Snorkel for wavy conditions

[TSandM]

First off, I hear you about being short! My one dive at Monastery Beach in Monterey was a nightmare, because the only place I could stand was right at the shore break, whereas my taller buddies were out of the surf. But, with practice, you do get better at figuring out how to get in and out of moving water, and a good buddy pair can help one another quite a bit. Don't give up on shore diving quite yet!

I have read, over the years, many posts from people saying that they keep their snorkel on their mask specifically for use in choppy water. I have never understood this at all. In choppy water, the last thing I want is my face down, so that I have no idea when the next breath is going to be full of water. I vastly prefer to float on my back, facing the waves -- that way, I know when I'm going to get inundated, and I can time my breathing accordingly. In addition, for long surface swim, snorkels have a significant issue. The additional dead space (which is the volume of the snorkel, and is not relieved by a large bore) means you have to breathe more to clear the CO2 produced by exercise. It's quite possible to become short of breath, uncomfortable and anxious from swimming purposefully while breathing through a snorkel. As someone has already said above, if you are in conditions where swimming on your stomach is desirable (clear water and critters below you), planning an adequate gas supply to do this while using a regulator is preferable.

I have quite a few dives in challenging ocean conditions in various parts of the world. I have never, not once, wished I had a snorkel with me because of rough water. I HAVE wished I had a snorkel when we ran into a pod of dolphins on the way back to the boat, or the day we chased the baitball which was being herded by silkie sharks.

 

[scjoe]

Rescue swimmers use snorkels. They often deploy in rough seas from helicopters that create their own chop. Snorkels work in rough conditions, but they take some practice. You don't have to be face down, sidestroke also works. Lifting your head to see where you are going if you are face down is just a skill set with the use of a snorkel. Open water swimmers do it all the time, although they are not typically using a snorkel.

I think the CO2 issue gets overemphasized. Most people competent in the use of a snorkel can swim for more than a mile non-stop without problems even if they are swimming hard. How many people have CO2 issues with the 800 meter snorkel, fins, mask swim test for DM and Instructor certs? If people are coming up so far from the boat that CO2 may be an issue using a snorkel, they need to work on their navigation skills.

Of course, most of the use of a snorkel is in relatively calm waters. You can cruise out to the drop point on your back chatting with your neighbor, or you can snorkel out and see the scenery. It's just a matter of choice and skill set. If the surface conditions look bad, the debate about snorkel or reg on the surface should end with calling the dive.

 

[TSandM]

I think there is a big difference between the mask/fin/snorkel swim in a pool with a bathing suit, and trying to push yourself, your exposure protection and your tank through choppy water. I work much harder surface swimming than I do lap swimming, even though I move faster lap swimming.

 

[danvolker]

I followed these guys for about 10 minutes (using Snorkel and DiveR freedive fins), before I finally caught up to them.....and actually have about 15 more minutes of video, but even when Sailfish are dawdling around, they are swimming at over 4 miles per hour....fortunately they zig zag a bit
Point is, with a snorkel, you can swim flat out, for 20 minutes or more, and NOT have CO2 issues.

Now after 20 minutes of chasing these guys, I was ready for a macro dive, and a scuba tank

[video=youtube_share;wVzPTCKXrD0]http://youtu.be/wVzPTCKXrD0[/video]

 

[TSandM]

Dan, your fitness level is not that of an average diver!

 

[danvolker]

Dan, your fitness level is not that of an average diver!

Hey, I still have to breathe ....Man, you should have seen the volume of air I ventilated in 20 some minutes of swimming flat out as fast as I could

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Is is better to walk backward, blindly through an unknown environment which contains hazards?

Is it better to swim on your back, blindly going through the water hoping you don't swim into a man of war or jellyfish?

We love to argue snorkels don't we..

Also, when diving in very cold water, I personally feel considerably warmer when using a snorkel to breath humid air rather than supercooled and dry air from a tank that has been further cooled below the thermocline (on the way back to the shore).

 

[scjoe]

Granted it is easier to swim in a pool than the ocean, but the snorkel isn't the issue. Even if it were, how many people are swimming more than a short distance on the surface to the boat or shore? Of course, if you don't do it very often then you will expend more energy than someone who routinely uses their snorkel. And if you don't use a snorkel often, you are more likely to get water in it in choppy conditions than someone who uses one frequently.

I don't recall the snorkel debate existing until the advent of Scubaboard. In the early days of Scubaboard when everyone seemed to spend time playing the "Where's Waldo" game of finding the next failure point, it was also popular to denounce attempted gear improvements as a gear solution to a skills problem. Perhaps the regulator is just a gear solution to a skills problem.