HOW TO SNORKEL PROPERLY
Snorkeling is a great way to enjoy the ocean and see its inhabitants. It’s great fun for everyone and relatively straightforward to get the hang of, but there are a few things to know and some points to make your experience more comfortable.
How to start
Firstly ensure that your mask fits comfortably and isn’t pressing up under your nose or on the bridge of your nose between your eyes. The skirt of the mask should seal around your face with no gaps. Pulling the strap tighter to achieve this does not work in fact it is more likely to make the mask leak and be uncomfortable to wear. Your snorkel attaches to your mask and should be adjusted to fit comfortably in your mouth.
If you are hiring a snorkel check that the mouthpiece is not torn, a damaged mouthpiece is uncomfortable and will make it harder to hold. You grip the mouthpiece lightly with your teeth and seal your lips around it.
Proper breathing technique while snorkeling
If you can, start in shallow water where you can easily stand up. Keep your head in an upright position bend your knees so that you sink to about mid-forehead depth. Breathe in cautiously, this way if there is any water in the snorkel you won’t inhale it. You can suck air gently past the water; it will make a bubbling gurgling sound, but you will be able to get a full breath in.
How to clear water from your snorkel
If there is water in your snorkel, it is easily cleared. With a full breath blow out as forcefully and sharply as you can. This exhalation will fire the water out of your snorkel. Inhale cautiously again and repeat if necessary. Some snorkels have self-draining valves which make clearing water much easier.
How to prevent water getting into your snorkel
While snorkeling, you will get water into your snorkel, but there are ways you can limit it. Choppy conditions and waves will splash water in from the top, but the biggest culprit is the position of your head. The temptation when snorkeling is to look directly down; doing this tips your head and lowers the snorkel’s end into the water which scoops in water. Keep your head tilted upwards and look at the reef a meter or so ahead of you and this should keep your snorkel upright.
How to move around while snorkeling
Once you have mastered that positioning, you should now be able to see that you can float face down in the water and breathe. You won't need to kick to stay up and you can relax, float and save energy. If you want to move around you will need to use either your arms or legs or both. If you are not wearing fins, then you can just swim. If you are wearing fins, then keep them below the water.
You can either flutter kick or frog kick; for the former to ensure the best propulsion make sure the kicking motion comes from your hips and not your knees. Your legs are stronger than your arms, so there is no need to use your arms if you have fins on.
How to dive down when snorkeling
Sometimes you want to have a closer look at the reef and to do this you will need to dive underwater. When done correctly this is effortless. Starting from lying flat on the surface kick to get some forward but horizontal momentum. When you are ready bend forward from the waist down into the water, plunge your head and arms down and flick your legs up as high as you can so that you are now completely straight but pointing down like you are trying to do a handstand. Your legs are heavy and will push your torso down.
It’s this weight and perfectly vertical positioning that will make the biggest difference to your dives fluidity. Of course, you can help by swimming down with your arms, and once your feet are submerged, you can kick with your legs, but your body position is key.
To stay safe make sure that you dive in a team of two. One of you stays on the surface watching the other and then switch. Ideally, take a float with you that acts as a marker but also so that you can rest after your dive.
Holding your breath while snorkeling
Obviously, you need to hold your breath while underwater and this will limit your dive time. You can extend your time a little by taking two or three relaxed but deep breaths before your last one which you hold. When you surface, allow yourself time to recover before your next dive. Don’t dive if you feel faint or dizzy.
How to relieve ear pressure while snorkeling
Depending on the depth you reach you might feel pressure on your ears. To relieve this, you need to pop your ears much the same as you would in an airplane. To do this hold your nose closed and gently blow against it. Do not do this forcefully, if you can’t manage it easily and gently then stay shallower. It’s not easy in a head down position particularly if you have never tried before. Importantly, don’t keep going deeper and making your ears hurt.
How to surface properly during a snorkel dive
When you feel the need to surface make sure that you swim up while rotating around so that you can see the surface from all directions. Have one hand raised like superman so that it will protect your head. If you tip your head slightly back and exhale during your last meter of ascent, you should find the air clears your snorkel so that you can rest and breathe normally on the surface without lifting your head or kicking up. If your snorkel has a self-drain, then this technique may not be as effective as blast clearing on the surface.
To put it all together and learn a little more have a look at this video. You can ignore the weight belt part, he also refers to it as skin diving but the principles are the same and described well for a dive from the surface.
