Snorkeling is the most popular and enjoyable water activity. Even without good swimming skills, many people are signing up for snorkeling tours to explore the unknown underwater world. It is believed to be the safest water activity as well.
But with a few steps, you can make it even safer!
When you go snorkeling with a tour, usually the guide is responsible for the safety, constantly keeping an eye on all of the people he brought to the spot. Moreover, he is always ready to provide necessary assistance in case of need.
Because in the open water, even if you are a confident swimmer, you are not 100% safe. In the case of dizziness or some bad feeling, you can take care of yourself without any side assistance if you are on land. However, in the water, where you cannot even stand, you need someone to help you in case of a problem.
Besides, it’s much more fun to snorkel with friends.
SAFETY RULE # 1 – When you are in the water, someone should be watching you.
The next aspect I would like to highlight is the importance of being visible in the sea.
When you swim, face down, entirely focused on the beauty of the coral reef with your black snorkel next to your dark-haired head, how do you think the passing boats would know you are there?
Even if you are snorkeling in an area with a bit of boat traffic, there is still a chance for bad luck when there will be only one boat driving by, and it potentially can hit you.
There is an effortless way you can protect yourself – be bright!
Bright neon color snorkel, bright red, yellow, or pink, whatever color except blue and black, rash guard, or t-shirt will increase your chances of being spotted by a captain from far away!
Check this bright O’Neill rash guard (Amazon affiliated link)
Moreover, if you plan to snorkel in an area with heavy boat traffic, it is better to have a floating device. They are usually also bright red, yellow, or orange. Or, if you don’t have any, even your bright color dry bag filled with air and sealed can work well.
SAFETY RULE # 2 – be visible in the sea.
The 3d rule will be about your buoyancy in the water.
After finishing scuba or freediving courses, someone learned that a weight belt is a helpful device for maintaining buoyancy underwater. Well, yes, it is much easier to dive down with a few extra kilos around your waist. However, it is much more challenging to float on a surface with those extra kilos. In scuba, you had a buoyancy jacket to compensate for the weight on a surface, right? In freediving, you have to be positively buoyant on a surface even after the passive exhale, don’t you? So leave the weight belt alone – you do not need it for snorkeling, as you don’t want to struggle with the negative buoyancy on the surface.
SAFETY RULE #3 – be positive on the surface
Further rules go mostly for advanced snorkelers as they deal with some freediving while snorkeling. Still because it is a tiny step from beginner snorkeler to advanced, I recommend you to finish this article, no matter how good you are now.
No wonder that after a while during the snorkeling, you want to have a closer look at some cute underwater habitats. You take a big deep breath on a surface, and you dive.
Do you know what you might forget to do?
You might forget to remove the snorkel from your mouth before the dive. This is a typical mistake even for scuba professionals. Or maybe, it’s just because they feel more relaxed underwater with something in their mouth, who knows.
Why would you need to remove the snorkel before the dive if you can easily blow into it to clean after ascending?
- you don’t want to waste time and energy on it
- it might be potentially dangerous
- There is a chance of inhaling water from the tube.
If you ever decide to take a freediving course, your instructor will explain to you in detail why diving with a snorkel in the mouth could be dangerous.
Imagine yourself swimming up from your dive; you are already a bit out of breath, but still ok, you blow to clean your snorkel, and you fail to clean all the water from it, so you still have water in, and now you are totally out of breath. That doesn’t sound good.
SAFETY RULE #4 – always removes the snorkel before a dive
And the last rule – don’t exhale underwater.
If you have seen in the videos that some experienced freedivers exhale just before they break the surface – don’t repeat this. This is an advanced technique, and if you are not at the same level of experience as someone diving to at least 80 meters, please, don’t repeat it.
Exhaling underwater has no benefits, but it can lead to unconsciousness or damage to your lungs.
SAFETY RULE #5 – don’t exhale underwater
And before I finish, I would like to make sure that when you start some freediving while snorkeling, you remember to equalize your ears.
Freediving equalization is quite a complicated thing. And some people need time to master it. When you take a freediving course, a big part of the course is dedicated to this topic. But if for some reason you prefer to skip the freediving course, at least remember – you do not continue to descend if you have an uncomfortable feeling, or especially pain, in your ears or forehead or anywhere else. Diving with pain may cause eardrum rapture. It will heal after a while as our bodies are perfectly designed for self-renovations; still, you prefer not to damage yourself. Right? To learn more about equalization, check our video about it.
By Svitlana Gaidai
For them, number 1 recommendation – spend some time in advance training your swimming skills. Yes, we have fitness requirements in PADI freediving course. But no worries, it is just basic swimming (200 meters without fins or 300 with fins) and can be performed in any style (also without time limit). If you know, that you cannot meet this requirement, then it is 100% better to train swimming skills before. In some organizations, though there are no requirements for swimming at all. Which seems extremely strange.
What else can be done if you have a few months ahead before the freediving course? You can do some stretching exercises. Stretching is beneficial for freediving, however, it is easy to pass the 1st level without any stretching at all. But if you are going to do advanced or master course, stretching will be super valuable and will help to make the course much safer and enjoyable.
breathing technics for different purposes. You need to focus on relaxation breathing for freediving (here is the
First of all – if you are planning to train in the water, you HAVE TO have a Freediving buddy. No exception. What about easy breath holds? Still no, you have to have a buddy in any case! If no – train STA dry (less fun, but safer!).
And you want to reach 3 minutes within 3-4 months. Here is your plan (train 2-3 times per week). Choose only one of these exercises for a session
Have you noticed “PUSH HARDER” advice? No? This is because there is no such advice here! You don’t have to push harder to reach 3 minutes static breath hold!
This step is easy to explain: rental masks might not fit you well and can constantly leak. Besides, it’s always more pleasant to be the only one who wears the mask which touches your face. Also, you don’t depend on rental shops operation hours and with your own mask, you can go snorkeling or freediving wherever and whenever you want. And the last reason – it’s super easy to travel with a little mask in a bag. Way easier, than with a pair of freediving fins.
little pain, this mask is not for you. As little pain can become a terrible headache after 1-hour freediving or snorkeling session.
You might have seen many freedivers diving in Sphera mask by Aqualung. It’s a gorgeous not expensive and unique mask due to its bent lenses, which allows the mask to follow the shape of the face. This provides super low volume and high side vision. But to make the lenses curve manufacturer had to use plastic instead of glass. And plastic is much less resistant to the scratches. That is not a problem at all if you care your equipment well. In case, you have a habit to drop your mask anywhere but not in the box, probably you have to check for another option.
Freediving, as a recreational water-based activity (as well as a sport), getting more and more popular. But still, it is far away from other water activities, like for example scuba diving.
people are saying that fish afraid of the bubbles. But why should they be? Fish are afraid of their natural predators and they don’t make bubbles. Fish afraid if you make too much movement and if you are rapidly closing the distance. However, I am willing to accept that some marine life can come close to a Freediver (at least I was told so by other Freedivers).
simple again. If we are talking about starting – then for sure it is true! As soon as you have a mask, you can be a Freediver 😉 For scuba, even for absolute beginner level, there is a standard set – BCD, regulator, fins, scuba tank etc. Coming back to Freediving, like I said, in the beginning, you can just invest in the mask and snorkel. But then it will probably be more equipment – weight belt, neck weight, wetsuit, nose clip, safety lanyard, goggles for the swimming pool, float and rope if you want to train with your buddy independently, etc.
they are not fatal. The second group is just playing Russian roulette. But the same is true for any other activity in our life – you have to follow safety rules. Even for walking. Disagree? Try to walk across a high way! When someone tells that Freedivers are dying regularly, I am always asking where this information is coming from. And there is no answer. Simple because it is not true. So, the bottom line here – follow safety rules and Freediving would be the safest water based activity!
So, what would be your choice? Ideally, try both freediving and scuba diving! In my opinion, if you want to explore reef up to 15 meters deep – Freediving is a much better choice. But if you are planning to explore a dive site 25-30 meter deep, then it is easy to do with a scuba tank. If you are interested in underwater photography or videography, then again, having scuba tanks make your life easier. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy to be underwater and also combine it with a healthy lifestyle – Freediving is a better choice.
And second is going to be about lung squeeze, DCS/lung overexpansion/gas narcosis
He is still conscious; the heart is working, blood still circulating through the body. But the partial pressure of O2 is too low for normal functioning. He is not fainting, but close to it. Signs can be small (blue lips, light uncontrolled eyes or head movement), or big (body shaking and losing coordination). What happens when a freediver lose coordination while he is in the pool? Big problem…
If you have an LMC, take it as a lesson, stop training for at least a day, analyze why it happened and don’t repeat the same mistake ;-)
It is almost the same recommendations which I wrote about how to avoid BO! let’s repeat
DR is activated when our face is cooled (by cold water for example) or when we hold our breath. When we do both – even better!
reduction of HR for Freedivers (up to 50% or more in highly trained athletes). There are stories with even more impressive results, but let’s skip them now. Sounds impressive? How about this – laboratory rats have 80% decreases in HR while submerged underwater!!
Peripheral vasoconstriction (PV) is a narrowing of the blood vessels to reduce blood flow to non-vital organs (such as skin or inactive muscles, for example) ensuring that oxygen-sensitive organs like the brain or heart receive enough O2 for normal function. In another word PV is a redistribution of blood to vital organs from peripheral organs. PV also induces anaerobic metabolism, with an increase in lactic acid as a by-product. Interesting that the release of lactic acid into the bloodstream doesn’t occur (or at least significantly reduced) until Freediver resurface (at least this is what experiments on laboratory rats show).
why while Freediving you want to pee much often! As you know part of DR is PV and it causes increased blood flow to the torso area and increased blood pressure as a result. Our body detects it and releases a specific hormone responsible for liquid regulations, which increase urine production. Don’t be embarrassed because of it! But make sure that this reflex doesn’t make you dyhadrated (drink enough before and after Freediving session).