Is SNUBA safe?

[billt4sf]

Some of my family members are interested in trying Snuba. I am interested in taking them, we would scuba along as they Snuba.

Is it safe? Maximum depth is 20 feet. the website says this: After a 15-minute orientation, your SNUBA® Guide will accompany you on a guided underwater tour that is safe, easy and enjoyed at your own level of comfort. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

I have talked to friends that found it to their liking and felt it was safe -- Safe, as long as they don't bolt to the surface. I wonder how much a 15-min orientation would do for them.

- Bill

 

[Spitts6654]

My GF isn't certified so on the last trip we made to the Keys she did the SNUBA. Seems pretty safe, she did the orientation, put a weight belt on her and a harness that the regulator is attached to. She got in the water swam to the SNUBA float and held on until she was ready and the SNUBA guide (which was a certified instructor) took her down (air is surfaced supplied, so no BCD) in a sandy area so she could get oriented. Once she gave him the okay sign he began taking her around the reef. We were down for about 30 minutes maybe a little more. She really enjoyed it, but it is very expensive. I think it was about $150 for one dive and $75 for the second.

So if you can afford it, go for it, but for a little more they can just get OW certified.

 

[grantwiscour]

Snuba seems safe enough for those comfortable in the water. I would check into the Discover Scuba but either one would be a treat for a non-diver.

 

[tomfcrist]

As a quick easy way to get an uncertified diver underwater, I believe snuba or hookah with a professional operator is safe enough. The drawbacks are that on snuba(air supplied by a dive tank) you have no SPG. And with hookah(a small compressor supplying continuous air) there is always a chance that the compressor quits running, thus you end up OOA. I have had this happen with a brownies third lung twice, once because it ran out of gas, and once when it got swamped by a passing boat.

The reality is, drag a spare air or pony with you when diving surface supplied....you never know what could happen.

 

[danvolker]

Tooka is similar, and you can do it in Palm Beach and a few areas in the Caribbean.

The instructor is the key, along with the training they had to ensure the safety of the non-divers enjoying the underwater experience.

Among the key issues are :

• Making sure the non-divers( let's call them students) are never nervous--meaning not having fun, not using their brains, and not learning---this means nearly constant eye contact by the instructor.
• Pre-dive briefing only covers a couple of things they must do, to ensure the students retain the essential RULES---
  • Always breathe --never hold your breath--you have been breathing your entire life, and you are a PRO at it...keep it up...
  • if you want to come up for any reason, including to talk, show the thumb up to the instructor, and then the group of 2 students plus instructor will immediately ascend to the Raft on the surface, which each student MUST grab the handles of prior to the reg coming out of the mouth to talk ( prevents getting tuired from swimming vertically on the surface, as well as getting a wave into the mouth and the diver inhaling it)
  • When the instructor flashes you the OK sign, if you are OK, you flash it back
  • Squeeze the nose and gently blow in to equalize ears on the way down. The instructor monitors this, and reminds them on the way down if needed.
• The instructor is 100% responsible for making sure the masks don't leak, and that they don't fog.
• The instructor is 100% responsible for getting each student to be either exactly neutral with the weight on their belt, or slightly positive in buoyancy, so that if they stopped swimming while 10 or 15 feet down, they would gradually rise upward without trying to. Gradually stays gradual, as there is no BC to screw this up.
• The instructor monitors air remaining in the double tanks on the raft at surface, from the pressure gauge that hangs down into the water where it is easy for the instructor to see while still within 5 feet of the students.
• The Tooka prevents one student from getting further than about 10 feet from the other, due to the y connector off the main line, and the short length of hose each student is on, that prevents more than the 10 foot separation. Also, the instructor "steers" the 2 students from the Y connector, and can also tow the Raft from here, meaning the students have no drag in the water beyond what they would have if snorkeling.

See the article and video Tooka article

[video=youtube_share;Qy0QgaKdonQ]http://youtu.be/Qy0QgaKdonQ[/video]