SNUBA understand · SNUBA tourist information
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SNUBA tourist information
SNUBA tourist information
Snuba combines what is easy about snorkeling with the experience of breathing underwater like scuba, and does so in a controlled, relatively safe manner.
The commonly used system uses a floating raft, which acts as a platform (almost like the side of a pool) that users can hold onto to practice breathing with their heads underwater and also practice some of the safety measures that the guides will demonstrate. The raft is designed to be highly visible to boat traffic to reduce the chance of being struck by a boat while on the surface.
The air lines limit the depth of the activity to a maximum depth of 7 meters. The air lines also act as a personal descent line to allow users to easily control their descents and remain at exact depths to equalize their ears. To return to the surface the user simply uses a hand-over-hand to ascend the air line to the surface, which brings them back to the raft. The air line provides users with tremendous vertical control to hold at any depth they feel most comfortable, or should there be coral or other object beneath them. It is not possible for you to get lost.
Lightweight harnesses allows more people to experience breathing underwater. The harness eliminates the need to wear, and learn how to use, a BCD (Buoyancy Compensation Device)and Air Cylinder, which combined together are extremely heavy out of the water. This opens this activity up to persons who have weak knees, bad backs, are overweight, older, younger, and even some with disabilities.
Soft weightbelts are used to make participants neutrally buoyant in the water. Soft weights are used to avoid injuries to feet on the surface if dropped and are less likely to damage the reef.
The use of a regulator eliminates the entry of water if used as instructed. Compared to snorkeling where many participants get a few tastes of the ocean or have difficulty clearing the snorkel.
Snuba is also popular because no prior dive experience is necessary. Participants need only to be at least eight years of age and have a basic swimming ability. Its popularity as a first timer's experience can be attributed to several factors.
The participant tows the raft on the surface via a lightweight harness connected to the air line. This gives the customer the secure knowledge that he/she cannot descend too deep and allows them to choose the depth that they feel most comfortable with while being able to control their depth, descent and ascent rates. By using the hose as a guide and wearing weights to achieve neutral buoyancy, participants are able to descend anywhere from just under the surface to 6 metres (20 ft) deep.
Participants are able to hold onto the raft at the surface using a grab-rope that runs the length of the raft on both sides. This also allows the user to hold onto the raft while getting comfortable breathing before beginning to descend. Being connected to the raft also provides users with a feeling of safety, comfort, and the option to hold onto the raft should they want to return to the surface.
Compared to Scuba, Snuba divers wear minimal gear. Each diver is equipped with a mask, fins, weight belt, harness and regulator. The harness holds the regulator and air line in place, allowing the diver to swim relatively unencumbered beneath the surface. This may be compared to full SCUBA gear, which includes a buoyancy compensator, weights, cylinder and often more, and can weigh in excess of 27 kilograms (60 lb) when out of the water. Although SCUBA equipment is nearly weightless underwater, out of the water the weight becomes a significant factor for weaker individuals.
Although the Snuba diver is not provided with any emergency buoyancy system, a correctly weighted snuba diver will be neutrally buoyant at all depths (no compressable dive suit), has a hose and harness to prevent sinking, can pull on the hose to surface, which is less effort than swimming, and has a raft with a grab-rope to hold onto at the surface. This is less versatile than a buoyancy compensator, but far easier to learn, and there is less that can go wrong due to incorrect procedures and equipment failure.
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SNUBA Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.