environment around you. This lesson covers the basics of entering and exiting from a few common situations.
For choosing an entry or exit point with water movement in mind, see Currents & Rip Currents.
Entering the Water
Wading In
If you are wading in from a shallow, sandy shore, carry your fins in your hand rather than trying to walk in them. Shuffle your feet along the bottom rather than stepping down cleanly, this gives a stingray buried in the sand a chance to move away before you step on it, which is how most stingray injuries actually happen. Walk in until you can sit comfortably, put your fins on while seated, and confirm your mask and snorkel are adjusted and ready. Put your face in the water and check that the area ahead is clear before you start swimming.
Deep-Water Entry
For a deeper water entry, such as jumping in from a dock or a rocky edge, put on all your gear before you reach the edge. Look at the water ahead and below you first, confirm it's clear and deep enough before you commit, depth and visibility right at an entry point can vary a lot, especially around rocks. Line your toes up with the edge, hold your mask and snorkel firmly against your face with one hand, and hold the back of your mask strap with the other. Step forward deliberately rather than jumping, skipping, or hopping, since edges can be slippery and an uncontrolled entry increases the chance of losing gear or landing awkwardly.
This method works well for modest heights, but risk goes up the higher you are, dive-training guidance generally caps a stepping-in entry like this at around 2 metres (roughly 6 feet). Above that, look for another way in, steps, a ladder, easing in from a seated position, or ask your boat or site guide what they'd recommend.
Boat Entry
Boat entries usually follow either the deep-water entry method above or use a ladder to lower yourself into the water, depending on the boat. Follow your boat crew's specific instructions, since setups vary.
Exiting the Water
Shore Exit
Head toward the shallows near the shore. If conditions are calm, find a spot where you can sit, remove your fins, and stand up when ready. If conditions are choppy, keep facing the ocean and walk backward slowly, pausing when waves come in rather than trying to fight through them.
Boat Ladder Exit
Most boat ladders are difficult to climb while still wearing fins. Make contact with the ladder, remove one fin and pass it up to someone on the boat, then swap hands while maintaining contact with the ladder and remove the other fin. Climb the ladder slowly once both fins are off.
Give the person climbing the ladder space. If conditions are choppy, keep extra distance and move more slowly to avoid a collision at the ladder.
