Wearing a snorkel in a pond

[beanojones]

I did a dive the other day that began with a long surface scooter, and that was the first time in years I had the thought, "Hmm, a snorkel might have been handy here!"

I would have spent most of that time underwater where I am, and made someone else tow my gear!

I love freediving with a scooter.

In that case, since freediving would be what I would be doing, then I would have a snorkel. One advantage of not diving dry is the option to easily get the gear off when on the surface and use it like a raft. I simply never put my face in the water when swimming with scuba gear on. It's just not comfortable.

 

[AfterDark]

I did a dive the other day that began with a long surface scooter, and that was the first time in years I had the thought, "Hmm, a snorkel might have been handy here!"

If you did those kind of dives regularly for 30-40 years you might have a different prospective.

 

[beanojones]

I had a couple of hundred dives swimming around with my snorkel attached to my mask and felt a bit silly. Then I rather unexpectedly had to do a rescue on my buddy and spent 45 minutes towing them along the surface into land against a current and choppy seas. After sucking my tank dry I was rather glad to have the snorkel since it gave me just enough height to be able to breathe in in between the waves. Made me quite glad I carried it around, though I suppose this is something of a consequence of the local conditions, diving in seas where it can become unexpectedly choppy and currents can develop.

If I had to tow someone in a rescue for 45 minutes*, their gear and my gear would be gone to eliminate drag. Work smarter, not harder in the ocean, or it will eat you up. If the exposure protection did not provide enough buoyancy to lift their head clear then they would be on top of their BCD as would I, and the tanks would be gone.

And in a rescue, my face would be out of the water, because of the need to monitor the victim, and keep up communication.

Outside of tropical diving, where we often start negative, even with no weights, everyone should be able to shed ballast (weights or tanks) to get positively buoyant.


*45 minutes!!

 

[AfterDark]

Snorkels are of little use in actual ocean conditions on divers. They seem like they would work but then they have this hole in the top of the tube that makes those waves put water in it.

They would of great use in a pool or a calm lake,or on a free divers head. They are more than kinda stupid on a scuba diver's head, presenting a constant hazard for a hypothetical benefit that is not actually a benefit when actually used.

Never seen a tech diver with a snorkel and those are people most likely to be stuck on the surface for long periods of time in the open ocean with heavy gear. So that should tell someone something. For some reason, it does not.

NASE has it right. No snorkels.

---------- Post added August 5th, 2013 at 06:12 PM ----------



I never understood why a diver would want to tire themselves out trying suspend a tank out of the water instead of putting it in the water, swimming on the back, and talking to their buddy.

And being aware of surface hazards since they are, after all, on the surface.

All these many years I've been imagining that I'm comfortable swimming on the surface face down or resting on the surface face down with a snorkel. I'm glad you came along and told me about the hole on the top. Of course if one is proficient in the use a snorkel one can breath thru the tiny amount of water that gets in and clear it.

 

[beanojones]

Of course if one is proficient in the use a snorkel one can breath thru the tiny amount of water that gets in and clear it.

And of course if it is tiny amount of water, then snorkels work fine. And not using a snorkel would work fine too.

The problem is as conditions worsen, snorkels get more and more useless, not more and more useful. And as conditions worsen, it becomes more and more important to be aware of what is going on on the surface, so face in the water is not the way to keep awareness.

Snorkels are a great idea (hey this might be helpful in rough conditions) that fail in practice (hey these suck in rough conditions), while providing lots of hazards for the time they are attached to the mask, and preventing easy long hose usage.

Snorkels are great for free-diving. I never free-dive without a snorkel. But they are a historical artifact for most diving, and maybe for all diving.

I'm fine with people using slates on retractors as well, though I don't think those are a good idea most of the time. At least the entanglement hazard of a slate on a retractor is counterbalanced by the fact that it is actually used while diving.

 

[AfterDark]

And of course if it is tiny amount of water, then snorkels work fine. And not using a snorkel would work fine too.

The problem is as conditions worsen, snorkels get more and more useless, not more and more useful. And as conditions worsen, it becomes more and more important to be aware of what is going on on the surface, so face in the water is not the way to keep awareness.

Snorkels are a great idea (hey this might be helpful in rough conditions) that fail in practice (hey these suck in rough conditions), while providing lots of hazards for the time they are attached to the mask, and preventing easy long hose usage.

Snorkels are great for free-diving. I never free-dive without a snorkel. But they are a historical artifact for most diving, and maybe for all diving.

I'm fine with people using slates on retractors as well, though I don't think those are a good idea most of the time. At least the entanglement hazard of a slate on a retractor is counterbalanced by the fact that it is actually used while diving.

Being the dinosaur that I am I'll continue to do what works for me and ignore what I know by personal experience to be misinformation you are posting. Safe diving

 

[beanojones]

Being the dinosaur that I am I'll continue to do what works for me and ignore what I know by personal experience to be misinformation you are posting. Safe diving

And being the thoughtful person I am, and working full time as a diver, I will continue to note what works for people, and what does not, and address your misinformation by respectfully disagreeing, and pointing out the errors in your reasoning.

I know you won't change what you will do, because divers never change. But that's OK by me.

It might, however, make someone else consider taking off their snorkel off and avoiding an underwater hazard, and it might also make others realize that switching to a snorkel is never a good choice in bad conditions, though tradition posits as such.

Proper dive planning is a good choice. Proper swimming position is a good choice.

Thinking that keeping an entanglement hazard dangling off one's mask is somehow better taking that entanglement hazard off, that is not a good choice.

Important point to re-emphasize: Tech divers do not have snorkels on their heads, despite rather frequently being stuck for hours on the surface in rough seas. Working out why puts snorkels in the proper light.

 

[Diveflag UK]

I was diving today at a local pond. Well, technically it is a lake but it is just so small... Less than a mile in diameter.

I did my Rescue Course in a pond ~ I was also told it was a lake but I maintain it had pond weed growing in it, and it tasted of pond water.. therefore it firmly remains a pond in my memory!

I used to hate my snorkel, always in the way.. getting tangled up where-ever it shouldn't, but as a standard piece of safety equipment it really can be useful. Surface swims are usually easier on your front, especially if carrying things, and if you do manage to be involved in an out of air situation, you might really depend on it ~ but in a pond?!!? That does sound somewhat silly, unless running or participating in a course.

And when I was repairing our local swimming pool I definitely left it at home!

 

[redacted]

I don't much care for a snorkel (unless I am snorkeling) but I do believe it could make a difference in certain conditions. In calm water, I believe I could sleep while breathing through a snorkel. In rough water, I find it helps me separate the water from the air when I inhale. But I find on on my mask to be mostly a PITA. Mine is attached to my plate close to the tank between the wing and the plate. It is so out of the way that I often just leave it there even when I know I will have no use for it. It is always there when might need it.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

And of course if it is tiny amount of water, then snorkels work fine. And not using a snorkel would work fine too.

The problem is as conditions worsen, snorkels get more and more useless, not more and more useful. And as conditions worsen, it becomes more and more important to be aware of what is going on on the surface, so face in the water is not the way to keep awareness.

Snorkels are a great idea (hey this might be helpful in rough conditions) that fail in practice (hey these suck in rough conditions), while providing lots of hazards for the time they are attached to the mask, and preventing easy long hose usage.

Snorkels are great for free-diving. I never free-dive without a snorkel. But they are a historical artifact for most diving, and maybe for all diving.

I'm fine with people using slates on retractors as well, though I don't think those are a good idea most of the time. At least the entanglement hazard of a slate on a retractor is counterbalanced by the fact that it is actually used while diving.

In rough water a snorkel is MORE important. Why do you come out on the wrong side of so many issues?