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YEA ME TOO! TRAINED THAT SNORKEL AT DIVING WAS A MUST, BUT WHEN I WAS AT THE BAHAMAS,ONE OTHER AND MYSELF WAS THE ONLY ONES ON THE BOAT THAT HAD A SNORKEL, EVEN THE DIVE CREW WENT SNORKELESS, GUESS IT DEPENDS ON WHO IS RUNNING THE SHOW.....RIGHT?.....
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Greg - 3/26/2007 6:39 PM 
It`s always good practice to have a snorkel. But you don`t always need it on your mask. Try one of the snorkels that fits nicely in your BC pocket. I use one that is really flexible with a velcro like attachment that I keep in my BC pocket. If I ever need it, I can quickly attach it to my mask strap (which has the other end of the velcro thing). That way I have one in case of an emergency, but it`s not always in the way.
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I use a collapsible snorkel also. It folds nicely into my BC pocket and is always available if needed. But just a reminder, when done diving and you`re ready to store that gear, be sure you`ve removed the snorkel, cleaned and dried it. Lots of strange and wondrous things will grow in it in a short time....
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I have wanted to try a pocket snorkel for a while, but since a great deal of my diving has been CA diving where you either (1) shore dive or (2) have to make your way back to the boat - the surface swim and potentially rough water always made me question the reliabilty of velcro as a means for keeping the snorkel on the mask.
As for the cleaning of a snorkel - never really thought of it. I always rinse my gear (generally allowing it to soak in fresh water overnight) - but would you recommend more, like a light bleach solution?
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Greg - 3/27/2007 3:12 PM
I rinse out with fresh water after every dive, then about every 3 or 4 dives, I clean stuff with a mixer of a very small amount of bleach and fresh water. For wetsuits, I let them soak in a warm bath overnight with some non-bleach detergent, then rinse and hang out to dry.
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I try to convince my students to continue carrying snorkels even after they are qualified. I believe that you do not know when you will require the snorkel for a long surface swim, or when the conditions are going to warant having a snorkel. The coastline in South Africa has got a regular wave action that can easily get to 5 Meters 18` A diver requires a snorkel in these conditions.
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Yeah, when I was in Belize, no one had one either. So I quickly took mine off. They often get in the way. I know in rough waves or surface weather, I was trained to ALWAYS have the reg in anyway. I think I will follow Greg`s advice and get a collapsible one for surface emergencies (hopefully NEVER!).
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cozmo - 4/17/2007 8:09 PM
I`ve done a lot of my diving in Monterey Ca be it shore and boat diving and the only time I would use or carry a snorkel would be if I was helping a ow class. It is one less thing to get caught by something (i.e. Kelp Monster) or someone.
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NO SNORKELS ARE ALLOWED!!!! I dive in a lot of overhead enviroments and a snorkel is a big NO-NO! Even when I am in open water conditions, no snorkle. If the surface conditions are choppy, you have a minimum of two regs, why not use them? You will not run out of air/gas before coming upon your boat. Unless, of course, you have busted every minimum gas requirment. In that case, you have BIGGER problems.
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