I am new to snorkeling and have questions. I have a snorkeling excursion planned in April in Biscayne National Park. One of the sites I will be snorkeling to is Brewster Reef. The site is 25 feet deep. Can you safely snorkel to that depth especially since I’m new and would snorkeling at that depth easy to do. I bought shorts fins because I’m traveling but do I need longer ones. I also have a GoPro 12 with underwater housing and bought the polar pro filter kit from GoPro. If the sites depth is 25 and Google says the average snorkeling depth is 12-15 but 25 feet is possible. Would I just go to down halfway to get a better look like 12-15 and would that give enough detail and would using the snorkel filter that is rated 12-15 be good to capture the colors of Brewster Reef. Also if snorkeling to 25 feet is attainable or easy to do I assume moving to the red filter would the correct filter. I also want to note that I am taking a snorkeling class before I go. Thank you for any advice you can give and your thoughts.
Snorkeling Advice/Questions
- Thread starter Joel2693
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People freedive to several hundred feet, so 25 feet isn’t that deep. To do so comfortably you’ll have to be able to equalize your ears. There are a lot of good YouTube videos on how to do it, and you may want to practice before your trip. Equalize before you feel any pain. To 25 feet it’s a pretty continuous process.
Usually you would wear some weight, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that without formal freedive training.
Take several full breaths at the surface before you dive, but don’t hyperventilate, as that is dangerous. The guidance I was given was never to force air out. Just take deep breaths and exhale naturally.
You mentioned you’ll be carrying a camera, so be sure to do so in a way that there are no dangling cords that might pose an entanglement hazard.
I can’t comment on the photography questions.
Usually you would wear some weight, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that without formal freedive training.
Take several full breaths at the surface before you dive, but don’t hyperventilate, as that is dangerous. The guidance I was given was never to force air out. Just take deep breaths and exhale naturally.
You mentioned you’ll be carrying a camera, so be sure to do so in a way that there are no dangling cords that might pose an entanglement hazard.
I can’t comment on the photography questions.
I bought a dry snorkel. Can you breathe underwater at all with it closed up. Also I have short fins, is that a bad idea. Thank you.
You can’t breathe underwater with any snorkel. Most freedivers prefer a simple J snorkel to a dry snorkel because it’s easier to clear when you surface. Nothing wrong with short fins for the type of snorkeling you’ll be doing. You should be able to kick down 25 feet even with short fins. If you like it and want to advance to real free diving, you’ll eventually want to get the long freedive fins.
Trilobite
Contributor
If you're not familiar with it already, this site has a lot of useful information about snorkeling:
https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/
https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/
David Wilson
Contributor
During the 1950s, I was a perpetual non-swimmer in a school with its own swimming pool. The swimming teacher had us half the time holding on to the side of the pool, kicking vigorously, and the other half trying to cross the pool, holding kickboards while trying to push ourselves off the bottom. None of this worked for me and I inevitably ended up choking with mouthfuls of chlorine water.
My parents chanced to provide me with a copy of "The Seventh Eagle Annual" (above), which was an absorbing read for boys back in 1957. This was a hardback book published once a year to accompany "The Eagle", a boys' weekly comic paper that sought to educate as well as entertain its young readers. It contained what was for me an enthralling article entitled "Teach yourself to swim underwater". After perusing it, I was completely smitten and I asked my parents whether I could have some fins to help me learn how to swim on the surface and later underwater. They duly bought me a pair and shod with those fins, my legs delivered sufficient power for me to push myself off the bottom of the pool and to complete my first "breadth". Having achieved this, I soon mastered swimming without fins. Before long, I complemented my fins with a Typhoon mask and snorkel, the same make as the masks and snorkel illustrated in the article. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The illustrated "Teach yourself to swim underwater" article by Graham Pearce in "The Seventh Eagle Annual" of 1957 that propelled me all those years ago into the wonderful world of snorkelling can be viewed below.
My parents chanced to provide me with a copy of "The Seventh Eagle Annual" (above), which was an absorbing read for boys back in 1957. This was a hardback book published once a year to accompany "The Eagle", a boys' weekly comic paper that sought to educate as well as entertain its young readers. It contained what was for me an enthralling article entitled "Teach yourself to swim underwater". After perusing it, I was completely smitten and I asked my parents whether I could have some fins to help me learn how to swim on the surface and later underwater. They duly bought me a pair and shod with those fins, my legs delivered sufficient power for me to push myself off the bottom of the pool and to complete my first "breadth". Having achieved this, I soon mastered swimming without fins. Before long, I complemented my fins with a Typhoon mask and snorkel, the same make as the masks and snorkel illustrated in the article. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The illustrated "Teach yourself to swim underwater" article by Graham Pearce in "The Seventh Eagle Annual" of 1957 that propelled me all those years ago into the wonderful world of snorkelling can be viewed below.
Diving down to 25' while snorkeling is definitely possible but for most people it will take some practice to do. The limiting factor will be your ability to equalize. There are several methods of equalization, with the traditional Valsalva being the easiest to teach but arguably the worst one to do. Toynbee or Lowry methods are better, and Frenzel or VTO the best but the hardest to learn for most people.
Please make sure that you do not do repetitive breath-hold dives without a few minutes surface interval between each dive, breathing naturally. Also, do not hyperventilate before diving. This reduces the CO2 in your bloodstream and raises the risk of hypoxic blackout.
Remove the snorkel from your mouth when you dive.
As for a filter on your GoPro, if it is a sunny day and the water is clear you may find that you don't really need a filter at all. You can try a filter, but it might impart a red tint to your video. You can always color-correct in post, and you might find that works better.
Have a great trip!
Please make sure that you do not do repetitive breath-hold dives without a few minutes surface interval between each dive, breathing naturally. Also, do not hyperventilate before diving. This reduces the CO2 in your bloodstream and raises the risk of hypoxic blackout.
Remove the snorkel from your mouth when you dive.
As for a filter on your GoPro, if it is a sunny day and the water is clear you may find that you don't really need a filter at all. You can try a filter, but it might impart a red tint to your video. You can always color-correct in post, and you might find that works better.
Have a great trip!
Depending upon the type of dry snorkel you have, it could be an advantage. Most dry snorkels these days (not the ping-pong ball variety) are designed to still be “dry” when a chop or wave washes temporarily over the snorkel. It will shed water down and out of the tube, or close the tube, in these cases. This can be handy in a choppy water condition.
SeaRat
I have a snorkel class that’s supposed to last 1-2 hours in about a week and a half. I bought a pair of shorts fins but should I get a longer pair. Also, I bought a GoPro and filter set it comes with a snorkel filter that is rated for 2-15 feet and a red filter rated for for 12-70 feet. If I snorkel down to 25 feet, would you suggest sticking with with the snorkel filter I think the visibility should be good or do I just avoid a filter altogether. Thank you for your time.
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