10 replies to this topic

[scubaclint]

Hi Everyone.

In my certification class, I was told that when you are on the surface of the water, waiting to decend, you should swap out to your snorkel and save your air. The reasoning was that if the water is choppy, your snorkel will help prevent taking in a mouthful of seawater since your mouth is at water level.

For my first ocean dives in October, I found different views. First of all, I noticed a lot of fellow divers did not carry a snorkel. Also, as we were on the surface waiting for everyone to enter the water, it was suggested to me to keep my regulator in my mouth. We were a good sized group and it took a little time for everyone to enter the water. The boat sometimes needed to reposition because of the current so that were all drifting together. Now three months later I am curious (better late than never). Was the advice so that I don't forget to put my reg in as I start decending? Shouldn't I make efforts to save air before the dive starts?

What are your thoughts?

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Many divers carry a snorkel, it's just not attached to their dive mask all the time.....they carry collapsible snorkels in a BC pocket. That way they have it if they need it, but otherwise it's not dangling in their face all the time.

Others simply give up wearing or carrying a snorkel altogether. That is a calculated risk that each diver decided upon individually.

It makes sense to use either the snorkel or your reg when the seas are up and you have to hang out on the surface for an extended period of time, but over the years each diver makes adjustments and does what works best for them. I would hate to breathe down my tank at the surface before the dive begins!

I personally don't use either a snorkel or reg while hanging out on the surface when it's rough - I fully inflate my BC to stay as high as possible and then relax & I rise & fall with the water, because if the seas are that rough I'm going to be losing any breakfast I had! I do, however, put the reg in my mouth when I begin my approach to the boat to re-board, because if the seas make the boat buck at the wrong moment and I get tossed back into the water, I do want the reg where it's supposed to be.

Each dive shop - and dive op - have their own guidelines. Best thing to do on dive trips is follow the boats instructions, as long as their instructions are safe.

[Jerrymxz]

Hi Clint, hey that's a good question; However... there is no real hard and fast rule. I dove with a snorkel for a very long time. I don't anymore but that is because of kind of diving I do. I do a lot of diving in shipwrecks. The chance of snagging a snorkel on monofilament fishing line or some other debris is a real hazard so my decision is to not take it. Also in decompression diving I have to manage several gasses each with its own regulator that has to go behind my neck when I'm using it then removed, stowed and a different regulator put into use several times during an ascent. All the while managing a lift bag and reel. So I need to keep my head and neck area clear to perform these tasks without getting regulator hoses fouled on a snorkel.

(You have seen my rig and I look like a walking dive shop already so anything I can leave on the boat is less I need to carry.)

If you want to save every possible breath from your tank AND the conditions will allow it AND you are comfortable doing it. That is your decision. By all means do it.

The diving in Cozumel was conducive to using a snorkel for the reasons you gave. Waiting for everyone to get in the water or waiting to get out if you ran your tank down a bit too far on the ascent. If you are on the surface and are delayed in your decent go to the snorkel. At the point in your education where you are I would lean toward taking it along. Figure out a place where it will ride without interfering with the seal on your mask and the comfort of your mask strap. What it boils down to is figuring out what works for you and having a good reason for doing it that way. I hope this helps.

EDIT: Good point Tammy. ALWAYS put your reg back in your mouth when approaching the ladder and keep breathing from it until you are standing on the boat. I got careless and two steps up the ladder I spit my reg and the next wave cleaned me off the ladder in 4foot seas. Flat on my back no reg in my mouth and a huge dive ladder slamming about. Lesson learned

Jerry

Edited by Jerrymxz, 24 January 2010 - 10:57 AM.

[WreckWench]

A fellow diver an myself were separated by strong surface current from the boat. We drifted for awhile until they could come and get us. (I knew this would be the case as we had an integrated weight pouch issue early into the dive...we drifted off from the boat...descended and did not know where we were...ascended and started to swim for the boat making no progress and then realized we would be floating for a long time. (The boat retrieved us over a mile away after getting all divers onboard, releasing from the mooring and then heading to get us.)

As it was early in the dive I had nearly a full tank of air but panic, worry, and time take their toll on you. My buddy halfway into our adventure started to run their tank low and had they not had a snorkel would not have been able to keep their head out of water and above the waves to breathe without either the snorkel or the reg. I had them remove the reg to conserve air for the swim to the boat. I did not have a snorkel with me however after that incident I carried mine attached to my safety sausage so as to not hang off my mask. And I will be getting a foldable one for my pocket. There may come a time when I need it or my buddy needs it so I will go back to carrying one.

Those who are hard on air and have to wait in the water for a dive buddy should use one to conserve the tank air.

Put me back into the group of those who believe in snorkels again... -ww

[rkymtwy]

I have a foldable snorkel that I keep in my pocket. Haven't needed it but it's good to know it's there just in case.

[peterbj7]

Except when teaching basic students I haven't used a snorkel when wearing dive gear for more than 10 years, and rarely carry one. On the surface I use my reg if it's really rough, and nothing if it isn't. I can't remember an occasion when I didn't have a snorkel but wished I had. Even when "snorkelling" for "fun" I rarely actually take a snorkel - I find it's just as easy to pop my head above water for a breath every now and again.

I often use a reg when approaching the boat at the end of the dive, but not because I'm afraid of being washed off the ladder. That has happened to me a number of times, and really it's not a great hardship finding your reg and putting it in. No - the reason I use a reg on the surface is to avoid breathing in engine fumes, which from the 2T engines mostly used here are really nasty. When I'm getting a real dose, I keep breathing the reg even after I'm on the boat, until the staff wrest it away from me!

As a (former) dive shop owner I have many types of snorkel available to me, but when I do carry a snorkel I prefer a simple bent tube to one of the self-draining ones.

[Victoria]

VERY good point about the diesel exhaust, Peter.

I stopped carrying a snorkel after I lost the second one. Recognising that there is a time and a place for everything, if I'm in choppy water or dealing with surface current in the future, I'll likely have a foldable snorkel in a BC pocket.

[damselfish]

I don't carry one because it gets twisted and my hair gets tangled in it. If the water looks choppy at all I put it on. I'll have to check into a pocket one too.

[WreckWench]

Sounds like SD needs to offer these for sale. I will do some research and let you all know!

[hambergler]

I only ever wear mine when DM-ing classes "for show". On trips it stays in the dive bag or in a BC pocket, depending.

[Parrotman]

I don't carry a snorkel when I dive. I also keep my reg in my mouth when approaching the boat until I am on the dive deck both for the same reasons as the other posts. Fumes and in case I get knocked back in the water. When I am floating on the surface, which has been rare in my experience, I keep my BC fully inflated. Even in rough seas I have never found the need to use a snorkel.
As an aside however, on the surface I could probably get 40 or more minutes of air out of the tank still with what I usually surface with so I am pretty comfortable knowing that I have air if I need it. That is not to say that something could not happen where I might not have any air but when I fully inflate my BC it keeps my head up above the water pretty good.

Jim