If you can swim, then snorkeling is easy! Just put on a mask and fins, jump in the ocean, and you are ready to go snorkeling exploring the marine world. Theoretically, this is a great idea, and getting started is easy, straightforward, and with a few pointers, you are ready to go.
However, like everything in life, if you want to get the most from your snorkeling experience, you need to learn some techniques and skills to take you from a novice snorkeler to a master snorkeler. Once you have mastered the beginner pointers, our advanced list of tips and tricks will let you take your snorkeling to the next level.
Slower is Better
The first thing you need to keep in mind when snorkeling is that it is supposed to be a gentle activity. Snorkeling is not the way forward if you want an aerobic, high-intensity exercise. Turning your snorkeling experience into a strenuous activity creates problems. Hard exercise generates Carbon Dioxide in your tissues, which your body wants to eliminate through breathing.
When you snorkel, your breathing is slightly restricted as you breathe through a snorkel, which limits the amount of air you can inhale with every breath. This reduces the amount of Carbon Dioxide you can flush out, and if you keep working hard, you will end up very out of breath. If you think this is an exaggeration, go for a brisk walk around your garden wearing a mask and breathing through a snorkel. You will soon find out that working hard and breathing through a snorkel is not a great idea.
When it comes to snorkeling, take a leaf out of the marine mammal playbook. Seals and sea lions are slow and graceful. Sure, they are capable of bursts of speed to avoid danger, but most of the time, they conserve their breath-hold moving around in a slow, purposeful manner. When it comes to snorkeling, the slower you are, the better and more fun it will be!
Hands Are for The Camera
Following on from the theme of conserving energy and being purposeful, keep in mind that your hands are not for propulsion. Using your arms burns up energy and gets you tired quickly. Your legs, especially if you are wearing fins, should be your primary source of propulsion. They are capable of generating far more power than your arms ever can.
If you are just floating or swimming, keep your arms at your side to stay streamlined. Use them only to change direction or if you want to point and communicate with a buddy. Or even better, if you have a camera, then use your hands and arms to operate your camera and snap those awesome holiday photos.
Having a camera in your hands can improve your snorkeling technique without realizing it since it serves to slow you down. Focusing on taking a picture will automatically mean you are not swimming around quickly or using your hands for propulsion.
Master Your Snorkel
Mastering your snorkel is a game-changer for your experience; regardless of the conditions or even if you are diving to explore, your snorkel will remain clear and useable. This lets you focus on exploring, and you don’t need to raise your head out of the water, remove your mouthpiece and clear your snorkel.
There are two methods to clearing a snorkel. The blast method is where you exhale sharply, forcing any water out of the top of your snorkel and clearing it. This method is best used when you are on the surface and have a small amount of water in your snorkel due to waves, or you take the mouthpiece out and put it back in.
The second method is the displacement method and is the perfect method to clear a snorkel after a dive since it is best suited to clearing a fully flooded snorkel. As you approach the surface, simply lean your head back, looking up, and gently exhale into your snorkel as your head breaks the surface. The air will displace any water in the snorkel, clearing it.
Keep in mind that the displacement method only works with a “wet snorkel” if you are using a “dry snorkel,” you will need to remove it from your mouth before you dive and then clear it using the blast method when you surface.
Breathe Up Before You Dive
Do not confuse Breathing Up with hyperventilating it is not. Hyperventilating in the water can be dangerous since it can lead to you passing out with all its negative consequences. Instead, breathing up is a simple technique that slightly increases your breath-hold time and makes your dive more comfortable.
Breathing up is 3 or 4 deep breaths before you begin your dive underwater. The breath should not be rapid or manic in any way. They should be big, full, and slow breaths allowing the gas exchanges to occur in your lungs. Breathing up has the effect of slightly reducing the level of Carbon Dioxide in your blood which increases your breath-hold time.
The key to breathing up safely is slow, slow, slow! Imagine you are practicing yoga or meditating. Make sure you inhale and exhale slowly and thoroughly, filling your lungs. For the final breath, before you begin your descent, you can breathe in a little quicker to maximize every single second of your breath-hold underwater.
Learn To Duck
You can take your snorkeling skills to the next level by learning to “Duck Dive.” Mastering duck diving allows you to transition effortlessly and seamlessly from swimming horizontally on the surface to exploring underwater.
The technique for duck diving is straightforward. Once you have decided to dive, simply breathe up as we discussed earlier, then fold your body at the waist in a motion similar to the one you would make if you were bowing to someone. At the same time, extend your arms forward and bring your arms and palms together above your head.
Keeping your legs together, raise them out of the water so your body is completely vertical in a head-down position. As your body starts to sink, use your hands to propel yourself deeper underwater (you usually only need to use your hands once). Once your fins are submerged, you continue using your feet for propulsion like on the surface.
Remember to equalize (see equalization coming later). If you have mastered hands-free equalization techniques, it makes your duck diving easier, smoothing out your biomechanics.
Become An Equalization Master
If you are going to dive and explore when snorkeling, you will need to learn how to equalize properly. This prevents your ears and sinuses from hurting as the pressure increases the deeper you go underwater. You can use these techniques to prevent your ears from hurting when you fly and experience pain during take-off or landing.
The most straightforward technique is called the Valsalva and simply involves pinching your nose with one hand and exhaling through your nose. The exhaled air can not escape and is pushed back into the air spaces inside your face (sinuses and ear), equalizing them with the ambient pressure. You do not have to worry about equalizing your ears when ascending, only on the descent phase of a dive.
While the Valsalva is the most commonly known and most straightforward equalization technique, there are many others. Many are hands-free, letting you keep the focus on what you are doing. While most modern techniques come from the freediving and spearfishing world, looking further back, many of these techniques were developed by dive bomber pilots in the second world war. Since as they plunged into a dive-bombing run, they needed to equalize while keeping both hands on the aircraft flight controls.
Learning and mastering a hands-free equalization technique is the icing on the cake for snorkeling and will take your skill to new levels.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the few techniques here can genuinely transform your snorkeling experience. While snorkeling is often overlooked, it is the perfect activity at tropical destinations, allowing you to explore and experience reefs and other marine life without the need for scuba.
If you are a diver, then a family day snorkeling can be the perfect last day of a diving vacation where you can’t dive before flying. A little snorkeling session also gives you a different perspective and overview, with the prettiest parts of reefs often being in the shallows. As a bonus, snorkeling is an excellent way to while away your surface intervals when on a dive trip. Becoming a snorkeling master opens up a whole new world of adventure and experience!
