General Advice or tips?

[Ash]

Hello all.

I'm flying out t'Egypt (Sharks Bay) for 2 weeks and made the decision to go to a dive shop and buy my Snorkel equipment there (rather than a £30 ready made Speedo pack) on the basis of the info gleaned from this here board.

So thanks for all the useful comments!

My wife and I went to Ocean Leisure in London and found the staff there very useful.

I ended up with a Scubapro Frameless 2 mask, some Cressi Pro Star Fins, a Scubapro Snorkel (half price!) and a Rashie. All cost £101.

My wife went with a Cressi mask and snorkel and cost her around the same.

Does this equipment sound suitable enough to you?

We're looking forward to the snorkelling experience and though we've done it once in St Lucia - I'm pretty sure that our technique wasn't great. So, in preparation for our trip - does anyone have any general advice on snorkelling please?

We'd have liked to have gone on a course but just don't have the time!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

:D

[Tony Dwyer]

Hello all.

I'm flying out t'Egypt (Sharks Bay) for 2 weeks and made the decision to go to a dive shop and buy my Snorkel equipment there (rather than a £30 ready made Speedo pack) on the basis of the info gleaned from this here board.

So thanks for all the useful comments!

My wife and I went to Ocean Leisure in London and found the staff there very useful.

I ended up with a Scubapro Frameless 2 mask, some Cressi Pro Star Fins, a Scubapro Snorkel (half price!) and a Rashie. All cost £101.

My wife went with a Cressi mask and snorkel and cost her around the same.

Does this equipment sound suitable enough to you?

We're looking forward to the snorkelling experience and though we've done it once in St Lucia - I'm pretty sure that our technique wasn't great. So, in preparation for our trip - does anyone have any general advice on snorkelling please?

We'd have liked to have gone on a course but just don't have the time!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

:D

Not in any particular order.

Stay within observation and easy swim distance of the boat or shore.
Make sure you always know where you can get out of the water easily.
Tell someone else (boat crew perhaps) what you are doing, where you are going and when you will be back.
Listen to local advice on currents and other hazards
Cover up, avoid sunburn.
Drink plenty of water.
Remember to clear your ears on descent.
Don't hyperventilate
Don't push your depth. You haven't been trained yet and you could easily get in serious bother if you overdo it. The shallows around Shark Bay are ful of life, enjoy.
Don't touch the Coral, better yet, don't touch anything. Some of it will sting, but you are more likely to hurt it than yourself.
Take it slow and easy. It lasts longer that way.

Have fun. :)

[Ash]

Cheers Tony.

;)

[RobA]

Ash,

You may wish to buy the the BSAC book "Snorkelling for all"

From BSAC Bookshop at http://www.bsac.org/page/461/manuals--books.htm

I used it quite extensively when istructing snorkelling at my Branch.

Rob