Ahhhhh…..the most controversial of subjects: snorkels (lol)

[NW Dive Dawg]

A drysuit is one really good reason.

Good point

 

[johndiver999]

True Story. Little Cayman. May 2018. First dive of the trip. Boat Dive.

Just to set the stage...... I think it's safe to say that most of us prefer to dive with the least amount necessary of added weight. ANd I think that most would agree that being a couple of lbs overweighted is better then being a couple of lbs underweighted. My personal "gauge" for proper weighting is the least amount of lead needed for me to comfortably hover with no tag or anchor line in 20 FSW open water with 300 PSI remaining... That number obviously needs to be adjusted to accommodate various gear, tank type, exposure suits, etc..... With that said.... in order to descend with that minimal weighting, many divers will COMPLETELY dump their BC and also COMPLETELY exhale in order to get started down...

So.......a woman on the boat with us had entered the water with her buddy. First dive of the trip and maybe she was nervous...who knows. So she signals OK to go down, dumps her BC and fully exhales through her reg to begin the descent... Then at about 5-7 feet deep with her momentum still headed down she goes ahead and inhales off of her reg....... only it wasn't her reg. It was her snorkel. Panic ensued. She somehow made it back the surface where the coughing and screaming started. She actually screamed...."I'm drowning". My buddy and myself were about 15ft away and still on the surface getting ready to descend. Her buddy was still headed down with no clue as to what was happening on the surface. We were able to get to her in a few seconds while yelling...... "Put your reg in, inflate your BC, drop your weights." My buddy (a fellow instructor), went right for her weights while I grabbed her tank valve from behind and then was able to get to her unattended inflator to inflate and then get her right back to the boat ladder that was only a few yards away. We had no idea what the problem was as she had spit her snorkel by then and was in panic mode.

It all turned out OK.... and after taking the rest of that day off she was back in the water the next day..... with NO snorkel...... and my buddy and I couldn't pay for a drink at Beach Nuts that night.

I would never say to anyone whether to use a snorkel or not while on SCUBA...... It's a personal choice. Just wanted to point out a real life example of where a snorkel on SCUBA actually almost killed someone..

Wow, telling a panicked person to do three things at once... Doesn't get my vote for the best way to handle that situation. I've seen similar situations quite a few times.

I generally tell people to put their regulator in and then I press the inflator if they don't do it immediately on their own. Dropping lead is unnecessary, and could actually cause injury to people below, when it is entirely unnecessary and probably not effective in a warm water situation with minimal lead.

In a situation where you have two dive instructors on the surface and the victim is a few feet (and seconds) away from the boat that seems like a good bit of over-reaction to a minor problem.

People that are screaming on the surface and are close to you are not generally in imminent danger of drowning. Getting them to handle the situation is best for them and their future development. If she put the reg in the emergency would be over with no loss of gear, no danger and a preservation of her dignity (and gear).

 

[formernuke]

I do my safety stops horizontal in my drysuit. I ascend except the last few feet horizontal as well. It's just a matter of pratice.

 

[Subcooled]

Our son blew our minds 2 days ago. He’s 33 and wants to learn how to dive!!!!!! We are SO excited. For years he said he was not interested. Comes to be he was afraid he couldn’t pass the pool test. I had related to him how tough it is to tread water for 10 min with your arms above your head. He said he tried and just couldn’t do it.

Tread water? Why?
The most important skill of a diver is to SINK, not to float.

(Ok, this is my bad. Times changed, I was taught by an ex navy seal and we earned that certification.)

A combat diver is something else than a commercial diver, let alone recreational diver (even a technical one).
A combat diver needs to complete a mission. The other two need to survive.

I let him know this was no longer a qualification.

Daddy was too demanding?

Sooooo……in discussions about dive gear the infamous snorkel came up.

is it a requirement to purchase us demonstrate usage of a snorkel?

I do not know, but getting an "over the nose" type of snorkel would be advisable, as those things are absolutely lovely when you do a divers daily swimming routine. On weekdays I tend to swim a little less than a mile per day, and a centered snorkel is GREAT! It is relatively stable. If it would be on one side, then the current would affect it.

Will he be required to buy a snorkel? Yep we are talking about minor cost but why waste money?

You should discuss the requirements with the instructor.
A snorkel _might_ be a very valuable tool in certain conditions, but not in all.

I will admit, I am anti snorkel.

Snorkels are great WHEN YOU NEED THEM.
Unfortunately though, they have been canonized, which is wrong.

 

[formernuke]

To stay on subject. Yes a snorkel is required for OW cert as there are required skills with it.

After OW, see above comments.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Wow, telling a panicked person to do three things at once... Doesn't get my vote for the best way to handle that situation. I've seen similar situations quite a few times.

I generally tell people to put their regulator in and then I press the inflator if they don't do it immediately on their own. Dropping lead is unnecessary, and could actually cause injury to people below, when it is entirely unnecessary and probably not effective in a warm water situation with minimal lead.

In a situation where you have two dive instructors on the surface and the victim is a few feet (and seconds) away from the boat that seems like a good bit of over-reaction to a minor problem.

People that are screaming on the surface and are close to you are not generally in imminent danger of drowning. Getting them to handle the situation is best for them and their future development. If she put the reg in the emergency would be over with no loss of gear, no danger and a preservation of her dignity (and gear).

I respect your right to your opinion.......but will say that this is one of those times when you "had to be there" to get the full picture. This person was in full panic mode and we had absolutely no idea what the actual problem was. Our mutual and immediate reaction was to make sure that whatever the problem was..... that the problem was going to stay on the surface. In that situation, I stand with our verbal instructions as being correct, along with the hope that she might have heard and acted on any one of those three options.

Also, my buddy did not drop her weights. She was in a rental non-integrated BC, dive skin and had a weight belt with 8-10 lbs max. By the time my buddy secured her weight belt and resurfaced, I already had her in valve tow and had inflated her BC and was kicking the few yards back to the boat.

My story was not meant to tell anyone what they should or should not do in this type of situation. You can think you'll know what you'll do and you can even practice for different scenarios......but when the shite really hits the fan, you're probably gonna do what you end up doing.

My story was simply intended to relay an actual event that occurred when a diver accidently mistook her snorkel as her regulator......

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

While the snorkel is listed as a required equipment in section 4.2 in the minimum course content for open water diver certification, it does not state that the snorkel must always be worn. For those who dive a long hose, a snorkel underwater is an entanglement hazard. There is nothing prohibiting an instructor teaching a student to remove the snorkel prior to ascending and connecting the snorkel in some manner to a mask strap on return to the surface. This is what I teach in my open water courses, and several instructors I know who teach on a long hose do the same. There isn't any controversy here as far as I can tell.

 

[scubadada]

I haven't used a snorkel in years. I recently went to Tiger Beach and Bimini and had a chance to snorkel with dolphins. They loaned me a snorkel and off I went. It came back like riding a bike. I had a great time

 

[Bob DBF]

For those who dive a long hose, a snorkel underwater is an entanglement hazard.

I found it to be more a PITA than entanglement hazard when I was trying the 5' and 7' hose. I could clear the snorkel in drills, but had a nagging worry that in the speed of an emergency the hose would catch on the snorkel, as it did on my first tries, and slow me down getting air to a buddy. Since I am one of the few that use a snorkel on an ongoing basis, I went with a 40" hose.

I have never had an entanglement with my snorkel, but will admit I take it off, and tuck it under my BFK straps, when there is an entanglement hazard or non benign overhead.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I found it to be more a PITA than entanglement hazard when I was trying the 5' and 7' hose. I could clear the snorkel in drills, but had a nagging worry that in the speed of an emergency the hose would catch on the snorkel, as it did on my first tries, and slow me down getting air to a buddy. Since I am one of the few that use a snorkel on an ongoing basis, I went with a 40" hose.

I have never had an entanglement with my snorkel, but will admit I take it off, and tuck it under my BFK straps, when there is an entanglement hazard or non benign overhead.

While I haven't had any underwater emergencies where I panicked, I'm not sure how much stress I would feel if my wife or daughter signaled out of air to me as they swam to grab my primary. It just makes sense to not have the snorkel there. For me, even on the "traditional" hose configuration, I found snorkels sometimes being where I expected to find my LPI when not looking.