A small tip for using a snorkel float

Hello.

I'm Koyo, a freediver from Okinawa.

 

This time I'd like to talk about the best way to use a snorkel float.

It's a very small point, but it's sure to help in an emergency💁‍♂️

 

 

Why I started using a snorkel float

The snorkel is one of the basic pieces of equipment for freediving, skin diving and snorkeling — have you ever lost one in the sea? I have😅 Among my diving friends, stories of losing a snorkel are not unusual.

If you always keep your snorkel attached to your mask strap, that rarely happens.

During freediving training, you often put the snorkel on and take it off again and again. While it's not in use, you put it in or on top of the buoy, but on windy days it can get blown away, or while you're busy changing gear or having a drink, it can slip off the buoy, sink into the sea, and by the time you notice it's nowhere to be seen.

With a snorkel float, the snorkel floats on the surface, so even if you get careless and it slips out of your hands, you can still get it back — that's why I started using one.

 

 

It doesn't mean you're completely safe

However, having a snorkel float doesn't mean you'll never lose your snorkel. There are things you need to be careful about.

A snorkel that slips away through carelessness keeps floating on the surface and can drift further and further from you with the current and wind. If you forget about it for a long time, by the time you need it you won't know how far it has drifted😢

Or even if it hasn't drifted far, when there are waves a floating snorkel gets hidden by them, so finding it isn't impossible, but it becomes difficult.

So I think the key to using a snorkel float is making a floating snorkel as easy to spot as possible.

 

 

The common way to use a snorkel float

This is the pattern where it's attached around the middle of the snorkel, as in this photo.

Of course, this way of attaching it isn't wrong. But from the point of view of making a floating snorkel easier to find, I don't recommend it🙅‍♂️

In this case, as you can see, the snorkel floats sideways. Floating like this, it can get hidden by waves when there are any.

You can see a sideways snorkel floating around the center of the photo, but more than half of it is hidden. There weren't many waves at the time, but the surface was constantly moving.

 

 

The recommended way to use a snorkel float

If you attach it to the tip of the snorkel, it floats upright on the surface, as in this photo.

This photo was taken on the same day at the same time. I think you can see it's easier to find than when it floats sideways. Seen in the water for real, it's even easier to spot than in this photo👍

Even so, when there are waves it will appear and disappear behind them, but because more of it is visible than when it lies sideways, it's easier to find.

 

 

What did you think?

It may seem like a small point, but if you imagine that "Wait! Where's my snorkel?!" moment, doesn't it sound useful?😉

UMMY's snorkel float has a large logo in white lettering, making it even easier to spot — highly recommended💁‍♂️