Snorkel left in mouth during dive

[anthropisces]

I now know at least two divers, who retain the snorkel in their mouth during their dive cycle.

I was taught in Fii to spit it out. The rationale was that if you don't have a snorkel in your mouth, and if you black out, that you will naturally close your airways. Conversely I was taught that if you have the snorkel in your mouth and if you black out, that the snorkel will allow water to flood your airway and that you will drown.

Is there any data on this topic? No-one has ever blacked out during a trip on my boat. I've never seen a blackout.

I know lots of folks who have rescued people in blackout situations. They used techniques such as were taught in my Fii level one class. On at least some of these occasions, it seems that the diver would have died unless they had been rescued with these techniques.

As far as I'm aware, all of the rescued divers described above did not dive with their snorkel in their mouth.

Is Fii all wet on this issue or are the lungs of these guys who don't spit their snorkel destined to be all wet with seawater?

 

[tcrusson]

I've seen a few blackouts, including with people doing snorkelling type stuff in 15/20m of water (e.g. looking at sharks and spending too much time at the bottom). And all blackouts in that scenario were 1m below the surface, or a few seconds after surfacing.

The reason I ask everyone to remove their snorkel is for their buddies to check that they are OK upon surfacing. remove the snorkel, duck dive, do the dive, surface and take 3/5 breaths, then put the snorkel back on. The buddy providing safety must have his head out of the water as well and check that everything's OK. If the snorkel is kept in the mouth, how would you know if the guy is breathing, or just floating on the surface, blacked out?

As far as I'm aware there is a laryngospasm when you black out, but don't know if there are cases where this doesn't happen and water can flow.

Another reason to remove the snorkel: if you are close to your limits and have to purge the snorkel upon surfacing, the effort required to do so could also tip you over the edge...

 

[vali]

definitley remove the snorkel...
in many cases [mine included], keeping the snorkel was an inertia from the spearo sessions [in the shallow waters...max 15m]...not good in freediving!!!

 

[landshark sa]

For me this comes down to how you would reach and float on the surface after a blackout and this is dependant how you are weighted.

Until I did a freedive course I always used to spearfish with snorkel in.

I cleared my snorkel on ascend by looking up and popping a single bubble into the snorkel mouth chamber. When surfacing face down the bubble pushes all of the water out the snorkel. Very affective and no need to clear the snorkel by blowing into it.

30 years of spearfishing made the whole action automatic and it was with great difficulty that I tried to change my ways as my freedive instructor was adamant that I dive with snorkel out. I argued that should I have a BO at least my snorkel will clear itself at the surface and if I regain consciousness will have a clear snorkel / airway.

This was until it did some testing by myself... I suited up with the weight-belt I use most often and simulated the type of spearfish dive I do most regularly. I dove down to around 15m, did an aspetto, pushed off to make an ascend. At around 10m stopped finning as this is where I become positively buoyant and then simulated what I think a BO should be - just went limp, drop speargun and drift to the surface.

In that specific scenario 10 out of 10 times I ended up on my BACK, which means should I have my snorkel in and start breathing I would have breathed in water. Even when I power up to the surface and land face down the way my weight-belt it set up (most of the weight on my back) I eventually end up on my back.

So for me, in this specific scenario, the proof is in the pudding: Snorkel out.

 

[Killa]

Also another problem with the snorkel is, that most will come up, then forcefully blow water out of it. And that may cause a BO.

But as far as spearing, I don't have the snorkel in especially when spearing. Because there are always bubbles that are gonna escape, and bubbles are a fish repellant in most cases.

 

[esom]

very rich thread on the topic:

http://forums.deeperblue.com/general-freediving/87211-snorkel-always-out-sort-off.html

There was broad agreement, that, in case the same safety margins are applied and both recoveries, snorkle "in" and "out" are trained well, snorkel "out" has safety advantages for various reasons. Both options are used a lot and feel quite different.
Personally i dive snorkel out mainly. Sometimes, in case i want to end up belly down, i put my snorkel back in before surfacing. For some reason, this desire is present only when i´m clearly under my limit ;-)

 

[kevtron]

Also another problem with the snorkel is, that most will come up, then forcefully blow water out of it. And that may cause a BO.

Not only that, but when I come up from a dive the first thing I want to do is breath in. I want that O2 getting to me, and having to clear a snorkel first certainly doesn't help.

Let alone the risk of water flowing straight into your mouth in case of a BO.

I always dive with it out, and will always teach that the snorkel should come out while diving.