Snorkeling - Safety First – Safety Snorkel Gear

As I have always said, Snorkeling is one of the most exciting and at the same time relaxing water activity. But in order to enjoy it in confidence, we need to make it as safe as possible. There are a few precautions we must consider, in order to keep it that way. Fortunately for us, there is some snorkel gear out there that will help us to keep it safe.

The first thing in the safety snorkel gear if you don’t mind me calling it that, we must consider is the use of a snorkeling or safety vest. The type that is inflatable, so you can submerge anytime you want. Did you know that 1 out of 10 people normally can’t float, even if they know how to swim? It makes it very hard for these folks to maintain themselves a float in the water. These folks can partially inflate the vest, to help them maintain themselves on the surface. The rest of us can inflate it when we get tired or get a leg cramp or are not feeling well.

Rip current: We all know that when we are caught in a rip current, that we should not fight it. All we have to do is swim parallel to the shore until we get free from that current and then start working our way into shore. Here is when the snorkeling vest also comes into play. The vest can help us keep afloat safely until we can get back to shore.

The other item of the snorkel gear that contributes to our safety is a knife.  Besides looking cool, it can help us cut through discarded fishing lines or nets left behind by inconsiderate fishermen. I hope it never happens to you, but just imagine yourself submerging to get a closer look at some great underwater scenery to find yourself tangled in some old fishing line, with only seconds of air left. That happened to me once, and it wasn’t funny. Thanks to my knife, I was able to cut myself free just in time. Although it just happened to me once, and long ago, I still remember that moment and always carry my knife every time I snorkel or scuba dive.

So remember these tips the next time you go snorkeling and in addition to enjoying the wonderful underwater world, please keep safe.

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