Should I wear a snorkel or not

[Waterwulf]

I'd avoid any recreational dive operator who takes his boat out in a storm or doesn't know how to read a weather forecast.

I avoid people who make snap judgements and assumptions without knowing all of the facts! First, It wasn't storming when we left the dock! Get your facts correct before you start with the negative comments!!! I said right there in my post that it was a Squall. Look it up. It's a sudden storm that blows up from nowhere and lasts an hour or so. High winds, large waves, lots of rain and lightning and then sunshine. Second, even in today's highly advanced stage of weather forecasting, forecasters are unable to predict Squalls. This incident happened in about 1973 or so give or take a couple of years. The forecasters were barely even able to predict sunrise back then!

 

[lostsheep]

You can't really surface swim through thick kelp on your front with a snorkel either. Most of us just descend a few feet and swim under the surface kelp while breathing off a regulator.

I don’t (scuba) dive with a snorkel but saying you can’t swim / crawl over kelp with a snorkel is just not accurate. I have to wonder why you would think that? That’s a serious question. Did you hang up trying? Have you ever free dived locally? Kelp is a non issue unless you just decide to entangle yourself by doing something stupid. As I recall, kelp crawling with both snorkel and reg was a part of my OW class (admittedly that was a long time ago)

 

[Adamastor]

The forecasters were barely even able to predict sunrise back then!

Facts, yeah ...

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I don’t (scuba) dive with a snorkel but saying you can’t swim / crawl over kelp with a snorkel is just not accurate. I have to wonder why you would think that? That’s a serious question. Did you hang up trying? Have you ever free dived locally? Kelp is a non issue unless you just decide to entangle yourself by doing something stupid. As I recall, kelp crawling with both snorkel and reg was a part of my OW class (admittedly that was a long time ago)

The kelp crawl was definitely part of my PADI OW course taught by a former US Navy diver (excellent instructor BTW). We were taught to save our precious air on the surface and use a breathing tube to take advantage of all that abundant free air on the surface. To be fair we were also taught that if we had the air left over we could also descend to 15’ and use our compass to find a path through the kelp to get to our target (boat or shore, etc.)
But sometimes your air is low after the dive and when you come up you find yourself in the middle of an expansive kelp bed. Save you remaining air! You might need it for some other thing besides going under kelp.
I’ve done a sh-t ton of freediving and scuba in and around kelp. The biggest stupid mistake in kelp is to keep spinning around like what would happen if you were swimming on your back through it and continually turning trying to see where you’re going. All this will do is wrap so much kelp around your tank valve and reg/hoses that you will be hopelessly entangled and need to either take your rig off to clear all the kelp or get help from a buddy (if you have one). If you’re too big of a man to use a snorkel and have an ego the size of the Pacific then maybe this whole snorkel debate is pointless. But some people might find some wisdom in it. The proper way to kelp crawl is to surface swim on your belly. You reach out in front if you with arms straight and push the kelp paddy under you and backwards while flitter kicking with legs straight back. You keep doing this repetitively and you will make surprising headway. Let the kelp slide underneath you as you glide over it. Having a clean frontside helps immensely. Using a snorkel while doing this is great because it can be a workout and will get your breathing up. Free air is a real bonus for this.
It also helps to be properly weighted so you can float easily on the surface.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Divers who are non swimmers don’t know how to use a real snorkel, and trying to explain why they may one day need one seems hopeless.

I can swim better than most, and I have a real snorkel for freediving only. Never needed one in over 20 years of scuba diving all over the world in some fairly challenging conditions.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Are you a hog looped DIR type by any chance?

I don't know what "hog looped" means but I have a DIR equipment configuration.

 

[Nick_Radov]

I don’t (scuba) dive with a snorkel but saying you can’t swim / crawl over kelp with a snorkel is just not accurate. I have to wonder why you would think that? That’s a serious question. Did you hang up trying?

I have tried and I can do it if I really have to. It's just totally pointless and unnecessary (unless somehow you screw up the gas planning and end up back on the surface with empty tanks). And if you have extra gear, like a camera housing with strobe arms or a stage tank, then surface swimming in really heavy kelp makes entanglement tough to avoid regardless of technique.

Have you ever free dived locally?

Yes, a little bit. It's certainly a lot easier to kelp crawl in minimalist freediving gear.

Kelp is a non issue unless you just decide to entangle yourself by doing something stupid. As I recall, kelp crawling with both snorkel and reg was a part of my OW class (admittedly that was a long time ago)

Kelp is an issue once it becomes thick enough. Seriously, go look at Whaler's Cove right now. The surface kelp is as thick as I've ever seen it (which is good news for the ecosystem). Only a real masochist would try to kelp crawl on the surface any significant distance through that mess. Everyone who has been diving there the last few days just goes under the kelp.

 

[Celt]

I can swim better than most, and I have a real snorkel for freediving only. Never needed one in over 20 years of scuba diving all over the world in some fairly challenging conditions.

If that’s true I don’t understand your opposition to the use of a snorkel. The most efficient way to swim on the surface is on your belly using a snorkel to save your limited supply of gas. It can be stowed if it gets in the way of hose routing. Divers should make the effort to learn the proper use of a snorkel.

 

[Nick_Radov]

If that’s true I don’t understand your opposition to the use of a snorkel. The most efficient way to swim on the surface is on your belly using a snorkel to save your limited supply of gas.

Actually, it's more efficient to swim on your back (as long as you're not going through kelp). I've tried both ways and I can go faster with less effort on my back instead of using a snorkel. And if you're riding a scooter on the surface, you can just turn your head to the left occasionally to breathe.

 

[Celt]

Actually, it's more efficient to swim on your back (as long as you're not going through kelp). I've tried both ways and I can go faster with less effort on my back instead of using a snorkel. And if you're riding a scooter on the surface, you can just turn your head to the left occasionally to breathe.

Complete rubbish talk. The drag of swimming on your back in scuba at the angle to keep your mouth out of the water means you’re going nowhere in any kind of a sea. Don’t get separated from the boat or shore you won’t make it in poor conditions if you run out of gas.