I never imagined being a certified diver could aid me so much in the field of Biology. In the past year, it has opened several doors for me to be able to dive, collect samples underwater, and conduct a survey of all marine life within certain perameters.

Ashley Barnes

To Snorkel or Not to Snorkel: That is the Question How did this become such a point of contention for so many?

A long debated issue amongst divers, instructors and training agencies is: do divers need to wear snorkels? Before we explore this topic, a little bit of history is in order.

In the beginning, snorkels were a very useful and important piece of equipment. In the early days of SCUBA training, free diving or snorkeling was a big component of the course, acting as an air management tool. Divers were taught to hold their breath and dive down to depths so instructors could assess their comfort in the water.

In addition to cylinder volumes being less, given that SPG’s were not a part of the regulator, the diver only knew the tank was full because the person that filled it said it was. Towards the end of the dive when the “J” valve stopped delivering air and the diver pulled the shepherds hook to get the reserve amount of air to get them to the surface, it was quite possible that the surface swim would have to be performed on the snorkel.

Fast forward to present day: we now have SPG’s, air integrated dive computers, snorkeling skills are not as big of a part of training, and our training materials teach better air management practices. Also, today more divers are going into overhead environments and diving in areas where snorkels become a liability and not an asset. So this brings us to the question: snorkel or no snorkel?

There are still dive sites that require a surface swim, and a snorkel will conserve the air in the cylinder for the dive. There are also locations where snorkels are required by law. In these situations, snorkels are a must.

Where do snorkels become more of a liability? On high current dives, snorkels create a drag and tend to cause the mask to flood. In overhead environments, such as wrecks, swim troughs and caverns, they can cause the divers mask to be dislodged and cause a leak or flood. When diving around kelp or areas where monofilament line is known to be, snorkels become an entanglement hazard.

Another deciding factor is the comfort level of the diver; are you comfortable wearing a snorkel or not? One thing a snorkel should never replace is proper planning of air supply. Divers should always surface with enough air left to make a surface swim to their exit point, be it a boat or shore.

By breathing off the second stage, the diver avoids the possibility of breathing in water that has entered the snorkel due to choppy surface conditions, waves or poorly aligned snorkel (snorkel leaning too far backward or forward). A variety of pocket snorkels have also entered diving, allowing the diver to “always have one with them” although not necessarily attached until it is needed. With all these details, it’s easy to see wearing a snorkel or not depends on the type of dive that is planned.
There is possibly no better exercise and opportunity to interact with sea life than going out for a swim across the surface of the ocean, lake or river. In this case, a snorkel is exactly the right tool for the job. With the brightest sun light, it attracts the highest concentration of life. Find a good fitting snorkel, mask and fins, and the experience is sure to be amazing!

Let’s start with 3 new instructors. Regina, Chad Puckett, and Scott Fowler finished their SDI Open Water Instructor evaluation with flying colors. I also finished my Staff Instructor Trainer qualification. We are looking forward to adding more students in more places to the ever growing list of “Air Suck’n Dogs”.

Shannon McAteer of Richmond Hill, GA conducted an Advance Nitrox course in August. Four of us, that’s right including me, took the class. Man did I learn a lot more about Nitrox and the use of O2 in diving. I have a new out look for tec divers and the use of O2 in nearly every dive. This stuff is great if you like to dive 70’-130’. It cuts down on your surface interval without pushing NDL and PO2 limits. With this in mind we now have O2 at the shop for Nitrox mixing including 100% for those who are Advance Nitrox certified.

Speaking of certification we have taken the leap into online learning. We now offer Open Water Diver, Computer Nitrox Diver and Dive Master online academic classes. Call the shop, and Regina will provide you with an online login number, and you’re off and running with your next dive adventure. We also have Public Safety Diver classes online.

Public Safety Diver (PSD) has also hit the Waterdog Scuba shop in full force. We trained 15 PS Divers representing 3 different agencies. Appling County SO, Milan VFD and Jeff Davis VFD all participated in a 6 day course. We will offer more PSD classes next year. Training will include full-face mask and under water communication.

We have also taken on some new lines of dive equipment. Ocean Reef full-face mask, XS Scuba, Highland (tec) and Zeagle (tec/rec) have all been big hits for our divers this year. We also have a new full 2mm camo wet suit that has taken off with the spearos.

We have made many trips with Capt. Dan of Off Shore Dive Charters. Bobby Sears and Capt. Dan placed in the top 10 in a spear tournament this year. We will be booking more trips with Capt. Dan before the year is out, but don’t wait on us. Capt. Dan dives year around and 6 divers make a trip. So call him and setup your next trip.

We also made a new friend with our northern neighbors across the river…Savannah River that is. The Cooper River in South Carolina is full of artifacts and fossils, easy diving with no waves, and shallow water. Even though there are lots of sharks teeth there are no sharks…dang, I am still looking for my first shark.

Lots of our divers have been participating in our Annual Underwater Hunter of the Year contest. We have lots of photos to post, but we don’t want to give away the leader. Keep sending in those pictures, and we will let you know who wins at this year’s Shrimp Boil in November.

For those of you who are interested in upgrading your certification, look for upcoming classes. A Rescue Class will be held this September and a Dive Master Class in October. Remember you can always work on your Advanced when you make dives with an instructor at the springs or in the ocean.

Dive Safely…Dive Often!

We recently dove on a natural ledge in Clearwater, FL while on vacation in the Tampa area (Indian Shores). We dove with Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters with Capt. Mike Miller. He was very professional and safety-conscious. Our dive was approximatley 10 miles off shore in about 60′ of water. The visibility was fair (for that area). We saw some sea creatures, other than fish, that we had never seen before.

You can visit the website for Tanks-A-Lot at www.tanksalotdivecharter.com

Overall we really enjoyed our dive and would highly recommend diving with Captain Mike

.

Thanks for letting us use your regulators on the dive trip.
MDV

Hey Dr. Vives,
My name is Tony Sapp.  I had you for Ichthyology way back in 2002  I think.  I have started diving and spearfishing off the coast of Fla. and Ga.  I was wondering if you know any negatives about eating the fish off our coast.  Additionally, I am mainly concerned about the Atlantic Spadefish.  Mainly, I believe their diet consists of jellyfish, but I didn’t know if you may know any other information about the fish.  We have seen SEVERAL Lionfish while diving on artificial reefs… I think that little fish may be a problem for population balance in the future.

Dr. Vives reply:

I don’t know of any reason not to eat spadefish, I have seen a couple of references saying the flesh is excellent. Beyond not eating puffer (toxins) or too much mackerel (mercury) I don’t think there are many dangers. Off the coast of Florida some barracuda are known to cause ciguatera.

Yes the Lionfish are everywhere now, from Bermuda to the Carribean and other islands. Would be good to shoot all that are seen, just don’t get stuck. Some people react strongly and some don’t, and if you are down deep, that’s the last thing you want to find out.

Glad you’re having fun chasing the fishes.”

Dr. V.

Stephen P. Vives, PhD
Department Chair and Professor
Georgia Southern University
P.O. Box 8042
Statesboro, GA 30460-8042