Snorkling advise. (1 Viewer)

zaskar

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I absolutely LOVE swimming and snorkling. We're down near Aguilas (Spain) at the mo and have had a FANTASTIC day canoeing and swimming. The snorking is brill and I wish I could get wifey to have a go so she could see the amazing underwater view with the reefs and fish.
We tried today, stood up in waist level water, me holding her and she REALY trying to get her head under the water using my goggles.
NO WAY! :( She just cant do it. She has a sort of suffocating fobia (sp) and it's such a shame, she's missing so much beauty.

I wonder about something like a full glass/perspex head dome type thing, so she doesn't actually get her head wet?

Does anything like that exist in an affordable form?
Any diving experts on here who could advise please?

p.s

HAPPY NEW YEAR PIPS! :)
 

MattR

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I absolutely LOVE swimming and snorkling. We're down near Aguilas (Spain) at the mo and have had a FANTASTIC day canoeing and swimming. The snorking is brill and I wish I could get wifey to have a go so she could see the amazing underwater view with the reefs and fish.
We tried today, stood up in waist level water, me holding her and she REALY trying to get her head under the water using my goggles.
NO WAY! :( She just cant do it. She has a sort of suffocating fobia (sp) and it's such a shame, she's missing so much beauty.

I wonder about something like a full glass/perspex head dome type thing, so she doesn't actually get her head wet?

Does anything like that exist in an affordable form?
Any diving experts on here who could advise please?

p.s

HAPPY NEW YEAR PIPS! :)

Some dive centres offer that kind of experience but it isn't cheap and I don't think you can manoeuvre very easily. I saw a full face mask set in a French Decathlon recently - it might work for Mrs Zaskar.
 
Mar 11, 2014
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I think this is what Matiyjwr means.

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Some of the guys that I go diving with were looking at them a while ago but I'm not sure if they ever got as far as buying one.

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Mar 11, 2014
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As an aside - it may be worth getting an instructor/snorkelling guide that she doesn't know to assist her with getting comfortable with getting her head underwater. It sounds odd, and you would think that she would be more trusting of a loved one, but more often than not people will trust an instructor that they don't know well outside of the sport for things like this.

At my other half's place you see it all the time - parents trying to get their kids to do stuff in the water and failing, but as soon as the kids are placed in the hands of a capable instructor, success.
 
Nov 6, 2013
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I think this is what Matiyjwr means.

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Some of the guys that I go diving with were looking at them a while ago but I'm not sure if they ever got as far as buying one.
That looks really good and not a lot of money either :xThumb:
 
Dec 18, 2010
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When I tried years ago to help someone with the same problem we did it in the bath, she then felt more in control as was a comfortable and controlled place.

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Oct 15, 2012
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Try getting your wife to wear the face mask out of the water breathing through the snorkel before placing her head in the water, that way she knows she can breathe and not suffocate before getting her head wet. :xThumb:
 

Shrimp

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What about a glass/Perspex bottomed bucket type arrangement you don't need to put your head anywhere near the water, she could lie on an air bed and use the device to see down there.
Be careful of currents she may get carried away!
 

jumartoo

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I'm petrified of going into water even though I could swim as a child but when we were in Australia we took a boat trip to the Barrier Reef. I was happy on the pontoon watching but was persuaded to have a go myself. I had a buoyancy jacket and flippers and a snorkel and just floated on the surface with only the mask in the water. It was fantastic and they couldn't get me out! So don't think it's necessary for your wife to put her head under the water.

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zaskar

zaskar

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Thanks VERY much indeed guys. Mrs Zaskar definitely wants to try one of these............
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/easybreath-mask-blue-id_8304664.html
Doesn't appear to be in stock down the road at Aguilas but when they open, we're gonna see if they can get one in for us rather than blast up to Cartegena.
Personally, I can see wifey and I fighting to use this but we'll get just one for now, try it, and report back.
Thanks
 
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zaskar

zaskar

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Well, I said I'd report back, so here goes.
For a start, Mr/Mrs/Ms Stroppybird is sooooooooooo on Mrs Zaskars Christmas card list now!
What a fantastic piece of kit.:D
Because there are 3 different sizes to choose from, we decided it would be better to scoot up the A7 to Cartegena (in stock) rather than risk ordering a wrong size at Aguilas (order only) and lets be honest, what the hell else have we got to do down here all day!;)
ffi decided on the Small/Medium and I got the large/xlarge. 39 euros each and definitely better to try on at the shop first.
The shopping complex was an absolute bunfight and we couldn't wait to get out of there and hit the beach!:eek:
Got to Cala Cortina (Cartegena) to be met with 30kph winds and 2 foot swell. B*gger that for a game of soldiers!o_O
Thought, lets try Calnegre on the way back where there are 3 lovelly coves. Same result! Hmmmm:(
One last try for the day, Cala Hornillo, Aguilas. Result! (y) Sheltered and calm although bonkers windy in town?
So, quick change and I decide to leave my mask on the beach whilst I help beloved with hers. Sat her down on the shoreline to fit mask and practise breathing. No rush, take your time. Then into the water and sit down in a depth that meant she could dip her head in as and when she felt comfortable. The eyes said it all cos the gob was covered in mask!:D There was some serious grinning going on in there!(y)
So, I said "wait there whilst I go and get some bread from the car for the fishes" On my way back, all I could see was a bum and a bright orange snorkel as Mrs Jaque Coustou decided she was gonna make up for years of not even liking her face under water in the shower!!!!!!:LOL:
Grabbed my mask and virtually walked on water in my hurry to get out to her! Same story, eyes grinning fit to split!:LOL:
What an amazing piece of kit. HUGE field of vision, incredible clarity, extremely easy to breath through either mouth or nose - which ever you prefer, and when you do breath, it's so easy. There's no feeling of trying to suck a rat through a hosepipe!
We saw thousand of fish, just 10 yards out on a lovelly rock reef with all sorts of anenomies and see grasses. We saw the bubbles of the surf breaking over the reef, like thousands of silver stars! It's another world, it really is. It's one I've experienced with love & joy for years. I've got back to a sunbathing Mrs Zaskar on the beach RAVING about what I've seen and how I wish she could share it!
Well now she can, thanks Stroppybird and Decathlon.
35 euros? Nahhhhhhh, this things woth 135 !
If you or you partner has a similar fear of water on the face, PLEASE try one of these things. It took ffi about 7 minutes from unpacking the mask to making Captain Nemo look like a landlubber!:LOL:

HTH
 

pappajohn

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I think this is what Matiyjwr means.

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Some of the guys that I go diving with were looking at them a while ago but I'm not sure if they ever got as far as buying one.
Certainly better than a regular snorkel.
Regular snorkels are Ok until the open end dips below the water and gets some water in the tube then you try to breath in......panic can set in for a beginner.
With that any water will sit in the bottom of the mask.

As a kid i had one with a short U bend at the top and a caged pingpong ball which closed off the end if going under water.....looking back it was so easy to use but you had to breath out to release the ball once back on the surface......or turn blue trying to breath in.

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Mar 11, 2014
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Hi Zaskar - thanks for the update.

I'm so pleased that Mrs Zaskar has got on so well with the snorkel mask. Brilliant!

Will report back to the guys that I dive with as I don't think they got round to getting one.
 
Sep 26, 2013
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Quite a few divers out in Caba de Palos today near La Manga, seems to be a popular place for getting wet with quite a few boats working out of the harbour.
 
Aug 18, 2014
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With that any water will sit in the bottom of the mask.

As a kid i had one with a short U bend at the top and a caged pingpong ball which closed off the end if going under water.....looking back it was so easy to use but you had to breath out to release the ball once back on the surface......or turn blue trying to breath in.

It appears that has the ball cut off in it.

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