Snorkelling with a camera

[Paul_c]

personaly i would just use a semi dry your on the surface so no thermoclines to worry about. unless your feeling the cold.

SMB? why? unless your around jetski muppets or in a high traffic area in which case what are you doing?


Stuff? loads of it. its just smaller and you need to realy hunt for it and rummage which is part of the fun

strobe. 50/50 tbh i would but thats because it makes my camera negativly boyant so its not always floating

surge

can be a pain can be no issue at all it depends on how well you can ride the swells. i find if you relax and chill out your much more flexable with it and so your moving with the wave and not fighting it.

also i find that it will push your "back" then drag you forward again with it so you have to be aware of whats going on when the taking piccies.

(why did i leave mine in manc when im in devon for a week? missed loads of pritty pic oppertunities)

edity edits

i find its better to be a floaty snorkler than a duck diving one as im pretty floaty at best as such i concentrate on top down shots or shallow angle ones. it can work very very well and also can lead to some crap shots as well. but thats the joy of digi. your not paying for the naff ones.

[The Penguin]

Couldn't you rig up a small bottle for suit inflation and secure it using a belt? Then just weight up correctly, and dive using the drysuit for buoyancy. As a plus you can then close the valve completely on the surface and increase buoyancy.

If you needed to use an SMB because of surface traffic maybe securing it to you on a length of thick-ish polyprop (4-6 mm) would reduce faff, and leave hands free, and reduce possibility of entanglement - the polyprop would float. And carry a knife just in case a jet-ski fouls it.

[A. Berk]

[QUOTE=Helen F H;1227847]

Snorkelling in a drysuit - I don't want to be duck diving so do I need lead?

Yes, it will help you keep a level 'keel' in the water - you'll be more in control of yourself and be less effected by wave action.

What about surge - anyone had any experiences of being bashed about by surge?

That's your call really - don't go in if you think the conditions are dodgy.

Photography opportunities - what squishy stuff lives in the really shallow water?

Depends where you are but there is normally a fair bit around rocky/kelpy shores.

Strobe - I'm guessing that this is overkill.

Not really, photography is all about light isn't it.

SMB - How much of a PITA is towing an SMB around?

Not much if you have a weight on the end and can 'moor' it in the vicinity.

Berok

[Leg Of Salmon]

Maybe this is bullshit, please call it such if it is.

Is there a danger that air in the suit will migrate to your feet, and then all the problems that could cause?

[MartyC]

Hiya,

Been up here since 3am this morning and will be here for two months Weather is absolutley stunning, flat calm and bloody hot too. Vis is down a touch at 10m on the Giants Legs to about 6m on the Pionersk.

Soooo glad you had a quiet crossing this time

[A. Berk]

Maybe this is bullshit, please call it such if it is.
Is there a danger that air in the suit will migrate to your feet, and then all the problems that could cause?

Yep, you said it You don't have to have it but carrying a little ballast around the waist keeps you nicely balanced even in a dry-bag, without a w/belt you will be constantly fighting the suits bouyancy in the shoulders and feet trying to bend you like a banana. Before entering the water crouch down and squish the air out through your neck seal and then put on your w/belt with about 3.5 kg (max) and see how that feels in the water.

Berko

[ChristianG]

Let me give you another problem that you possibly haven't thought of as yet.

When snorkelling with a housing consider that the thing will have extreme, and regular, pressure deviations, much more so than the housings used by most SCUBA divers. It's therefore worth taking even more care of housings used for snorkelling than for SCUBA.

[CotoChris]

You deserve agreen for this. I know of many diver swho at one time could dive and stayed at home moaning like old folk. I have always told myself that if for one reason or another can not dive I will snorkel. Often I see more fishlife when snorkelling than diving as I'm looking top down, whilst diving I'm looking down and often the fish are above me!

If you have the risk of jet skiers and boats then take an SMB, as mentioned take a weight and have it at the vincinity.

Personally I have always taken a wet suit and not done it in a dry suit. I imagine it to be a bit harder when diving, not sure. How did it go in the first snorkel?

Strobe is a good idea.

As well the swell I would kee p my distance from the rocks and naturally be very careful with the tides and weather conditions.

More of us should snorkel when we can not dive. It helps if the water is warmer and good viz

[Helen F H]

How did it go in the first snorkel?

First snorkel was good actually We had dived the Pionersk - a huge wreck just south of Lerwick and it was hot hot hoooooot so I decided to jump in for a snorkel. I struggled into my semi dry, put around 4kg on my weightbelt and jumped in off the lift about 50m offshore and swam into the rocks. On the way I got the evil eye from the Fulmars who couldn't quite work out what I was

On getting to the rocks there was very little movement of the water so it was fine, but a fair bit of kelp didn't help much with what I could find. The main problem at the moment is the camera and housing don't seem to get along - the buttons don't quite match up withthe camera and the housing Of course it is all the buttons I wanted to press, so couldn't change modes at all.

Hazel was just offshore from me pumping bottles so no problems with boats or not being kept an eye on

After about 15 minutes my battery went flat so that was the end of that and I swam out to get back aboard the boat.

I will definatley have another go and hopefully remember to charge my battery first this time

[A. Berk]

Let me give you another problem that you possibly haven't thought of as yet.

When snorkelling with a housing consider that the thing will have extreme, and regular, pressure deviations, much more so than the housings used by most SCUBA divers. It's therefore worth taking even more care of housings used for snorkelling than for SCUBA.

That's a very good point... O-rings seal great - sometimes over an irregularity when there is enough pressure involved - but at the surface there really isn't any more pressure than the housing clips apply so your O-ring needs to be 100% clean and clear of debris when you close the box. The main emeny in shallow water or any time you are near the bottom is - SAND! Evil stuff that gets waffted around in the water and will get in where you thought impossible. With the up and down of duck-diving your housing will 'breath' ie, squish tighter with depth then open out again as you surface - an ideal situation for the devil dust! If you put a wrap of tape over and around the housings closure gap to cover the O-ring you'll stand a good chance of stopping sand from settling on your ring

Berko