River snorkeling

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As a lifetime snorkeller who swims in the chilly North Sea off the North East coast of England, I also think that the prospect of exotic flora and fauna can be overrated and they certainly don't represent a necessity for me when snorkelling. Your "pen-portrait" of river snorkelling is most eloquent. Have you ever come across a book entitled "We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation That Got a Little Out of Hand" by Bill Beer?
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Here's a "Publisher's Weekly" summary:
April 10, 1955: the water temperature was 51F, and a fierce wind buffeted two men as they entered the Colorado River at Lees Ferry. The author and John Daggett had set out to swim the river through the Grand Canyon. At a time when fewer than 200 people had run the river in boats, this was daredeviltryand illegal. Their equipment was primitive: Army-surplus rubber boxes to carry gear, thin rubber shirts, woollen long johns and swim fins; they also took a movie camera to record the adventure. Twenty-six days and 280 miles later, bruised and battered, they left the river at Pierce Ferry. Beer relives the miseries and exhilaration of that singular journey, a gripping story of endurance. In an afterword, he discusses other, legal trips through the Grand Canyon (he has swum the occasional rapid from a boat) and assesses the present state of the environment; he has high praise for the Park Service. This will appeal to readers who enjoy adventure.

Here in Europe, a new water sports activity is evolving in the form of "swimtrekking", which in the Mediterranean means swimming from island to island with the aid of masks, fins and snorkels. There are "wildswimmers" here too, who regularly swim outdoors in rivers, lakes and seas, some opting to swim bareskinned, others with wetsuits. I see both as an exciting development and snorkelling can only benefit as a pursuit when it's recognised as a way of swimming on the surface from A to B as well as an activity involving submersion. Snorkelling offers the best of both worlds, the one beneath the waves and the other from the water surface to the skies.

Thanks again for starting this thread!
Hi David,

This is a fun topic, and one which I have used for many years now. When I lived in Roseburg, Oregon I swam in the Winchester Reservoir, and had a route that I swam. I was at one point the Finswimming Director of the Underwater Society of America, and we popularized finswimming as a sport. Open water finswimming is what I did there in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was better for me than running (and safer than bicycling--I'm right now recovering from a bicycle spill today, no serious injury, but scary). I used long finswimming fins, and then my own version of fin I call the Scoop Fin.

But that's not why I write here. I also found this book, We SWAM the Grand Canyon, The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand by Bill Beer. But since I was Finswimming Director of USA, I had some contacts. I wrote the President of the World Underwater Federation, CMAS (Confederation Mondaile Des Activities Subaquatciques), Karl-Heinz Keril, and sent him a copy of the book. He wrote the enclosed letter back, and credited Bill Beer and John Daggett with a "Special World - Record":

Ultra Grand Fond / Ultra Long Distance
Eaux libres / Open Water
Far etapes

450 Km Colorado River (Grand Canyon) Lees Ferry - Pierce Ferry
............White Water Finsmwimming, Water Temp. 10 degrees--13 degrees C
............Bill BEER and John DAGGETT 1955 April 10th - May 25th
............Livre/book: Bill BEER: "We Swam the Grand Canyon".
............ISBN 0-39386-151-9. Seattle 1988

This world record is unlikely to ever be repeated, as there are now dams along some of this stretch of the Colorado River, from what I've heard. My brother took an 11 day boat trip down the Colorado in the Grand Canyon this list summer, and at one point was tossed out of the raft by one of the rapids (he went through in his life jacket). But he had a wonderful trip. Now, imagine doing that by swimming...

Enjoy, SeaRat
 

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Hi, John!

Thank you so much for this historical information. It's great to see those guys' reckless yet courageous initiative properly acknowledged! Advanced snorkelling isn't only about plumbing the depths, it's also a means of amphibious travel for hikers, although I'm sure they'll choose a less ambitious target.

David
 
Thanks riversnorkel. I noticed in your video that you were not wearing fins. Are they not neccisary in rivers or is it more of a safety issue? One of my main areas of intrest is spearfishing which appears to be legal in my state.
 
HC,
Sometimes we use fins, sometimes not.
If a stream is shallow or a series of small pools we walk from pool to pool wearing surf booties or wading boots.
If the water is deep, swift or we are swimming a long section we wear fins. Rather than the endless kicking of your usual snorkeling trip we propel ourselves along with our hands, walking them along the bottom. Freshwater fish can be very spooky and kicking hard with big clunky scuba fins is a great way to see the rapidly disappearing shadow of every fish in the area. We use soft rubber 'training fins'. Like they issue to beginning snorkelers in Hawaii and other places. These fins allow for more flexibility and horiz/vert adaptability in a dynamic river environment. After years of experimenting I can say with some conviction that this style is best suited for the unique conditions of swimming moving water. As a bonus, they are also cheap!
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We use soft rubber 'training fins'. Like they issue to beginning snorkelers in Hawaii and other places. These fins allow for more flexibility and horiz/vert adaptability in a dynamic river environment. After years of experimenting I can say with some conviction that this style is best suited for the unique conditions of swimming moving water. As a bonus, they are also cheap!

Simple, rubber full-foot fins are my fins of choice too for sea snorkelling, having snorkelled since the late 1950s, when such fins were the norm. And there are plenty of like-minded people around. In his article My favourite kit - Pete Atkinson - Divernet
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one Australian underwater photographer writes: "I currently use the best fins I have ever used, but no dive store in Cairns will stock them, as they aren't profitable enough. They are orange and blue, Malaysian rubber fins by Eyeline, available from a local sports shop for £20. From new, I could snorkel for a couple of hours without any hint of blisters. They are stiff enough that I can push a Seacam housing around all day. For the diving I do, such full-foot fins are by far the best. Manufacturers continue to dream up fancy expensive gimmicks to extract more money from us. I'll concede that a few of these might actually be useful but, offhand, I can't think of any." The Japanese too snorkel almost exclusively with the many styles of excellent rubber full-foot fins made in their country by Gull Marine Sports and other manufacturers.

David
 
David, are you still swimming with the old-style dry suit?

SeaRat
 
David, are you still swimming with the old-style dry suit? SeaRat

Indeed I have been snorkelling, John, in either my original Totes suit
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or its modern Hydroglove replica,
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although the weather here is too wintry at the moment to venture into the North Sea. When I get the sealing and venting right, they keep me warm and dry during my early morning forays from the beach in the spring and summer months.

David
 
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[video=vimeo;49981337]https://vimeo.com/49981337[/video]
For those that are wondering what I'm doing fooling around in rivers.
I sold this footage to Nat Geo TV's program 'Monster Fish'. Should be out this year.
 

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