Frequently Asked Questions and Tips

Barbara Whitman Snorkeling FAQs

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Hello!

I am so happy to have the chance to share a little bit about snorkeling with you.

For many years I have led trips – in Mexico, all around the Caribbean and in Hawaii, including Midway Atoll in the Northern Hawaiian Islands.

In Hawaii, I only had a few minutes to prepare people for a safe and happy snorkel tour. Although, in the West Indies, I had a small marine education center where I housed many marine creatures that I could show people beforehand. I used that time to discuss any fears my guests may have about snorkeling and sea creatures. It also allowed them to view animals up close because it was a hands-o adventure when we got in the water. Looking only.

Most snorkeling situations are simply jump in the water and try to snorkel. I can’t tell you how many people I have worked with that had horrible snorkeling experiences and shied away from ever snorkeling again – even though they really wanted to. They were just too afraid or nervous to give it another try.

In this book, I get to address a lot of the questions that you might have before you even get in the water. Every fear concerning snorkeling ts into one of three categories: Fear of ; Fear of Gear Failure; and Fear of the Creatures in the Water.

These fears are the ones I address in my FREE WEBINAR. This is the information I wished I had had time to cover completely before I took people snorkeling. Because my groups were small and intimate, with a lot of personal attention, I was able to help each person individually – providing the appropriate otation and gear, answering questions, making assurances, sometimes even holding their hand until they felt comfortable on their own.

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In these days of Covid19, there is no hand-holding. But now is the perfect time to prep you before you ever get in the water to snorkel. And it works!

You may not have immediate plans to snorkel but this is the perfect chance to learn how to snorkel condently, all questions answered, so that you will be ready by the time you snorkel. It’s my way of holding your hand virtually. Answering your questions and giving you the information you need not only to snorkel without fear but with information about what to look for and how to understand the behavior of the creatures you will be looking at.

This makes a snorkel trip so enriching. It’s not just a pleasant physical activity but also a chance to “experience”, learn, and understand. It is a well-rounded, holistic approach to snorkeling that no one else supplies.

Enjoy your new adventure. I look forward to seeing you in the Webinar!

Barb Whitman

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SNORKELING

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND TIPS

How do you go underwater with a snorkel? Hold your breath then dive down. Keep holding your breath while you are underwater. When you feel you need to, head back to the surface for a breath. Your body will indicate when to do this. As soon as you break the surface, or a second before, blow the water out of your snorkel and take a tentative breath. You do not want to breathe in water. If there is still water in the snorkel you can blow again to get the rest out. Again, make your next breath tentative until the snorkel is totally clear of water. TIP: One trick to clear your snorkel faster is to tip your head backwards to let gravity help. TIP: Remember, you can always just pull your snorkel out of your mouth and take a breath at the surface if trying to clear your snorkel is too dicult or not fast enough to allow you to take a breath.

Can you breathe underwater with a dry snorkel? If the of the snorkel is under water you must hold your breath. If you are at the surface and your snorkel is free of water, you can breathe through it.

What is the dierence between snorkeling and ? Snorkeling involves, mask, ns and snorkel. You can breathe at the surface through the snorkel but must hold your breath if you are underwater. Scuba means Self Contained Underwater Apparatus and allows you to breathe through a regulator connected to a scuba tank lled with air. Once you have used up all the air in the tank, and actually for safety reasons, before that, you must surface and end your dive.

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What is skin diving? Skin diving is another phrase for snorkeling and diving down to see marine life. It is rarely used any more but used to be used to dierentiate between snorkeling in which people rarely wore rash guards or – thus, “skin diving”, and Scuba diving where most people wear some kind of over their skin.

Is snorkeling safe? How safe snorkeling is depends upon: the person doing the snorkeling where they are snorkeling how well trained or experienced they are whether or not they have a dive buddy how condent they are

Do I need to be a good swimmer? It always helps to be a good swimmer, of course, but you can successfully and happily snorkel with: an experienced buddy or guide proper oatation equipment a calm area in which to snorkel. TIP: Do not snorkel alone

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What equipment do I need? mask, ns snorkel, or full-face mask something to protect your skin from the sun and possible stinging marinelife proper oatation equipment – either snorkel vest, pool noodle, arm oats and or oating on a horseshoe-shaped orange life . Do not wear a life vest because it will ride up on your neck, be uncomfortable and work to keep your head out of the water – which it was designed to do. TIP: To keep from pulling out hair stuck in your mask strap, take your mask o underwater

Can I wear contacts or while snorkeling? Yes, you can wear contacts while snorkeling. You might lose them if you have your mask o and water gets in your eyes. But while the mask is on and not leaking into your eyes, your contacts will stay in. You can buy masks that have generalized prescriptions in them. Or you can have a mask made up with your exact prescription.

What conditions are good for snorkeling? A place with no , clear water and no waves is the perfect place to snorkel. But you can also adapt to snorkeling in areas with a surge – a current that moves you and the sealife back and forth over the bottom. It is also safe to snorkel in areas with small waves if you feel comfortable with that.

Does the equipment require a lot of care? Generally, all you do is rinse your gear with fresh water and keep it stored out of the sun. Lay your mask on its front and keep your ns at.

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How much does equipment cost? There is a wide variety of gear at dierent prices. Do not assume the most expensive gear is the best but, on the other hand, the least expensive is usually the worst. What you will pay depends upon the design and the materials the gear is made out of.

Do I need a guide? If you are snorkeling in a place you have never been to before, you need to have information about it. You should know where the best place to nd sh and other sealife are. You need to know if there are any surges, swells or currents that could impact your snorkel. Having a guide is always nice because they know exactly where to take you for the best experience, especially if you are a beginner or new to the area. Guides don’t typically spend a lot of time with you teaching you how to snorkel. Nor do they tell you what to look for under the water.

Do I need a life jacket? You do need some type of oatation device for safety. How many or what kind depends upon your comfort level in the water while snorkeling. You can use more than one oatation device if you feel the need. The best for those who know how to snorkel are snorkel vests which you inate if you want to. I usually had my guests inate theirs a bit, get in the water, adjust their gear if necessary, and then deate more or less depending upon how secure they felt. I also would use a regular horseshoe shaped orange life jacket with a guest who was very nervous or couldn’t swim or was not a strong swimmer. They would put the vest under their arms and oat on it. Once they felt condent they could hold on to the straps and trial it behind or give it to someone else. Some people who feel pretty comfortable in the water might use a pool noodle under their arms for the extra secure feel of a little extra .

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Do I need a ? It is advisable to wear something over your skin when you snorkel. These days most snorkelers use a to protect them from . Lying with your back facing the sun and the additional magnication of the water often leads to some pretty bad . You’re the back of your legs are also exposed so many snorkelers also wear . If you dive up and down or swim underwater a long distance, it is also possible to scrape up against coral or re coral, a hydroid not a coral, which sting. Also coral scrapes are notorious for infection. I often used dive skins which are basically one piece wetsuits made of lycra. If you are going to be in cool or cold water or in the water for a long time, you will lose body heat. There are wetsuits of various thicknesses and made of dierent materials suitable to the environment you will be in.

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What will we see? The marine world is amazing! What you see depends upon the environment you will be snorkeling in. There are particular types of sh that you will see in almost all of the marine environments. For example, there are; herbivores, that eat the algae; ambush predators that lie in wait for their prey and are often camouaged; atsh like ounder and sole; sh with venom-bearing spines (not too common); sharks, skates or stingrays (less common); larger predators like grouper and many, many more types of sh You will also many invertebrates, although you may have to look a little harder if you don’t know what to look for and where Seastars (starsh Comb jellies Sea cucumbers All kinds of sea urchins Colorful nudibranchs Spaghetti worms Fan worm and feather dusters Colorful sponges Corals of all types Sea squirts and so much more…

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Are there dangerous animals in the water? Most people think of sharks rst. And seeing a shark is very rare. There are places to see nurse sharks, which are quite docile. Sometimes you may see small, young sharks. As a snorkeler the danger of shark attack is miniscule but does happen from time to time. That is one reason you need to know about the area you will be snorkeling in. People also worry about stingrays? Stingrays do not attack people. (Remind me to tell you what happened with ) You might step on one by mistake. If you do, the chance of stepping on the stinger is extremely small. In areas where it is known that the rays hide under the sand near shore, you can always shue your feet to let them know you are nearby and they will move. It is always possible to run into a jellysh. It behooves you to know if there are jellies expected in the area. For example, the movements of box jellies are very predictable and based around moon cycles. Jellysh most often appear in the water, though, one at a time and not in dense groups. They are carried by the wind, waves and currents. The vast majority do not have bad stings. Some you can’t even feel at all. But they are why you should wear some kind of protection over your skin – just in case. Sea urchins are something to be aware if. They are nocturnal so during the day they hide in rock and coral crevices. Sometimes the long thin black spines of the venomous urchins, like Diadema , stick up above the rocks. Don’t walk barefoot on the coral or rocks. Try to go into the water in a sandy area.

Can I snorkel in big waves? Winter seas are not only colder but rougher. It is the season when the most accidents occur because most people are unfamiliar with how to deal with large waves. When there are big waves, snorkeling is dicult.

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What is the best time of year for snorkeling? Believe it or not, summer is the best time to snorkel. The water is calm and thus clearer.

What are the worst months for snorkeling? Winter changes bring rough seas. This is the time of year that most people get hurt. The waves get higher and more powerful so it is a very good idea to snorkel with a guide if you are not familiar with where you are snorkeling.

Will there be strong currents? It is important to know the currents in the area you snorkel. Most likely there will not be any you have to worry about. There are, however, dierent types of currents you should know about – rip currents and longshore currents. Big waves breaking on the shoreline pull back into the ocean quickly in a dangerous type of current called . The sediment is stirred up so the visibility is usually poor. The motion of the waves makes it dicult to stay in one place to observe. However, it is not uncommon to nd calm areas to snorkel just beyond shoreline waves. So it is a good idea to know how to get through the waves safely if you want to snorkel beyond them. Winter in the ocean can mean big waves and dicult snorkel conditions. However, there are almost always sheltered areas to snorkel in. Onshore waves stir up the water nearshore. It is often possible to snorkel beyond the waves from a boat. Large swells are more common in the winter and can make snorkeling dicult or more dangerous.

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FOR YOUR SAFETY: NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE SEA! WAVES COME IN PATTERNS FROM SMALL TO LARGE AND CAN CATCH YOU OFF GUARD. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OCEAN.

Barbara Carr Whitman, MS Biology

Award-winning biologist, international educator, and entrepreneur Barbara Whitman has 45 years experience teaching out in nature as a biologist, researcher, environmental consultant and Interpreter. Her work has been the subject of television and radio shows, blogs and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. MORE Magazine had a feature story about her and several other magazines including Islands, Yachting, Caribbean Travel and Leisure and Outside have published articles about her work. Ark and Tent Magazine voted Barbara Animal Hero of the Year because of her work and passion for nature. She’s also received awards for her teaching from The Department of Environmental Protection and

SeaGrant. Her educational tour business, Under the Sea Hawaii, was a ve-star Trip Advisor “Award of Excellence” operation. She’s taught tens of thousands of people of all ages in the U.S. and Internationally. Her mission is to create awareness, appreciation of, and concern for the natural environment through science and entertaining education in order to inspire positive practices to protect the Earth and its inhabitants.

Cover photograph by Paulphin Photography

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