Do you Need a Snorkel
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Herk_Man
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I can't believe how contentious this topic has been. I don't think that anyone is saying that every diver should or should not always carry a snorkel, or have I missed something?
I can't comment on where, or how anyone dives. All I can say, is if you want to dive in many of the areas of the North Atlantic (unless it's dead calm), I recommend that you come well trained, have good watermanship abilities and ensure that you enter the water with all your equipment functioning properly (including a snorkel).
Here you can expect to deal with cold water (30-40 degrees much of the year), strong currents, tides, waves, surf and rocks. Getting in and out of the water can be exhausting. Forget about being on your back unless you don't mind being thrown into a rock or miss your exit point. Add a tired or rescued diver to the mix and you will be pushed to your limits.
If you really don't think you need a snorkel, bring one anyway. Search and Rescue use helicopters and you may find yourself under the downdraft of one and will wish you had one with you.
If you honestly don't think that it's worth the time to carry one while you're diving here, I'll pay for your air fills. I think that this is a safe bet because chances are the only reason why you don't want to carry a snorkel is that you've perfected the technique of breathing water and don't need SCUBA either. LOL
I'm curious ... for those (2) of you who are using the open ocean/helicopter rescue scenario ...
... do survival suits like the ones commercial fishermen use come equipped with snorkels? I mean, if they're going to be used at all, it's going to be in some of the worst conditions imaginable ... and if the people using them survive at all, it's almost a dead-nuts certainty that their rescue will involve helicopters.
I can't say for sure ... but the survival suits I've seen ... used by former friends of mine who fished George's Bank ... didn't appear to include snorkels.
If snorkels are so necessary for these conditions ... why not?
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
No Bob, Survival Suits are for deepwater survival and offer thermal protection only. None that I'm aware of are equipped with a snorkel. Survival suits are not designed to be agile enough to allow the victim to get out of the water in current, surf and waves on a rugged shoreline. If this were the situation, the person would likely be beaten to death on the rocks.
You correctly point out that you do not need a snorkel to float around in deep water and wait for someone (with a snorkel) to save your life. This is getting old...
DennisS
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They don't come with fins either, but they would be helpful keeping survivors together and swimming to the raft.
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No Bob, Survival Suits are for deepwater survival and offer thermal protection only. None that I'm aware of are equipped with a snorkel. Survival suits are not designed to be agile enough to allow the victim to get out of the water in current, surf and waves on a rugged shoreline. If this were the situation, the person would likely be beaten to death on the rocks.
You correctly point out that you do not need a snorkel to float around in deep water and wait for someone (with a snorkel) to save your life. This is getting old...
So since in the open ocean a person in a survival suit floating on the surface doesn't need a snorkel, then why should a diver? There isn't any functional difference between floating in open ocean in a survival suit vs scuba gear ... one doesn't need to be agile in those conditions ... one only needs to be able to remain afloat.
And apparently snorkels aren't required for helicopter rescues either, since people getting rescued via helicopters in survival suits don't use them ... and helicopter rescues would be the rule in those situations.
So let's examine those divers trying to get out of the water in current, surf and waves on a rugged shoreline. How will a snorkel help them? How will a snorkel be of any use when a wave slams you into a rock, or rolls you around on a beach?
Perhaps if they abandon their rig for the sake of agility, then I can see a possible advantage. But if they're trying to exit with their gear, they're going to be much better off keeping their reg in their mouth and breathing off their air supply.
Seriously ... I'm not saying you're wrong ... I'm saying the argument doesn't seem consistent with anything I've experienced or can envision based on my experiences.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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dumpsterDiver
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I can assure you that after doing some challenging, high energy exits over rocks and boulders, it is essential that the diver see where they are going and they need to be face down and to use their arms to protect themselves. This is so intuitively obvious, I can't really think of a way to explain it. I would choose to use a regulator for this type of exit, but if I ran out of air, a snorkel would be preferable to having nothing.
LeadTurn_SD
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As always, this debate leads nowhere because both camps get firmly "entrenched" in our positions (I'm guilty)....
Both sides (hopefully) agree that there are numerous situations on the surface in rough water that it is important to protect your airway.... typically by keeping your mask on your face and regulator in your mouth. And if swimming face down, you need a way to breath....
Even as a "snorkel dude", I think the regulator-in-mouth is in general is the best answer (because it provides 100% protection of the airway and a continuous supply of air, even if you are pushed underwater); but this always assumes a functioning regulator and air in the tank.
If either of those assumptions is false, you've lost the ability to use the regulator to protect your airway... and the scuba unit is now just expensive dead weight.... and this is where I see the "safety" function of the snorkel. In rough water, I can get more "clean" breaths with a snorkel than without. And in a dire emergency that required me to get lean and mean (ditch my gear) and "swim for it", I can swim farther and faster in open water with a snorkel than without.
In rough surface conditions, my first choice is my regulator in my mouth.... but I have a backup if the regulator fails. In typical mild-to-moderate conditions, you'll see me bobbing on the surface with my snorkel.... and in Kona's flat water, just lounging MOF chatting with my buddy
Best wishes.
Both sides (hopefully) agree that there are numerous situations on the surface in rough water that it is important to protect your airway.... typically by keeping your mask on your face and regulator in your mouth. And if swimming face down, you need a way to breath....
Even as a "snorkel dude", I think the regulator-in-mouth is in general is the best answer (because it provides 100% protection of the airway and a continuous supply of air, even if you are pushed underwater); but this always assumes a functioning regulator and air in the tank.
If either of those assumptions is false, you've lost the ability to use the regulator to protect your airway... and the scuba unit is now just expensive dead weight.... and this is where I see the "safety" function of the snorkel. In rough water, I can get more "clean" breaths with a snorkel than without. And in a dire emergency that required me to get lean and mean (ditch my gear) and "swim for it", I can swim farther and faster in open water with a snorkel than without.
In rough surface conditions, my first choice is my regulator in my mouth.... but I have a backup if the regulator fails. In typical mild-to-moderate conditions, you'll see me bobbing on the surface with my snorkel.... and in Kona's flat water, just lounging MOF chatting with my buddy
Best wishes.
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