Snorkel In or Out?

[Soul Deep]

Hi,

I have been advised by a friend to take my snorkel out when diving beneath the surface whilst spearfishing :ban. I appreciate that this is good practise (and won't go into the reasons why at this point) while freediving as depths and lengths of breath hold tend to be nearer to a persons limit, but in the case of spearfishing I find this safety precaution pants :rcard . The fluidty of the session is broken up if you take your snorkel out each dive (avg 100+ dives per spear session).

My question is do any of you spearfishers take your snorkel out of your mouth on each dive as opposed to clear through your snorkel when you surface? Intrested to hear about either method...

 

[octopus]

Snorkel out. My dives are usually beetween 1'30"-3' with about 2' surface time, diving alone. It is like reflex action for me now. It doesn't bother me at all. I think I would find it difficult not to take snorkel out. I do about 20-30 dives per session (2-3hrs).

If you do 100+ dives per session, taking 5' for one dive+one surface interval...you would need to spend about 8hrs in the sea. Assuming that you spend 3 hrs in the sea, that gives you about 1' 50" for both dive and rest (for 100+ dives). I am inclined to believe that you are beginner. I would be tempted to create a habit of taking the snorkel out. Once you get used to it, you will not even notice when you are doing it. Take my word for it.

 

[Groupermadness]

Hi soul deep.
personaly i find it a matter of how deep the dive area is , if im in shallows to 10m then i leave it in, but any deeper i find it more comfortable to spit it out or take surface breaths without the snorkel and dive. my friends spit always because on shallow dives about 5 - 8 m they hate the "blub "blub "blub"of the snorkel filling and scaring the fish. (not proven).as for safety factors and fluidity i dont know i tend to just enjoy my dives and days out without thinking about the technical things too much although i do log my dives onto the computer when i get home and the fish caught(details go to marine sciences and biology at the university).

 

[Soul Deep]

Hehe... Actually been skin diving since I was a kid so would say I hope I am beyound a begginer status rofl. Spend about 4 - 5 hours and avg depth is 7 - 8 metres for the areas I dive and avg time around 1 - 1.30.

Thanks for your opinion, perhaps I should try and get myself in the habit, but 25 years of Snorkel in is a hard habit to change Will keep an eye on what others say to get a good overview...

 

[octopus]

Well...I had limited data to work with.
I did not mean it in any bad way. Anyway, I am sure you'll extract usefull info and discard the rubbish.

 

[Murat]

my friends spit always because on shallow dives about 5 - 8 m they hate the "blub "blub "blub"of the snorkel filling and scaring the fish. (not proven).

Yes its proven Especially spinefoot (sokan) aspettos at shallow water. Sometimes while hunting for spinefoot i do 80+ dives duration between 45-1.30 with surafce time less than a minute, generally 30-40 seconds. Thats the best apnea and aspetto techinque practice i ever do.

Groupermadness, in march, april, may its the prime season for spinefoots and that the best way to get ready for deeper dives of summer season.

By the way i spit out the snorkel in everydive too, the hassle is while you are coming back to surface from deep dive, the thing does not keep straight and cause tremendous amount resistance and annoying effect on the mask so you need to keep it straight with aid of your hand.

 

[Groupermadness]

Yea Murat. And its Tuna and Amberjack out in the blue now. hav'nt had much luck yet, but we will find them LOL, a friend got a bonni the other day but he was drag lining to the dive area and it took on. And they speared nothing LOL. i wanted to go for spineys this year but i was ill and took to the water late, still not on top form but getting there. so hopefuly next year.

 

[Murat]

Unfortunatelly i don't have a boat so i will leave AJs and Tonnies to you guys rofl

 

[Soul Deep]

Octopus, no offence was taken

Right so I would certainly agree with you bluewater spearfishers that spitting out the snorkel for a 20m+ dive makes safety sense.

I should be more specific and say this is bass fishing in UK waters upto a depth of 10 to 15 max. Average depth 8m.

Groupermadness, I see you would be happy to stay with a snorkel in at these kind of depths. I also agree about just enjoying the days diving, thats why this issues has now got me thinking and disturbed that. I want to keep a buddy happy if she/he has safety rules they like to abide by, but this current method in discussion (without I retrain my dive habits) does excatly that, makes me think about the technique all the time rather than the dives

Thanks for all the feedback so far and please keep it coming, would also like to hear from any UK spearos working similar depths and methods to myself...

 

[Groupermadness]

Hi Murat, The boats not a problem , finding someone sober :hungover or Awake on a sunday morning to pilot it is.:friday

 

[Jay Styron]

As stated b/f. It's all about practicing the tech. I too "snorkeled" years b/f I started serious freediving/spearfishing. In that time I kept the snorkel in. When I started freediving it was suggested to me to take the snorkel out. It was easily adapted to and now is second nature no matter what depth I'm fishing. I'm not so sure it's a safety factor as getting rid of a bubbling device while you're diving. On the way back to the surface I just put the snorkel back in and give a slight bit of air. As I ascend the air expands and when I clear the surface my snorkel's practically dry and very little effort to clear the little water left. Just how I do it.
Jay

 

[Fondueset]

I've been at it since I was a kid - recently resurrected after a long pause.
then and now I find it more relaxing to take the snork out. I cannot explain why but being able to close my mouth normally seems to help me feel even more at home. Bottom here is mostly 10 meter-ish. Only time I leave it in is for a shallow quick dive.

 

[Tahoe Diver]

I'm a newbie freediver and after reading Umberto Pelizzari's book, I always remove the snorkel either at the bottom, or just after starting my decent. When just playing around I'll leave it in. This also depends on what kind of snorkel I'm using (purge or no purge). My favorite snorkel is the clear, bendy, Omer snorkel. To remove it during the dive, I just flick it out with my left index finger. I've never tried to "spit" it out.

Again, I'm just a newbie so my opinion should be taken for what it is, but I would try to remove the snorkel during your dive. I think there is something to not having to spend your first breath after reaching the surface on the air in your snorkel.

- Tahoe Diver

 

[Soul Deep]

The buddy I am talking about states it is for the reason of

1 - Jaw Could Lock
2 - Using the last of your breath exhaling the water from the tube before breathing (as you mentioned Tahoe Diver! Maybe this person has also read Umberto's book)

 

[DeepThought]

3 - There's one less block between your lungs and the water.

 

[crusty]

I spit the Snorkle on the Surface.
I have found the sound of bubbles escaping from the snorkle on descent spooks most fish ( Spanish Macks especially ) so i just spit it after my last breath and the snorkle floods in the first foot, but I always replace it I think its a comfort thing.
If i have stayed to long and the lungs are burning I pull it out on ascent, makes getting that first breath easier.
Dont know if its good or bad but its what im comfortable with


Crusty

 

[Fish Tale]

I take it out just before I dive. Makes clearing go smooth for me and then the swallowing to quiet contractions takes less concentration. When back on the surface in choppy seas, getting that first breath in and out is IMO much more productive without the snorkel in.

The snorkel doubles the length and volume of your airway. IMO you can't outgas the carbondioxide as efficiently when you have the extra volume to clear.

 

[miles]

:waterwork Hiya

When diving in very shallow water, 2-6m, i normally take the snorkel out, as mentioned previously, the bubbles that the air makes as it escapes from your snorkel scares flighty fish.

When deeper diving, i USE to also spit the snorkel out. Purely because of habit. AFTER taking a freediving course, i learnt the displacement method of clearing your snorkel. All this entails is you looking up (when ascending, when you're about a meter from the surface) and gently exhaling a SMALL amount of air into your snorkel. This will displace the water and upon surfacing, you won't need to clear your snorkel.

The MAIN reason for NOT spitting your snorkel is that SHOULD you black out, which normally happens close to the surface, you will still be able to breathe. Very few spearo's have dive buddies watching them 100% of the time. I've heard of guys coming up from a dive, the boat-man sees the guy on the surface, but the guy has actually passed out. By the time they realised something was wrong, it was too late :waterwork

Just another opinion!!

Regards
miles

 

[guide1]

interesting, ive also read that if you leave the snorkal in upon black it will push water straight down your throut, i cant remember the medical reason but it sounded very plausable.

 

[octopus]

If you black out with your mouth open (or snorkel in, or breathe water in your lungs), water will get into your lungs. That makes recovery more difficult (kiss of life, pumping water out etc.).

If you black out with your mouth closed, jaw muscles will keep it closed.
Recovery is a bit easier in second case, as there is no water in the lungs.

If you always dive alone, this is of academic interest.