An argument for always having a snorkel

[shoturtle]

Try this one on for size.

A buddy of mine was diving a wreck, where there is a lot of current on one side, and somewhat of a lee on the other side. His face came out slightly into the current side( I didn't say he was a smart buddy), and the current grabbed his snorkel and pulled off his mask.

He hasn't dove with a snorkel since

Regs are for diving, snorkels are for snorkelling

To each their own, there is no absolute to this question about snorkel or not snorkel.

 

[nereas]

"SURVIVORMAN" (c) (Science Channel / Comcast Cable) has aired a lone scuba diver survivor program.

It is really nice to have your snorkel with you, and your mask and fins, to spear fish and survive on a tropical island, if you are left behind by the boat.

He does it for 7 days. Great show!

 

[jfl]

I think the greater lesson learned here is that navigation and always knowing where you are is far more important than having a snorkel.

 

[gr8white]

Try this one on for size.

A buddy of mine was diving a wreck, where there is a lot of current on one side, and somewhat of a lee on the other side. His face came out slightly into the current side( I didn't say he was a smart buddy), and the current grabbed his snorkel and pulled off his mask.

He hasn't dove with a snorkel since

Regs are for diving, snorkels are for snorkelling

Wreck diving with a snorkel on his mask? Insane.

I think the greater lesson learned here is that navigation and always knowing where you are is far more important than having a snorkel.

Wow. That's the lesson? I don't think I've ever meet a diver who didn't make a navigation mistake...or just off a bit. Coming up and finding yourself further from shore than you thought or on the other side of the reef and needing to swim a while is anything from a mere inconvenience to a life threatening situation depending on the distance and severity of the surface conditions. I think adding a foldable snorkel in your pocket, if you don't have one, is a good lesson to learn from all these redundant threads. And I just added another!



As for

 

[Riding]

Personally, I believe in snorkels, divers tend to be in distress on the surface. I've seen too many people struggling to keep water out of their months instead of relaxing with their snorkel in.

 

[Riding]

Your buddy probably had one of those crappy 'hook-on' snorkel keepers instead of the old tried and true one with 2 circles in it that loops around the mask. I've had many people come to do their Rescue Diver with the 'hook-on' snorkel keeper & I tell them it's a piece of crap, pay a few bucks & get the older model; you'll never loose your snorkel.

 

[dave4868]

Last week while doing our morning drop-off dive at Coco View in Roatan I had a learning experience.

At Coco view the second boat dive is a drop-off dive on either Newman’s Wall in the southwest or Coco View Wall in the Northeast side of the channel. You then swim to shore. On this dive we were dropped at Newman’s.

We, group of 4, were coming in with the wall to our left and were at about 90 ft. Somehow, we crossed the channel and were headed out Coco View wall. Bad mistake in that we all assumed the wall was still on our left and didn’t check our compass heading – lesson #2, group consciousness isn’t always right!!

We came up to 45ft at 750psi and surfaced at 500psi, but had gone a fair distance down Coco View wall. I was down to 250psi after the SS.

What would have been a simple surface swim back in the other direction became a pain in the ^%^%^ back swim rafting on the BCDs.

I will never dive again without a snorkel!

I think the greater lesson learned here is that navigation and always knowing where you are is far more important than having a snorkel.

Perhaps, but the OP very openly acknowledged that good navigation is important. He also said that group consensus can be misleading.

He just made the point that another important lesson he learned was to always bring a snorkel to deal with the hassle of a long surface swim.

A very reasonable precaution, I'd say, that comes in handy quite often for many of us who shore dive in the ocean.

I'm always reminded of the scary episode of laryngospasm that was suffered by a ScubaBoarder who choked on some water while on the surface. If I remember correctly, his throat closed up and it was so long before could draw a breath that he almost blacked out. That can happen to anyone.

I also remember my own experience in water so choppy that it was difficult to avoid choking on the chaotic water. Just stuck my snorkel in my mouth and was able to easily watch for boat traffic until my boat could pick me up.

I certainly don't underestimate the risk of rough water or overestimate my ability to cope with it.

I might add that wearing my snorkel on every dive has never proven to be a liability to me. In fact, only twice has it been in the way at all and that was on two occasions when I removed my gear to release an entanglement. Not a big drawback in my book.

Quite often I find snorkelling a real pleasure at the end of a shore dive.

Sometimes I've found having a snorkel invaluable....

Dave C

 

[Harkster61]

Hey cfelliot: Your posting has startd a spark on this group. Let me say this as a Cape Breton' Nova Scotia, Year round master diver I have been in every kind of water you could think of. I very seldom use my snorkel but do carry in as a fold up in my BC with my extra light my safty sausage and rope cutter and have on occasion used it. and was happy to have it. If you carry it for 20 years and only use it once it was worth it. On all discussion boards and all dive vacartions there are always those that Dive and can not make any errors I am not one I make a ton of them. Anyone that never gets lost navagating has never been in the water. Oh you can do it and keep track of every moment of the dive but you are working not making the most of the dive and relaxing and enjoying. Swimming a long distance on your back sucks, throw in a current and it becomes brutal. So in closing my advice is to get a fold up snorkel and put it out of sight till you need it, and away from the super divers that scoff at the idea that they could ever make an error and have use for it. Safe diving is a concept if you want to be absolutly safe stay home. be prepaired.

 

[Dlight]

What was your point in not having your snorkel???

 

[A Chanster]

This seems simple to me.
Keep a fold up in your pocket.
That way if you need one you got it.
Being in your pocket it wont get in the way of your long hose, increase risk of mask flooding, get you entangled, get your hair caught in it (assuming you have hair, unlike me)...etc.

I have never needed one but after reading this I may take a look at a fold up.

cheers