Folks,
I have been amazed and amused by this continuing controversy over what, on its face, seems like a simple question, to whit: To SNORK
or NOT TO SNORK
that IS the question! The heat generated by this lowly piece of plastic is incredible.
Now, I have no dog in this fight. I dive a re-breather, folks. I truly dont care HOW good your gas planning is, I have more breathing gas on board than any three of you combined. I am not being snotty, it is just the simple truth. I also do not WEAR a snorkel. I do CARRY a snorkel, because I have found it to be a useful tool at times. I therefore must admit that I do SNORK, but only in a certain sense.
Where I find that I am compelled to join the argument, however, is when some of our more enthusiastic writers propound basic truths, and build compelling arguments on the rock of those truths, except that they are, unfortunately, NOT TRUE.
Let us take, for example, one writer who recently stated: On the surface, the snorkel neither conserves gas in your cylinders, or (sic) does not help you breathe better. All it does is create additional dead gas space which detracts from your capacity to get full breaths of fresh air. The snorkel does not provide you with air - the air is already there, and all you have to do to get at it is breathe. Exhaustion is made much worse by the increased CO2 resulting from the additional dead gas space.
If you HAVE gas in your cylinders, and you are using your snorkel whilst preserving that gas for whatever reason you are, ipso facto, conserving that gas. It is the next statement that attracts my interest in any case.
Our writer here baldly states as incontrovertible fact that the snorkel creates dead gas space which interferes with breathing and increases exhaustion due to increased CO2. This would be scary if true, but IS IT?
We know that our lowly snorkel is named after the German device used to feed fresh air to the crews and the engines of diesel-engine submarines when the subs were running on the surface. It worked extremely well for them. Of course, it could be argued, that what do they know, they lost the war!
In our usage, we realize that the snorkel is just a pipe, and as we breathe out, pause, and breathe in, there is a certain amount of this used air which is then re-inhaled. So since upon examination we find a certain amount of truth here, must we then expect the dreaded exhaustion that the writer appears to find inevitable?
From our CPR classes we remember that this air is not all CO2. Approximately 16% is oxygen which our body did not use. If this were not so, then Rescue Breathing would not help victims in any emergency. So, in short, yes there will be some CO2 remaining, and the amount will depend upon the internal diameter and the length of the tube. Will it harm us, though, as this writer stoutly maintains? For answer to that, we have to look to our own observations.
I can personally think of Hanauma Bay in Hawaii where, on almost any given day, there are literally hundreds of snorkelers thrashing about in the waves. I would have to say that many of these folks are not in what we would call top physical condition.
If, as our writer vehemently states, the very use of this murderous little piece of plastic automatically and naturally leads to exhaustion, one would expect to see the floor of the bay littered with the carcasses of these hapless folk. The lifeguards, police, and medical examiners would be screaming for relief! We know, of course, that this is fortunately and simply NOT so.
Our writer then goes into a long discussion of the right way to breathe while in confused and choppy seas, without resorting to the use of the improper and murderous piece of plastic pipe, a.k.a. THE DREADED SNORK.
I will simply make two observations on this, if I may. The first is that military rescue swimmers use a snorkel in their work. They go in harms way, usually in heavy seas, since people rarely seem to be so kind as to require rescuing on nice days when the sea is dead calm. THEY are not dropping like flies from the exhaustion caused by the deadly snorkel.
Now it has been said that they are SWIMMERS, not SCUBA DIVERS, and that is quite true. This discussion has always been about using the snorkel while on the SURFACE of the water, not while under it. If I am confused about that concept, would someone please correct me?
The second observation has to do with the fact that I worked in Air-Sea Rescue for quite some time. As part of that activity, we spent time in training while experiencing what our potential victims go through. We called it Trolling for sharks with Ensigns! The service, however, just called it Water Survival and Rescue Training.
I can tell you from personal experience that it is possible to survive in rough and confused seas by doing as our writer suggests. I can also tell you from personal experience, that it is MUCH EASIER to breathe if you possess and use one of those lowly and much maligned pieces of plastic which we call a SNORKEL. When used in conjunction with a mask to keep water out of your eyes and nose, life gets a whole lot better in a hurry!
Now, yes, I realize that proper use of the snorkel is difficult and requires major training. One must pause, blow the water OUT of the tube, THEN breathe in. It is important to remember NOT to breathe in while the tip of the snorkel is UNDER the water. Our writer may have not known this, which is why he may have such a vendetta against this simple but reliable device. In the interest of fairness, I will point out that many of us in our long SCUBA careers may have experienced the true excitement of jumping into the briny deep with the bit of our snorkel, not our regulator, in our mouths. This is a delight not soon to be forgotten!
In closing, I will again simply point out once again that the snorkel is JUST a piece of plastic or rubber piping. It is a TOOL, folks. It is not some demon-possessed instrument of murder. I will refer to the immortal words of Mr. Natural, who said: Get the right tool for the job, Kids!
Choose as you will. TO SNORK
..OR NOT TO SNORK
that IS the question! Answer it in your own fashion, but lets at least keep the record straight!
P.S.---I cannot believe, in addition, that we have TWO of these threads going on at once.
Rob Davie :doctor:
