Snorkeling Safety Tips for your Health and Enjoyment
by Snorkel Bob, Himself

Snorkeling (Boogie Boarding below)

1)  Snorkeling is a buddy sport. You help your buddy. She helps you.

2)  Never turn your back on the ocean. A big wave is crashing behind you.

3)  Watch surf, current & surge on reefs/rocks. Snorkel meditation takes 5 minutes minimum.

4)  Avoid wana (“vonna”)–black sea urchin. Your snorkel 1st aid kit: peroxide, antibiotic ointment & cigarettes–tobacco stops most stings. So does making shishi on sting, but I, SB, know that this can really test a friendship.

5)  Enter and exit from a sandy beach area.

6)  Never swim against a current. Swim diagonally across it.

7)  Avoid snorkeling at dusk or dawn (gray light). Avoid murky water.

8)  Friends don’t let friends snorkel drunk or in strong wind.

9)  Duck or dive under breaking waves to avoid their force. Don’t try to jump over them or turn your back to them.

10) Check with lifeguard on conditions before going in.

Snorkeling = Relaxation. Tension is dense & wants to sink; relaxation is buoyant. Breathe slow, deep & easy. Kicking is also relaxed, knees fairly straight. Your snorkel WILL FILL WITH WATER on a free dive—you will expel the water as you break the surface and shoot the pea through the shooter. You will continue to the face-down snorkel position and, if you did it right, your inhale will be uneventful. If you did it wrong (choke, snuk, glug) you may want to try again.

Undertow, cross-current & tide-rip are EZ to avoid. Use your degree as necessary. IF they embrace: RELAX. They will tire & let you go as your mother once did. If breaking waves come out of nowhere, don’t try to beat them in—stay outside until the set (of waves) runs its cycle. Ocean emotions soon return to peace & love. Most days are serene. Snorkel meditation is a growth opportunity.

Boogie Boarding

1) Don’t body board close outs (waves that collapse).

2) Don’t body board shore break (waves that break close in, over shallow bottom.

3) Don’t body board unfamiliar areas. (Ask around.)

4) Don’t body board secluded areas. (Don’t ask.)

5) Don’t body board alone. (Use one buddy.)

6) Don’t watch small local children ride killer surf and say, Hey, if they can do it, I can do it, after all. Small local children surf first, crawl and walk later.

7) Don’t break your neck. (Or your back, usually from thrust into shallow bottom like one pogo stick—head where rubber bouncer used to be.)

8) Check with lifeguard about conditions before going into the water.

9) Don’t do this.

10) Don’t do that.