Snorkeling for non-swimmers?
Jan 11th, 2012, 08:48 AM
#21
Good attitude!
Seriously, you don't need to be a good swimmer. You need to be comfortable putting your face in the water, breathe through the snorkel and kick. That's it. That's all good swimmers do when they snorkel. No fancy strokes. Nothing other than "look, breathe, kick".
It's easy to do if you are not afraid. If you are afraid, what OO says above is true. As long as you have air in your lungs, you'll float. Not with your entire body at the top of the water - your legs sink a bit - but you'll float in salt water. If you want to move somewhere, kick.
Get used to breathing with the snorkel in the pool. That's sometimes the hardest part for new snorkelers and can be yucky in salt water. A good "homework" assignment would be to just hang in the water. Literally, hang with your face in the water, breathe through the snorkel, and don't worry what your legs do. Let them drop. When you "trust" the process, you won't have the tendency to fight the water. Do this in the pool where you can easily stand if you need to. Conquering any fears in your mind is the hardest part. It's easy to snorkel - just look, breathe and SLOWLY kick to move in the water.
One of my favorite ever snorkel days was just off the beach in St. Croix. I literally hung in the water for hours. I just went with the flow of the water - starting in chest deep water and then coming in with the gentle waves until I was "steering" with my hands along the sand at the bottom. The water was so shallow, I had a hard time sanding up and then went back out a few feet and started all over again. It was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life - just watching the underwater world just under the surface.
Snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do ever. A simple way to enter another world and enjoy peeking in.
Seriously, you don't need to be a good swimmer. You need to be comfortable putting your face in the water, breathe through the snorkel and kick. That's it. That's all good swimmers do when they snorkel. No fancy strokes. Nothing other than "look, breathe, kick".
It's easy to do if you are not afraid. If you are afraid, what OO says above is true. As long as you have air in your lungs, you'll float. Not with your entire body at the top of the water - your legs sink a bit - but you'll float in salt water. If you want to move somewhere, kick.
Get used to breathing with the snorkel in the pool. That's sometimes the hardest part for new snorkelers and can be yucky in salt water. A good "homework" assignment would be to just hang in the water. Literally, hang with your face in the water, breathe through the snorkel, and don't worry what your legs do. Let them drop. When you "trust" the process, you won't have the tendency to fight the water. Do this in the pool where you can easily stand if you need to. Conquering any fears in your mind is the hardest part. It's easy to snorkel - just look, breathe and SLOWLY kick to move in the water.
One of my favorite ever snorkel days was just off the beach in St. Croix. I literally hung in the water for hours. I just went with the flow of the water - starting in chest deep water and then coming in with the gentle waves until I was "steering" with my hands along the sand at the bottom. The water was so shallow, I had a hard time sanding up and then went back out a few feet and started all over again. It was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life - just watching the underwater world just under the surface.
Snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do ever. A simple way to enter another world and enjoy peeking in.
