Purging Danger Out Of Snorkelling Isn’t The Answer

The Dangerous Snorkelling Club doesn’t do safety. It would be hypocritical for us, by want of our name if nothing else, to talk about rough water snorkelling one hand and on the other to pull out the clipboards and high visibility vests and waffle on endlessly about ocean safety yada-yada. Besides, we know that a lot of people look at our name and recognise that we have our tongue firmly in our cheeks. We also know however, that other people see the name and with a sneer ask: “what’s so blooming dangerous about snorkelling then?” Interestingly the answer to that question is - quite a blooming lot mate!

Did you know for instance that between 2009 and 2013 seventy-nine people died as a result of snorkelling in Hawaii alone? In fact, the 79 snorkelling-related drownings make it the leading cause of accidental death among the 369 categories of injuries tracked by the Hawaiian Health Department over that five-year period. The Hawaiian State Legislature is so shocked by this figure that they are considering a draft bill to ensure that all snorkels, rented or bought in Hawaii, are fitted with safety valves. Now, whether you consider snorkelling dangerous or not, 79 deaths in five-years is a hell of a lot and it begs the question: what on earth are snorkellers in Hawaii doing and more importantly, what are safety valves on snorkels going to do about it? To find this out you need to look at the original report that began with the tragic death of two snorkellers and was broadcast on KITV way back in August 2014, click here. 

  

The report focused on the opinions of two people; one was Jim Howe of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Division who said: "Nearly every one of these folks that perishes is 55 or older.” "These incidents happen in 3 feet of water or less, and they could have literally stood up." Howe went on to say: "You're using muscles that you maybe haven't used and it is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced to do it safely.” The second person the report featured was one Kurt Taguma, manager of Maui Sporting Goods (an odd choice) who said he was unsurprised to hear of the recent deaths and believed the men may have fallen victim to inexperience and a swift-moving current, a notorious feature for that particular patch of reef. Taguma then went on to mention that he always recommends that customers at his store buy a snorkel with a safety valve on it. Really…. Why? Sadly the report didn’t answer that particular question, which was a puzzling, as we couldn’t see exactly how such devices would have helped. The two men in the report who sadly drowned were in the thirties, but as Jim Howe said, most are 55 or older. The incidents are happening in shallow water, may involve strong currents and almost certainly involve inexperienced snorkellers. To really find out what’s happening here it’s worth looking at some research that was published in the Medical Journal of Australia Insight. Click here for the full paper.

The research found that between 1994 and 2006 there were 140 deaths related to snorkelling in Australia. Four principal cause-of-death categories in snorkellers were identified, each with unique and separate preventive implications: cardiac-related causes (proven or suspected), surface drowning (largely in inexperienced snorkellers), drowning after extended breath-hold diving (almost exclusively in experienced divers), and trauma. The greatest numbers of snorkelling-related deaths were attributed to, or thought likely to be associated with, cardiac causes. People, particularly those of certain age were having heart attacks in the water.

 

The second major category of deaths was among relatively inexperienced snorkellers who drowned. Many such deaths occur in novices who aspirate water from their snorkel because of a lack of skill. Others are unable to cope with adverse sea conditions (rough or strong currents). These victims are often, but not always, poor swimmers. 

 

So aspirating water through the snorkel was identified as a cause of death in some inexperienced snorkellers and in such cases the addition of a safety valve (and we cannot be sure about this) may have helped. Faced with 79 snorkelling deaths in just a few years it is understandable for the politicians of Hawaii to be overcome by “good intentions” and instantly create a new box to tick, but even the most basic understanding of the research suggests that such a simple solution ignores far more significant factors such as health, experience and swimming ability. Snorkelling is strenuous and in rough water and strong currents fatigue sets in quickly. The ocean is cold, waves can smack you onto rocks and sea life isn’t always friendly, in short it can be dangerous out there and don’t think that a simple valve on a snorkel is going to keep you safe. Perhaps John Mizuno, who proposed the bill recognises that too when he explained "In addition, we should probably put amended language to have the renters or the sports goods store that's selling them, have some type of disclaimer explaining to that person, the consumer, that they should take precautions.”  Of course the trouble with disclaimers and warning signs is they tend to be ignored, Hawaiian beaches are littered with warning signs but people still do silly things – you can’t legislate for that. 

Just because you tell someone not to do it, don't think they won't!

We do however agree with John Mizuno’s sentiment. We believe and always have, that in the world of recreational sports your personal safety is your own responsibility and no one else. If you can’t swim don’t think you can snorkel, if you get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, guess what? You’ll get out of breath swimming and if you have never, ever, done snorkelling before don’t suddenly think you’re Jacques Cousteau and head for deep water. We are the Dangerous Snorkelling Club and we don’t do safety, but we are not The Insane Snorkelling Club and our advice to novices is simple, snorkelling is fun and rough water snorkelling is even better but no amount of equipment, gadgets and safety valves is ever going to be a substitute for experience. So if you want to be a little safer out there, learn to walk before you run!

For an interesting look at the dangers in Hawaii click here

Buy This Mask If You Like - We Did

There are a great many masks available for the snorkeller to buy and unsurprisingly, a great deal of advice about which one is best. This leaves the first time buyer with a problem – which one should they buy? Obviously there is no point putting too much stock in the advertising blurb that manufacturers put out – they’re always going to say that their masks are the best and are very unlikely to point out any flaws - at least not deliberately. There is also no point in reading all those “top ten” lists that you find in diving magazines and review websites. These lists seem to appear with such depressing regularity that it’s almost impossible for any mask not to have appeared in one or another – or all of them for that matter. How these lists are compiled is also a little bewildering. We saw one list that led with this description: The Sprite’s cool design cues — bright-white skirt and floral accents — will appeal to women who like to add a bit of flash to their kit

OK so it’s white with little flowers on it and some women might like that –some men might too – but why in, Neptune’s sodden backside, does that make it a “top ten” top tip? You could, alternatively, visit your local diving store and ask the Brad (see sport diving needs a hero) behind the counter what they suggest. However this is probably not a good idea as the conversation tends to go like this:

Buyer: “Hello I’d like to but a mask please, what do you recommend”?
Brad: “What are you going to do with it”?
Buyer: “Err…. I was going to put it on my face – at least that’s what you’re meant to do right”?
Brad: “I meant what type of diving are you going to do – what are the conditions, what depth and all that”?
Buyer: “Actually, I was just going to do a bit of snorkelling”?
Brad: “Snorkelling”?
Buyer: “Yes”.
Brad: “Snorkelling”?
Buyer: “Yes – snorkelling”
Brad with deep despairing sigh and a wave of the hand: “The cheap stuff is over there in the bin marked discount”.

Of course some diving stores have picked up on this sporting discrimination and realised that “selling stuff” sometimes means being nice to the people with the money, such as this store in Chiswick, London. So faced with all these obstacles to actually buying a decent Mask what can you do? Well the Dangerous Snorkelling Club has come up with an idea.

We’re not going to tell what to buy, what we are going to do is tell you what we bought and why. So let’s start with that mask. We use two masks the first is the Mares Liquid Skin. Here’s what the manufacturer says:

 

The most important innovation since the introduction of silicone masks. LiquidSkin, Mares Bi-silicone and exclusive technology, uses two different types of silicone: a firmer portion for support structure and a softer portion for contact with your face. It is 45% softer for unparalleled comfort and 270% more elastic for a perfect fit.

See what we mean about advertising “blurb”! Now we presume that by being 45% softer they mean it’s 45% softer than normal silicon and likewise it is 270% more elastic than normal silicon as well, either that or they are just plucking stuff out of the air. In our opinion the field of vision is excellent and it has a very soft seal, which makes it feel like you're wearing a fluffy bunny on your face. As for elasticity – it’s as flexible as an Olympic gymnast and will fit snugly into the smallest of spaces in your luggage and at less than 200 grams, it’s as damaging to your weight allowance as a pair of woolly socks. The biggest selling point though, as far as we are concerned, is the looks. The Liquid Skin has the head-turning looks of Aston Martin, Ray-Ban and a supermodels cleavage all rolled into one. Not bad for a mask that retails at around £35. Of course the Mares Liquid Skin is a mask more suited to SCUBA or freediving so if we are not going to dive below a few metres we use our second choice mask which is the Beuchat Super Compensator. Here’s the technical stuff:

 Update of the Beuchat Compensator mask, the first mask with an angled window and finger wells, invented in 1958. Inclined oval single lens to extend the vertical field of vision, Black rubber skirt and internal finger wells for equalisation. Black rubber double safety strap. Brass rim. Aluminium buckles.

Most diving experts will tell you that masks that use rubber don’t last as long as those that use silicon and that is very true. However with a little bit of care this mask can outlast any silicon competitor within its price range. The field of vision allowed by it’s single inclined lens is unsurpassed and the retro (sixties James Bond) looks hark back to a day when diving truly was the domain of pioneers. The Super Compensator has finger wells that allow for equalisation which means that you can use this mask for prolonged dives at depth or short breath-hold dives. However it is really best used for snorkelling where it’s field of vision comes into its own. The Beuchat weighs in at 256 grams which means it’s a lot heavier than most masks and its single lens design lacks the flexibility of virtually all other masks, but at around £20, it’s price, field of view and overall looks far outweigh any of its flaws. In fact we all love this mask more than the Mares and certainly more than anything else we seen on the market.

So there you have it, these are the masks we liked enough to buy and use. What else can we say other than to point out that regardless of what mask catches your attention, remember that everyone’s face is slightly different in size and shape so keep in mind the golden rules when buying a mask.
Make sure it fits, Make sure it fits and finally make sure it fits. Yes we know that we said that three times but it is so fundamental that we thought it was worth mentioning again and again and again.

 Coming soon in DSC equipment: What’s the flipping issue with fins – winding up Brad.