Giving up the snorkle

[pacificgal]

Just finished my rescue class with matt (fobturbo). I think that's the only time my mask will ever be joined with a snorkle. I almost want to remove the snorkle, do an s-drill, just to erase the bad memories of attempting to donate my long hose over the top of my pink snorkle.
But...the good news is... Nor cal has a bunch new rescue divers after this weekend!!!!
PS, those snorkles are dangerous!

 

[iztok]

Yay!!!! congrats!

 

[mikemill]

Just finished my rescue class with matt (fobturbo). I think that's the only time my mask will ever be joined with a snorkle. I almost want to remove the snorkle, do an s-drill, just to erase the bad memories of attempting to donate my long hose over the top of my pink snorkle.
But...the good news is... Nor cal has a bunch new rescue divers after this weekend!!!!
PS, those snorkles are dangerous!

Heh, the standards just say you have to have one, not that it has to be attached to your mask

 

[DennisS]

Congratulation, hope you never need it

 

[kathydee]

I have a black rubber snorkle. It's rolled up, often sits quietly in my dive bag - and is known to come out for sunset or SI snorkles -- but certainly not while diving with a longhose ;-).

Congrats on the Rescue class!

 

[fisheater]

I have a Cressi foldable snorkel that I keep in my left thigh pocket. Just in case, . . . .

 

[pafindr]

I have a neat blue snorkel that I bought at Sports authority in 92'. It stays in my dive bag and haven't needed it except for when I was DMing students. Oh and I haven't DM'ed students since 96'

Congratz on the Rescue!!

 

[farsidefan1]

Another vote for having a folding one in your pocket. They are incredibly obnoxious to dive with but when on the surface waiting to be picked up or for a long swim back to shore- gimme my snorkel. The rest of the time I want it deep in my pocket.

 

[dwashbur]

It's going against the grain, but I like mine. It's great for surface swims so I can look around for jellyfish and pelagic worms and stuff like that, it's useful when standing in the shallows fuzting with my fins to get them on or off, and since I use an octopus for AAS and keep it on the opposite side of my body from the snorkel, I've never had it get in my way. I have no problem with those who don't want one, I just find mine useful and like to have it there for when I want it, which is often.

 

[House Gecko]

I hate to go against the grain but I had came to the same realisation as you regarding ditching the snorkel until I found myself without a snorkel in my Rescue Diver Class. Try swimming on the surface a hundred yards or so in full SCUBA to rescue a diver in distress with out a snorkel. It slowed me down a considerable amount, it was sobering. Also I am told that if you have a non-purge valve snorkel it is posable to give rescue breaths through it while towing a non responsive diver.

A few years ago my buddy and I had a mishap at Lovers Beach. Our plan was to surface swim out past the point then drop down and SCUBA straight out from the beach until we hit 2,000 psi. Then we would turn around and scuba back to the beach. Well viz was bad, the surge was strong, and the compass reading was faulty. We got ourselves turned around without knowing it and finned away from the beach until we hit around 700 PSI. Confused as to why our depth was not becoming shallower we ascended to to find ourselves so far out into the bay that we could barley make out Lovers Beach. The swells were around 3 feet high and when only part of your head is out of the water 3 feet seems really high. With out a stationary point of reference it is hard to tell wich way the current is taking you. This was supper scary and we considered the possibility we might not be able to make it back if the current was working against us. Luckily the current was working in our favor, but even so we surface swam for a least a half an hour in those big swells. If we did not have our snorkels we would not have made it back on our own power and I did not see any real promise of a rescue out there.

I believe shore diving our local waters is a exercise in radical self reliance and having a snorkel is a critical tool. If you do not want it on your mask consider strapping it to your tank or BCD so you have if that time ever comes when you need it.