So, What’s Wrong With Snorkels?

Please understand: I actually like snorkels. Hell, I can’t imagine going snorkeling without one. I’ve even been on scuba dives where having a snorkel has come in handy. Case in point:

When diving off the beach in Southern California, you typically have to surface swim 150-200 yards offshore before you find water deep enough to descend. While you are most likely to cover that distance on your back, you will reach a point where you want to flip over on your face, look down and make certain you are about to descend on a reef and not a sand patch. And, in so far as you don’t want to waste any air from your tank while doing so, you’ll find that having a snorkel attached to your mask is pretty handy.

Mind you, the last time I actually made a dive off a Southern California beach was 1988. Come to think of it, that was just about the last time I went scuba diving with a snorkel attached to my mask.

The problem with snorkels isn’t the fact there really are some scuba dives in which having a snorkel with you might come in handy. It’s that some so-called dive-industry “professionals” doggedly insist that every diver needs to carry a snorkel with him on every dive — and that the only place to carry that snorkel is attached to the diver’s mask strap.

Where did this notion come from? »

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