Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swim fins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn. Use of this equipment allows the snorkeled to observe underwater attractions for extended periods of time with relatively little effort.
Snorkeling is a popular recreational activity, particularly at tropical resort and scuba diving locations. The primary appeal is the opportunity to observe underwater life in a natural setting without the complicated equipment and training required for scuba diving, and without the exhaled bubbles of scuba-diving equipment. Snorkeling is also employed by scuba divers when on the surface, and search and rescue teams may snorkel as part of a water-based search. It is also a means to an end in popular sports such as underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater rugby and spear fishing.
A swimmers' snorkel is a tube around 30 centimeters long and with an inside diameter of between 1.5 and 2.5 centimeters, usually L- or J-shaped and fitted with a mouthpiece at the lower end, and constructed of rubber or plastic. It is used for breathing air from above the water surface when the wearer's mouth and nose are submerged. The snorkel usually has a piece of rubber that attaches the snorkel to the outside of the strap of the diving mask since pushing the snorkel between the mask-strap and the head can cause the mask to leak.
Snorkels used to be sold with small "ping pong" balls in a cage mounted to the open end of the tube to prevent water ingress, though these are no longer sold nor recommended to be used since they are considered hazardous to the snorkeled. Similarly, diving masks with a snorkel built into them are considered unsafe and obsolete
Snorkeling is a popular recreational activity, particularly at tropical resort and scuba diving locations. The primary appeal is the opportunity to observe underwater life in a natural setting without the complicated equipment and training required for scuba diving, and without the exhaled bubbles of scuba-diving equipment. Snorkeling is also employed by scuba divers when on the surface, and search and rescue teams may snorkel as part of a water-based search. It is also a means to an end in popular sports such as underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater rugby and spear fishing.
A swimmers' snorkel is a tube around 30 centimeters long and with an inside diameter of between 1.5 and 2.5 centimeters, usually L- or J-shaped and fitted with a mouthpiece at the lower end, and constructed of rubber or plastic. It is used for breathing air from above the water surface when the wearer's mouth and nose are submerged. The snorkel usually has a piece of rubber that attaches the snorkel to the outside of the strap of the diving mask since pushing the snorkel between the mask-strap and the head can cause the mask to leak.
Snorkels used to be sold with small "ping pong" balls in a cage mounted to the open end of the tube to prevent water ingress, though these are no longer sold nor recommended to be used since they are considered hazardous to the snorkeled. Similarly, diving masks with a snorkel built into them are considered unsafe and obsolete
