Do you Need a Snorkel

[Thalassamania]

Ok fair enough. With me, I put my reg in my mouth to swim out to dive sites as I always have heaps of air (can't remember the last time I ended a dive based on my remaining gas). This might be needed in other places but for the diving I do, if I want to see the bottom whilst swimming out, reg is fine, just don't need the extra air

With the heavy chop, I have had long waits on the surface and if it is choppy I keep my reg in my mouth or I time my breath with the waves. For the former, I have never been in a situation where I couldn't sit on the surface breathing off my reg for a long while. So I guess if a helicopter flies past me, I will just keep my reg in my mouth also.

On the other points, to clarify, for the mouth to mouth, are you talking about in water transportation for the first point on this?

Yes, in water transportation for the first point, use anywhere on the second. As far as keeping the second stage in yer yap ... eventually you will run out of gas, I don't care for emergency procedures that run out of gas. As far as choppers are concerned, sure most people have little to do with them, but over the years I've wound up under one a dozen or so times, guess it goes with the job.

 

[Sas]

Yes, in water transportation for the first point, use anywhere on the second. As far as keeping the second stage in yer yap ... eventually you will run out of gas, I don't care for emergency procedures that run out of gas. As far as choppers are concerned, sure most people have little to do with them, but over the years I've wound up under one a dozen or so times, guess it goes with the job.

If I run out of gas I will breath in time with the waves. The odds of me not getting picked up before I run out of gas are very very low, low enough to make it not worthwhile to carry a snorkel. As I said before, this relates to where I dive and the conditions in which I dive. If I dived in places where it had a higher chance of occurring, then I would consider it.

 

[Thalassamania]

I guess my point is that once you know how to properly wear and use a snorkel the price of wearing one is so low that not being properly prepared for even the "low chance" occurrences strikes me as penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[Sas]

I guess my point is that once you know how to properly wear and use a snorkel the price of wearing one is so low that not being properly prepared for even the "low chance" occurrences strikes me as penny wise and pound foolish.

All of those reasons you list can be dealt with in other ways with the types of diving I do so I see no need for a snorkel. I don't like to take bits of gear with me in the water when they are there to solve a problem that has other solutions and the problem is highly unlikely to occur in the first place. To each their own though.

 

[Thalassamania]

The "other ways" in which you propose to solve the identified problems (and you only "solved" a few ot those that I listed off the top of my head) are limited by your gas supply. Anything that compromises that supply when combined with the other issues (and that's typical of diving accidents) has the potential to put you in a world of hurt, something that I'd hate to see happen.

 

[Sas]

The "other ways" in which you propose to solve the identified problems (and you only "solved" a few ot those that I listed off the top of my head) are limited by your gas supply. Anything that compromises that supply when combined with the other issues (and that's typical of diving accidents) has the potential to put you in a world of hurt, something that I'd hate to see happen.

If I am on the surface though, I have a gas supply (the air) and if I am under the surface then a snorkel won't help.

The ocean just doesn't get rough enough here for me to have trouble breathing without a snorkel. I would modify my equipment if I had to dive in rougher seas or places where I might easily lose the boat and have a long surface wait.

 

[Thalassamania]

If I am on the surface though, I have a gas supply (the air) and if I am under the surface then a snorkel won't help.

The ocean just doesn't get rough enough here for me to have trouble breathing without a snorkel. I would modify my equipment if I had to dive in rougher seas or places where I might easily lose the boat and have a long surface wait.

I guess I've never seen a place where the ocean just doesn't get rough enough here for me to have trouble breathing without a snorkel. Were is this paradise?

 

[Sas]

I guess I've never seen a place where the ocean just doesn't get rough enough here for me to have trouble breathing without a snorkel. Were is this paradise?

Port Phillip Bay, Westernport Bay and the Bass Strait.

It can get rough, but I have had no problems breathing, chatting to my buddy and so on whilst waiting for the boat to come get us in the rough seas.

One of my buddies always has his snorkel though, as he has trouble breathing when the swell is up a bit. I don't know why he has trouble as I don't have this problem.

On incredibly rough days, boats just don't go out. I have a snorkel in my divebag these days for when the weather might be worse than predicted but haven't needed to use it yet.

 

[Thalassamania]

I can see why surf is not an issue, but an absence of chop amazes me

I suspect that your buddy's problem with his snorkel stems from not using it enough, especially when it gets rough. My concern for you is that when it gets bad enough that you decide to pull it out you will have lost the almost instinctive glottal control needed to use it in really bad conditions. It is a kinda, "use it or lose it" skill.

 

[Sas]

I can see why surf is not an issue, but an absence of chop amazes me

Oh there can be chop. I have been out when the seas have been big but as I said, I have not had trouble breathing on the surface.

I suspect that your buddy's problem with his snorkel stems from not using it enough, especially when it gets rough. My concern for you is that when it gets bad enough that you decide to pull it out you will have lost the almost instinctive glottal control needed to use it in really bad conditions. It is a kinda, "use it or lose it" skill.

Fair enough. Could you explain in more detail about glottal control? I presumed that was what I was fine with, given I haven't needed a snorkel when in rough conditions.

I do believe though that my snorkelling/freediving abilities are really not up to scratch but I have arranged to work on this with an experienced freediving friend.