First time trying to snorkel

[TooManyHobbies]

I will admit, it's not as easy as it looks. I kept panicking when I put my face in the water. Just not normal to breath under water. After a couple hours, it was no problem, but I still couldn't bring myself to sink the breathing tube. So, I had to use my T-rex. It was fun and a learning experience though. Been wanting to get into this swimming hole on a small river for quite some time.
I managed a mepps lure, skeleton key, bottle opener, shell casing (55 VIII ?), a nice heavy men's bracelet - no joy on precious metal. The most interesting find was the 2 month sobriety token.
2 - 25c
1 - 10c (I swear I had three, maybe I missed the bag with the two that came up together)
1 - 5c
7 - 1c (5 copper, 2 zinc)

 

[Loco-Digger]

You go for it man, hope you find lot's of treasure. I will keep my head above water.

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

I will admit, it's not as easy as it looks. I kept panicking when I put my face in the water. Just not normal to breath under water. After a couple hours, it was no problem, but I still couldn't bring myself to sink the breathing tube. So, I had to use my T-rex. It was fun and a learning experience though. Been wanting to get into this swimming hole on a small river for quite some time.
I managed a mepps lure, skeleton key, bottle opener, shell casing (55 VIII ?), a nice heavy men's bracelet - no joy on precious metal. The most interesting find was the 2 month sobriety token.
2 - 25c
1 - 10c (I swear I had three, maybe I missed the bag with the two that came up together)
1 - 5c
7 - 1c (5 copper, 2 zinc)

Breathing underwater is not natural. Many safety mechanisms take place in our head to prevent any accident.... it takes a little time to bypass them.

I dive at least 2 time a week since decades, and I can promise you, I still have to fight sometimes to start breathing underwater: somewhere in my brain, there is a still an automatic mecanism that tells you not to breath when your face is underwater

I'm sure with time you will enjoy more and more those underwater experience!

Congrats for the finds

FM

 

[vne5]

I will admit, it's not as easy as it looks. I kept panicking when I put my face in the water. Just not normal to breath under water. After a couple hours, it was no problem, but I still couldn't bring myself to sink the breathing tube. So, I had to use my T-rex. It was fun and a learning experience though. Been wanting to get into this swimming hole on a small river for quite some time.
I managed a mepps lure, skeleton key, bottle opener, shell casing (55 VIII ?), a nice heavy men's bracelet - no joy on precious metal. The most interesting find was the 2 month sobriety token.
2 - 25c
1 - 10c (I swear I had three, maybe I missed the bag with the two that came up together)
1 - 5c
7 - 1c (5 copper, 2 zinc)

Do yourself a favor.. If you find that you enjoy snorkeling, take a class from a local dive shop. It may sound silly to take a class on this but there is a lot of information and techniques you will learn that not only help you, but could save your life. Shallow water/surface blackout becomes a concern the more you get comfortable submerging the snorkel and the deeper you dive. Also, get your self a dual-valve snorkel. It really makes clearing the snorkel easy.

 

[Limitool]

Good for you buddy.... looks like you did very good first time snorkeling. It really is mind over matter. Just remember to blow that snorkel out when going under and back up above then. Way back in the day... like way back (early 70's) I could stay underwater for 2.5 minutes. It may not sound like a long time but just try 1 minute. My buddy and I were both long distance runners in H.S. and we used to compete in EVERYTHING. We'd take the stopwatch and time each other every day during the summer staying underwater after our workouts. Whoever went first usually lost.... go figure.

 

[sponge]

2 min free diving is insane. I could use that for mini season. Here buggy buggy

sent from a sending device

 

[fongu]

Hope this adds to your finds. Stay safe and have fun. GL & HH.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I snorkel to the extent my wife and I actually got prescription masks (I am a mole without my glasses). In the places we visit with our sailboats over the years it was handy for checking anchor sets and recovering lost items . . . occasionally (water sprites steal dropped tools as soon as they hit the water).

I absolutely hate the "gimick" snorkels that are supposed to keep water out. They fail. Slightly better are the large bore tubes that have a one-way silicone valve to exhaust the water at the bend. Often these are too large to expunge and leak a bit - so you can still aspirate water (and usually panic a bit when it happens). Just a simple 7/8" dia. tube seems to work best for me.

The "trick", if there is one, is to stay calm and move smoothly. You don't have to hyperventilate before you dive. And when you do dive fill your lungs and do a surface dive with minimal fuss. If you bob at the surface and then submerge and have to flip end-for-end you have wasted air time and energy.

Keep enough air in your lungs that you can exhale once you are horizontal at the surface. Don't pop up vertically like a missile and repeat the bob-and-tuck after hyperventilating. Think more like a crocodile just getting it's nostrils up for a breath and then re-submerging quietly to hunt.

I haven't tried detecting but have retrieved some well and truly stuck anchors. Occasionally with more than I started with (always nice to recover someone else's $200 anchor)! Have scrubbed boat bottoms, cleared weeds and rope from props and shafts, and just generally played tag with the perch.

If the zebra mussels had been so busy 40 years ago in the Finger Lakes I might have gone for a SCUBA certification. The water clarity is many, many times better in the last 15 years.

 

[Higgy]

The guy who had that two month token probably tossed it into the water himself, saying, "Screw this. I need a drink!"

 

[Higgy]

I absolutely hate the "gimick" snorkels that are supposed to keep water out. They fail. Slightly better are the large bore tubes that have a one-way silicone valve to exhaust the water at the bend. Often these are too large to expunge and leak a bit - so you can still aspirate water (and usually panic a bit when it happens). Just a simple 7/8" dia. tube seems to work best for me.

I wholeheartedly agree, Charlie. The dry-top snorkels suck real bad. Best case scenario is its stuck and you are trying to get air. Don't ask me how I know. I cut the tops off the ones I had after a couple years of being annoyed by them.

TMH: The best advice that I can give to you is to have a freshly-shaven face, and a mask that fits you well. Be sure your mask has been cleaned very well, and defogger applied while dry. Rinse, and you'll be fog-free for the entire dive.

I've been a PADI-certified diver for 37 years. Wish you were closer - I'd go snorkeling with you and offer some advice. I used to be a swimming instructor for YMCA too.

 

[airscapes]

I second the class, just take a scuba class, you will lean to use all the basic equipment.. fins, snorkel, mask etc.. Once you lean how to clear your mask and snorkel properly you will be up and down like a Dolphin!

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Thanks all for the advice. I'll have to look up an instructor. And shave my mustache.

 

[CASPER-2]

YOU MIGHT BE MORE COMFORTABLE USING ONE OF THESE

 

[Higgy]

Thanks all for the advice. I'll have to look up an instructor. And shave my mustache.

Try to find a PADI dive shop. They'll hook you up. Good luck!

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Casper, I saw you posted that mask once before. What kind is it, where would I find one?

 

[Dagger Woods]

I was NASDS certified in 1980.... haven't been "wet" for a few years now, though....man I miss it. Any full-service dive shop should also offer snorkeling lessons, and for a fraction of the price of a full scuba course. For beginners who are anxious about the water, they are well worth the small fee - intro to the better lines of gear, safety instruction, water work in a safe pool environment, then some open water work in a shallow, calm area.... I've seen guys who never learned how to swim and were always afraid of the water move up from wading ankle deep, through swimming lessons and snorkeling lessons, and on to a full scuba course. Good solid instruction (regardless of the certifying agency) is well worth the time and effort.

By the way, that mask in the post above is something else *L*...... it probably works a treat, but it gives one the look of a Tele-Tubby.... "Divey-Wivey", anyone?

 

[CASPER-2]

Casper, I saw you posted that mask once before. What kind is it, where would I find one?

https://www.google.com/search?q=ful...2&ved=0CDEQsARqFQoTCOz6rpSy_sYCFcpZPgodbO8HXQ

there are chineese ripoffs out there too

 

[fongu]

My mustache gets in the way when I use my mask, but since I don't use it very much, I don't shave. Long as I know how to clear my mask, I can deal with it the few times I use it.