The long hose and the snorkel

[headhunter]

Hope this is the right place for this post. If not, please move it to the right place and accept my apologies (as a newbie to the board) for the faux-pas.

I have not dove the long hose yet, but plan to as it makes sense to me. I've learned a lot from reading the tech and DIR forums, but would by no means consider myself a tech diver... yet. However, I'm sure that's where I'll end up some day.

The long hose was born in the world of cave divers and I've noticed that cave divers don't use snorkels. That makes sense. You don't appear to need them and it looks like they could possibly pose a hazard in that environment.

As a fan of beach diving in CA, I have always liked my snorkel going through the surf. I would never go under the surf with a regulator in my mouth, because I believe it is unsafe.

I may be wrong, but the snorkel seems like it may pose a problem with deploying the long hose for an OOA situation.

So...

What is the position of those that dive the long hose on how a snorkel fits into the picture?

Thanks in advance.

Christian

 

[OneBrightGator]

For most, it doesn't.

I'm confused as to why you wouldn't go under the surf with your regulator in your mouth, how is that unsafe?

If you must use a snorkel I would suggest stowing it in a pocket before descending.

Ben

 

[MechDiver]

I may be wrong, but the snorkel seems like it may pose a problem with deploying the long hose for an OOA situation.

So...

What is the position of those that dive the long hose on how a snorkel fits into the picture?

Thanks in advance.

Christian

Long hose = no snorkle. I haven't used/carried a snorkle in years and don't miss it. Actually, they get in the way all the time. If you just haveta gotta have one, then I would suggest a foldup model that you can stick somewhere once you get through whatever your personal zone is.
I have done very little surf diving, but I would think a regulator would be much more useful than a snorkle.

MD

 

[Boogie711]

Unsafe?????????

How?

 

[headhunter]

For most, it doesn't.

I'm confused as to why you wouldn't go under the surf with your regulator in your mouth, how is that unsafe?

If you must use a snorkel I would suggest stowing it in a pocket before descending.

Ben

Going through the surf with a regulator in your mouth could lead to a diver embolizing. I used to hear about it from time to time in the early '80s. I'm sure some other California Divers remember this and will back me up on it. You could potentially go from having a column of water 12 ft deep over you to having a column of water only 2 ft deep over you as a 10 ft wave passes. My buddies and I used to dive in heavy surf all the time for practice getting through it (long time ago).

I know that some will say, "Just don't hold your breath!" The problem with that is that we occasionally get tossed pretty hard by the wave and I think one might hold their breath instinctively when getting tossed.

The pocket sounds like a good idea and confirms for me that I may be right in thinking that the snorkel poses a problem.

Christian

 

[headhunter]

Long hose = no snorkle. I haven't used/carried a snorkle in years and don't miss it. Actually, they get in the way all the time. If you just haveta gotta have one, then I would suggest a foldup model that you can stick somewhere once you get through whatever your personal zone is.
I have done very little surf diving, but I would think a regulator would be much more useful than a snorkle.

MD

Thanks MechDiver. I posted the the reply about the regulator and surf above for OneBrightGator.

Christian

 

[headhunter]

I just posted the answer for OneBrightGator after you left this post.

I'm surprised to get the response 3 times in a row though. I thought it was a widely held view.

Christian

 

[headhunter]

Since my belief about regulators and surf don't seem to be as widely held as I thought, I started a thread about it in the new "Accidents and Incidents" forum.

It seemed appropriate to that topic and I wanted to see if anyone else held that belief. That also keeps my snorkel question a completely separate issue.

Christian

 

[Spectre]

Going through the surf with a regulator in your mouth could lead to a diver embolizing. I used to hear about it from time to time in the early '80s. I'm sure some other California Divers remember this and will back me up on it. You could potentially go from having a column of water 12 ft deep over you to having a column of water only 2 ft deep over you as a 10 ft wave passes.

FWIW, the -only- point you'd have an issue is if you inhaled as the wave was breaking over your head. However, if your using a snorkel, you can't breathe then; so why would having a regulator in your mouth imply that you wouldn't be breathing it just on the surface as you went through the surf?

 

[headhunter]

FWIW, the -only- point you'd have an issue is if you inhaled as the wave was breaking over your head. However, if your using a snorkel, you can't breathe then; so why would having a regulator in your mouth imply that you wouldn't be breathing it just on the surface as you went through the surf?

Hi Spectre. Thanks for your response.

True on both points. As long as you are actually at surface, it really becomes a moot point. I'm referring to using a regulator to swim under the waves to avoid their impact as being something I consider unsafe. I have realized that I am apparantly alone in thinking that this is a concern. However, my main question still stands. In fact, I'll modify it slightly.

Does anyone who dives the long hose use a snorkel for any reason?

I think I've already learned from the previous answers that it does get in the way with the long hose.

I'm fine with answer being, "No." I just want to start thinking about the adjustments I need to make to my paradigms when I make the switch.

It looks like the answer will be that I should lose the snorkel. Maybe I'll just using a collapsible snorkel for those times that I might make a long surface swim to a particular spot where I want to dive. This way I don't use my tank at surface.

I learned to dive a while ago ('79) and haven't been diving since '97. I'm getting back into diving and am now taking an inventory of the things that it might make sense to rethink.

I know the physics are the same, but my gear choices will now be different.

The backplate and wings will replace my old jacket style BC, which I never really liked that much. I actually liked the hard backpack and horse collar that I learned with better. I switched to the jacket style in the early '80s when shops stopped carrying backpacks. Now I get to switch to a backplate and use a wing instead of a horse collar. I didn't like the horsecollar for the same reason I don't like the jacket - I don't like clutter in front of me. It makes me feel like I'm sitting in the middle of an innertube.

Anyway, just thought I'd set the stage for why I asked the question. Also the tech community seems to fit my dive philosophy better. (Better physical condition, better training, etc.)

Thanks.

Christian