USVI-On-Line

We went last weekend to "the city" and bought my snorkeling gear cause I've never snorkeled before. I got in the pool at the Y yesterday (felt like such a clown with all these other folks just swimming LOL). I spent about 3 hours just learning to trust the snorkel, how to kick my legs, and finally, going under and blowing out the water from the snorkel. That was reallllly hard. I ended up with a mouthful plenty of times. There was no one to "teach" me, just me choking alot!
So...any tips for new snorkelers? I know there are plenty that would benefit from your expertise!
TIA

TIP #1 - Don't inhale the sea water through your snorkel...

this site may be helpful:

http://seestjohn.com/snorkeling_snorkeling101.html

you may be advanced beyond it now, however...

You are going to have such a good time!

Do you have a "dry" snorkel?

I can go under with mine and no water gets in at all.

I'd spend the few bucks on a "dry snorkel". We had one for the first time this past February and it made a huge difference for me. I only go underwater once in a while, but before the dry snorkel still found myself getting a snorkel full of water.

I think you can get one on Ebay for like $15 - well worth it.

My other advice for a first time snorkeler - never stand on the coral.

Good Luck! Have Fun!

I'd start without fins and snorkel, mask only, in a shallow calm area where you can stand in sand and see some critters. You want to be comfortable with your head under water when that 5' tarpon swims by after its minnow lunch. The right side of Maho, the left side of Francis and the left side of Vie's Beach/Hansen Bay are the spots that have worked best for this.

Anxiety is the biggest reason people get in trouble. The second is not knowing your limits. The third are people who have vision problems swimming to the wrong island (true story, had to chase after someone trying to go to Tortola from Waterlemon Cay!).

Cheers, RickG

Husband started me when we were 17. He was a diver and got certified under the ice on Lake Superior. Yikes!

The most important thing I was taught was to try to relax your breathing. Panic breathing increases risk of water intake. In order to relax my breathing I started out laying on a floating device with my head in the water. This way I didn't have to worry about fins, touching the bottom with my feet, etc. It was wonderful and we've been snorkeling every vacation since.

We taught our then 4 and 6 year old girls years ago off the Keys in FL the same way and have had so many wonderful snorkeling vacations since. The girls are now 26 and 28 and love the water.

We don't vacation to anything but a water destination.

vi lover wrote:I'd spend the few bucks on a "dry snorkel". We had one for the first time this past February and it made a huge difference for me. I only go underwater once in a while, but before the dry snorkel still found myself getting a snorkel full of water.

I think you can get one on Ebay for like $15 - well worth it.

My other advice for a first time snorkeler - never stand on the coral.

Good Luck! Have Fun!

I'm going to do that. I don't want to panic cause I breathed in water. No I definitely don't have a dry snorkel!

Thanks to all of you, and for the link!

Also, it is much easier to snorkle in salt water. Something about bouyance. RickG lists some good beaches to start out on. Salt Pond is another. If you start kinda slow, you will have no problems.
BTW, my wife and I are originally from Rochester area. Are you near there?

I'm not the strongest of swimmers, but I LOVE to snorkel! I have had a few moments of the "panic breathing"...my solution is to always swim with a flotation device. I don't really need it, but it keeps my mind calm and I enjoy the fish much more.

Best that I have used is a small ski belt. Pool noodles also work. I usually cut them in half length-wise, so they are sticking out of the water so much. I might look like a dork, but I don't care. It works, and I have a blast!!!

mickyb wrote:Also, it is much easier to snorkle in salt water. Something about bouyance. RickG lists some good beaches to start out on. Salt Pond is another. If you start kinda slow, you will have no problems.
BTW, my wife and I are originally from Rochester area. Are you near there?

Jamestown, Southwest of Rochester. Betcha miss the Dinosaur!

Dry snorkel is great. Spend some time in a pool with it. Once you're comfortable, play around TRYING to get it to fail (do a swimmer's turn, that should do it) so you know it's limitations and how you'll react if it does get swamped. Knowledge is power, right? Oh, and try to keep the sand out of the top of your dry snorkel, it can mess with the operation of the mechanism. Have had a rock stuck in there causing it to not work.

Keep your neck straight (look toward the bottom, not ahead) most of the time so you don't tire those muscles. I know it sounds weird, but just trust me on it.

When you are in calm salt water you don't need your arms to swim if you've got fins on. Cross your hands behind your back or in front, just use your legs. It is actually very calming to not be flailing around with your arms.

If you get in trouble/panic, don't take your mask off or your snorkel out of your mouth. Your first instinct is going to be to pop your head up, rip off your mask and tread water. That leaves you doing a stroke that can tire you and you're ill prepared to change to another position because you've got to screw around getting your gear back on, during which time you're more likely to get tired and start to panic even more. If you must pop up, leave your mask on and let any water in your mouth dribble out around the snorkel. You can burp, sneeze, drool and probably worse into your snorkel (take a look at yours, there's probably a one-way valve at the bottom) - use it if necessary.

Hold hands with someone if you get scared.

Put extra sun screen on where your suit meets your skin. DO NOT apply sunscreen at the hotel/villa, then get in the car to drive to your snorkel destination. The car seat wears it off and you'll burn like you didn't have any on at all. (Yes, lesson learned the hard way.)

Go slow. Just float sometimes. It's not a race. It's the journey not the destination. You'll see more if you slow down.

If you get out to rest and plan to snorkel back to where you started, leave your mask full of water. It will help prevent fogging on the way back.

Most important... ENJOY!!!