Let's Re-Brand "Snorkeling"

[Eric Sedletzky]

To be honest I don't think the term "snorkeling" is going any place for quite a long time.
Any sort of raised air intake device wether it be on a vehicle that wades through flooded swamp land or on a person that swims face down with a face mask, the air tube is going to be referred to as a snorkel.
I'm sure this is defined in the dictionary.
I say we just live with it.

 

[David Wilson]

To be honest I don't think the term "snorkeling" is going any place for quite a long time.
Any sort of raised air intake device wether it be on a vehicle that wades through flooded swamp land or on a person that swims face down with a face mask, the air tube is going to be referred to as a snorkel.
I'm sure this is defined in the dictionary.
I say we just live with it.

Fine with me. Perhaps what needs changing isn't the word "snorkelling" but the negative attitudes, of people who should know better, towards the activity. We ought to be encouraging all "landlubbers" to get into the water to enjoy exercise, camaraderie and a feeling of oneness with the natural world. Once persuaded to go there, whether they opt to stay where they are, dive down to the depths or swim across the surface is entirely up to them. Those with a passion for swimming on, in and under the water should respect one another's choices, not indulge in destructive, and quite frankly, futile oneupmanship. We'll also get far more recruits to aquatic pursuits through example and reasoned argument than we'll ever get through ridicule. You catch fewer flies with vinegar than with honey.

 

[tight rope walker]

My original post in this forum was to agree on what deputy 821 stated, namely it is an easier transition for a snorkeler/freediver to become a scuba diver than not. And that my first love has and always will be freediving. After that I tried to keep it light. That does not mean that I donot take the sport seriously. This is something that I have done in one form or another since I was five years old when I contracted polio. So you see it was imperative that I stay in the water, one because it was where I was most comfortable, and two and more importantly, people could not make fun of the way I walked while in the water. Enough said.

But as from the beggining, may main concern has and always will be the quality of the ocean enviroment, because when it gets to the point that we as divers can no longer enter the water, at that point you can call it what you want, as it's not going to make much of a differance. You could be walking down a beach, look out at the ocean and say," my it looks very nice out there". But we as divers know the truth once we put our faces in the water.

Case in point, I was watching my local news station last week and found out that there are no lobsters west of the Connecticut river. I am not even going to guess how much area we are talking about here. Licensing has gone from 700 hundred renewals to 200 hundred. Now some people might applaud that firgure saying we don't need lobstermen. What they seem to ignore is that if there are no lobstermen it is becasue there are no lobsters. Apparently this does not seem to be an issue as I have not witnessed any public outcrys lately.

Or how about this little tidbit I learned on the internet, 1) the dead sea is drying up, and 2) there is a species of sea turtle that is on the brink of extinction.

I have and will aways be a diver, that is who I am, that is what I do. When it gets to the point that I can no longer seek refuge in my home, then it will be time for me to leave. So I can only speak for myself, I know what subjects need my undivided attention, and which subjects I keep light. Because at the end of the day, I'm gonna be a diver.

 

[daniel1948]

The big problem with re-naming "snorkeling" is that the word refers to a specific type of activity: swimming or floating with a snorkel. The word "freediving" does not work because freediving can be done with or without a snorkel and snorkeling can be done without ever getting the back of your head wet (assuming calm conditions).

I love snorkeling, and if the water is more than three feet deep I'll duck down under the surface. But that's just me. Breath-hold diving does not have to be an extreme sport, though it can be. I like to go down as deep as I can, but for me, the point is to see more stuff, not to prove to anyone how deep I can go or how long I can stay down. I'd love to increase both, but that's just because it would be more fun for me. Dolphining along under water is cool.

Name any activity you can imagine, and there will always be some people who consider that activity cool, and some who will consider it uncool, and some who don't care. Why should we snorkelers care that some folks consider snorkeling uncool?

When I was in high school, the guys on the sports teams got mad at those of us who didn't show up to cheer for them. I told them: If you enjoy playing, that's wonderful, but it's childish to demand that other people watch you. I see a parallel here: Snorkeling is an activity I enjoy, but it would be childish of me to get upset that some folks consider it uncool. I think they're missing out on a fun activity, but if they disagree, well, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, their opinion of my vacation activity "... neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket."

So I'll keep using the word "snorkeling" to describe what I'm doing when I'm in the water with a snorkel but no air tank.

All this is making me wish it was two weeks from now, when I'll be snorkeling (and some diving).

 

[Doc Harry]

Doc Harry: ...Your "shark bait" jibe, by the way, is equally applicable to any water user, including scuba divers....

Not really.... I'm not spashing around on the surface looking like a seal when I'm scuba diving. That's why you'll never catch me snorkeling, I'm too chicken.

 

[ickis]

now that i come to think of it, i dont know whats wrong with the term.
if anyone makes it seem dweeby or lame its you guys for not being proud in what you do.
did anyone actually laugh at you when you said you like snorkeling ?
as a free-diver+SCUBA diver+snorkeler+bodysurfer i can tell you now most people relate to me on the snorkeling part: everyone love it from top track athletes i train with, to divers wherever i go...
and even if someone does- why give a damn ?
snorkeling is a nice name that sums the activity and the main device that sets it apart from other aquatic activities.
do yourselves a favor and be proud that you SNORKEL

 

[David Wilson]

ickis:

Read every message on this thread and you'll see we've had more than our fair share of SCUBABOARD scuba-diving contributors making immature and ignorant - in your words lame and dweeby - comments about snorkelling. Quite frankly, I wonder why such people would want to enter a forum dedicated to snorkelling when they obviously have no interest in it and even less respect for those who enjoy it.

As a snorkeller of five decades' standing - I don't scuba dive - I take every opportunity to champion snorkelling because it's my passion. You'll find countless examples of my efforts to promote snorkelling within the Scubaboard snorkelling forum and elsewhere. I'm not alone here in being immensely proud of being a snorkeller.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Not really.... I'm not spashing around on the surface looking like a seal when I'm scuba diving. That's why you'll never catch me snorkeling, I'm too chicken.

Statistics show that Brett Favre has thrown the most interceptions of any NFL quarterback in history, but that is related to the fact that he has thrown a quantum number of footballs in his career. This season he has only thrown 3. Likewise, more people have been attacked at the surface and in shallow water, but that is due to the number of people to be found in shallow water. Statistically, the deeper a diver is in the water column, the more likely an attack may occur due to the number of attacks at extreme depth compared to number of divers venturing there.

From the book Shark Watch by John Clark:

"Here again, a careful interpretation of the data is necessary. A superficial conclusion would be that the probability of attack is less in subsurface waters, but the contrary is almost certainly true ... divers constitute only a very small percentage of persons exposed to shark attack, certainly less than 10% and probably much less than 1%. If therefore, 10% of shark attacks are on this very small percentage of submerged persons, the inevitable conclusion is that divers expose themselves to a very high risk of shark attack. All in all, the risk of attack would appear to be much higher for submerged divers than surface swimmers."

Looking at the following graphs of attack statistics, freedivers, scuba divers and commercial divers in deep water are at a fairly interesting risk.

Statistics of Shark Attacks on Divers: Water Depth and Attack Depth

 

[tight rope walker]

Mr Wilson, This comment is directed to you and to you alone. It is apparent by your many contributions that you are deeply devoted, involved, and compassionate about snorkeling, as I am. It was snorkeling that eventually lead me to become a scubadiver. If you notice my comments I refer to snorkeling as free diving. That is just a personal prefferance of mine. I will stick to what I said previously," at the end of the day, did you have fun". Because in all actuallity and reality, that's all that really matters. If the oppurtunity presents itself, that I can leave all my cumbersome gear behind,and go snorkeling, you know I'm going to. But I also stand behind what I said previously also, "when the oceans of the world become so foul that we as divers can no longer enter them, regardless of what medium we choose, then at that point call it what you will as it's not going to make much differance anyhow". I would much rather see an idividuall embrace snorkeling as a prelude to scubadiving ( if that's what he or she chooses ), then to watch that same individuall spend alot of money on something just to find out they don't like it. But like I stated earlier, at the end of the day, I'm gonna be a diver, snorkel or other wise.

 

[daniel1948]

... i can tell you now most people relate to me on the snorkeling part: everyone love it from top track athletes i train with, to divers wherever i go...

I, also, have never been put down for snorkeling. I spent three days on a live-aboard dive boat as a snorkeler. I think there were 30 or 40 divers on the boat and 3 or 4 snorkelers. Nobody ever made any negative comments about snorkeling the whole time. The divers did their thing, the snorkelers did ours, and one or two of the divers even went out snorkeling once or twice, and everybody got along fine.

Not really.... I'm not spashing around on the surface looking like a seal when I'm scuba diving. That's why you'll never catch me snorkeling, I'm too chicken.

... more people have been attacked at the surface and in shallow water, but that is due to the number of people to be found in shallow water. Statistically, the deeper a diver is in the water column, the more likely an attack may occur due to the number of attacks at extreme depth compared to number of divers venturing there.

The most dangerous part of any dive trip, snorkel trip, or hiking trip to bear country, is the drive to the airport.

It amuses me when people who will happily drive thousands or tens of thousands of miles per year quail at the prospect of sharks in the ocean or bears in the woods. (Hiking in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada, is my other passion, along with snorkeling and diving.) You exercise caution and practice respect, and know that if you really wanted to live longer, you'd stay with the sharks or the bears, and away from the highways.