Another How-to snorkel question

[flatman]

DW and I are NOT experienced snorkelers, but just bought our own equipment and are going to learn, first at Cozumel and then Grand Cayman. My question is: I see video's of snorkelers diving down underwater and it appears that somehow they can breathe for a short time. I'm assuming NO THEY CAN'T, so can anyone tell me something about this?

[scubaran]

DW and I are NOT experienced snorkelers, but just bought our own equipment and are going to learn, first at Cozumel and then Grand Cayman. My question is: I see video's of snorkelers diving down underwater and it appears that somehow they can breathe for a short time. I'm assuming NO THEY CAN'T, so can anyone tell me something about this?

 

They're holding their breath. There's a techique where you can slightly bite down, put your tongue in the snorkel and keep a positive pressure in your mouth to keep the water from entering your mouth. Also when they surface, they know how to forcefully blow out the snorkel to vacate the water that's filled up the tube.

 

Alternatively you can get a "dry snorkel". These typically have a valve that closes as you go under keeping water out. But again the snorkel is sealed.

 

If you don't have a dry snorkel I recommend taking your snorkel out of your mouth, taking three large breaths at the surface (helps you vacate the CO2 in your system allowing you to stay down longer without that choking feeling), dive down and when you come up, shake out your snorkel, put it in back your mouth and resume having fun! You can practice the steps in the first paragraph but I don't recommend trying this in salt water, for the obvious reasons (like if you do it wrong you'll get a mouth full of yucky water). :)

 

Randall

[SCUBA Mark]

They're holding their breath. There's a techique where you can slightly bite down, put your tongue in the snorkel and keep a positive pressure in your mouth to keep the water from entering your mouth. Also when they surface, they know how to forcefully blow out the snorkel to vacate the water that's filled up the tube.

 

Alternatively you can get a "dry snorkel". These typically have a valve that closes as you go under keeping water out. But again the snorkel is sealed.

 

If you don't have a dry snorkel I recommend taking your snorkel out of your mouth, taking three large breaths at the surface (helps you vacate the CO2 in your system allowing you to stay down longer without that choking feeling), dive down and when you come up, shake out your snorkel, put it in back your mouth and resume having fun! You can practice the steps in the first paragraph but I don't recommend trying this in salt water, for the obvious reasons (like if you do it wrong you'll get a mouth full of yucky water). :)

 

Randall

 

You will also need to pop your ears on the way down. You can do that by holding your nose and gently blowing.

 

Mark

[flatman]

They're holding their breath. There's a techique where you can slightly bite down, put your tongue in the snorkel and keep a positive pressure in your mouth to keep the water from entering your mouth. Also when they surface, they know how to forcefully blow out the snorkel to vacate the water that's filled up the tube.

 

Alternatively you can get a "dry snorkel". These typically have a valve that closes as you go under keeping water out. But again the snorkel is sealed.

 

If you don't have a dry snorkel I recommend taking your snorkel out of your mouth, taking three large breaths at the surface (helps you vacate the CO2 in your system allowing you to stay down longer without that choking feeling), dive down and when you come up, shake out your snorkel, put it in back your mouth and resume having fun! You can practice the steps in the first paragraph but I don't recommend trying this in salt water, for the obvious reasons (like if you do it wrong you'll get a mouth full of yucky water). :)

 

Randall

 

Thanks Scubaran, I can always count on you for a scuba or snorkeling question..

Jim

[scubaran]

Thanks Scubaran, I can always count on you for a scuba or snorkeling question..

Jim

 

 

:) No problem.