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You know you pro-snorkel guys are really stretching for reasons to drag a
snorkel along. I mean you might as well use excuses like "in case an
alien spaceship makes off with the dive boat" or "just in case all
molecular activity ceases in compressed air tanks."
There is a basic premiss in diving which should be recognized. Do not
create a actual problem by equipping for an imaginary problem.
The imaginary problem- A situation where not having a snorkel at hand
will kill you.
The actual problem- Snorkel on mask band. You WILL loose your mask doing
this and, in the kind of diving we do, this could prove fatal. There is
no conceivable situation where a scuba diver can justify keeping a
snorkel on his mask band.- Stashing the snorkel in some frigging
location. Where? I saw one moron stick it in the bands he used to attach
his giant 8lb dive knife to his leg. Another guy took his apart and had
the tube banded to the back of his tanks and the mouthpiece shoved in a
BC pocket, along with a couple of lead weights. The more junk you have
strapped to your legs, arms, harness, tanks, etc. the more likely you
will (a) never use it, (b) loose it, our (c) get killed by it.
I used to carry a snorkel on my mask band because that's how I was
trained, and I hated it. It would get caught on eveything and I never
used it. When it pulled my mask off one time, I started stuffing it in my
jacket BC pocket, where I never used it. When I switched to backplate and
harness, I simply could not see a reasonable place to put it, and I could
not justify some heroic effort because I simply never use the damn thing.
Nobody told me to loose the snorkel, there was just no logic in it.
Jim
>BTW, there are also any number of reasons that a diver might become
>adrift in the ocean. From having his boat stolen during the dive to
>getting blown off the wreck due to current and the crew on the boat
>not able to find him in 12+ foot seas. And it is quite simple to lift
>your head every so often to check your direction and look for help
>while breathing off a snorkel. It's easier to swim face down while keeping
>an eye on your target. And if you are in really rough seas, you're not
>going to see much but spray and wave tops. Another thing to think
>about is that in rough seas if you are face down any waves breaking
>will break on your tanks, not on your face, snorkels are also quite easily
>cleared if you get water in them during rough weather.
>
>Anything can happen, it's up to the individual to determine what
>their needs are going to be during a dive. If someone starts
>relying on someone else's hogarthian or whatever rig for all
>their diving, then they won't be thinking for themselves and that
>is where the real danger is.
>
>Mark
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