Reg breathing on surface

[annie]

I hate having the reg in my mouth on the surface because it (mine anyway) sorts of weighs down a bit and I feel an effort in keeping it in my mouth. I always use my snorkel on the surface (unless I'm swimming on my back with my head right back).
It also conserves air if there's a delay on the surface before a dive, you don't want to waste your tank air before you even descend.
I'm one of those people who never dive without a snorkel anyway. I think it would come in pretty handy if there was an emergency where you had to tow someone, or a long unplanned surface swim. It lets you conserve your tank air.

 

[Soggy]

One "technique" I use if I don't have a snorkel and I'm not comfortable removing the reg from my mouth, but don't want to waste air is to gently hold the reg in my mouth, but not all the way in. This way, I can breathe ambient air around the mouthpiece without using air in the tank. But, if a big wave comes or I want to stick my head in the water, the reg is already there...I just pull it back into my mouth with my lips and teeth and I'm golden.

 

[donacheson]

phlyfisher once bubbled...
Just got certified last month. (Did the first part of the course at home and the OW dives in Cancun). The most frightening thing for me was waiting for the boat after each of the 4 dives. The water was quite rough so the dive master told me to keep the regulator in my mouth. I felt like I couldn't breathe while trying to keep my head out of the water and breathe through the regulator. (The gauge was at 500 psi when we headed for the surface.) For the subsequent 3 OW dives I floated on the surface, next to the divemaster, with my face in the water and felt much better. Is this common? Do different regulators make a difference?

Phylfisher, you ought to be preparing yourself for being on the surface without air and without a snorkel - in other words, floating in your BC and breathing through your mouth. The reason I say this is that someday you might find yourself in just this situation - on the surface with little or no air and no snorkel. You might question the no snorkel part, but it's often practical to dive without one and (IMHO) easier to breathe in choppy water without one.

Under these circumstances, your most important equipment is your BC - it must float you comfortably with your head out of the water. You should be prepared to float for hours. Although this may never happen, sooner or later you'll find that having to wait for 10 or 15 minutes to be picked up in rough seas can seem like a lifetime if you're not prepared.