bufordt wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
tttiltheend wrote:
FindinFreestyle wrote:
That is the question. Are they actually helpful? I don't think we have enough information, but I tentatively lean towards snorkels being sufficiently safe.
In the other thread on this topic, a fellow who claims he has 15 years of lifesaving and paramedic experience makes a
convincing case that they are very dangerous for an inexperienced user.
That would be me, and I definitely stand by that statement. They're dangerous in Open Water where there is an increased chance of water getting sloshed in versus a pool which is very calm and you are not having people crawling all over you.
Aren't 99% of snorkels used in open water?
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Someone else pointed out what, quite correctly, that it dramatically increases the physiological Dead Space. Instead of just blowing air from your lungs through a few inches of your larynx and mouth, you have to blow an additional 8 to 10 inches of dead space, so you're getting getting less oxygen turnover, which will ultimately lead to you being slower, and closer to panicking in any given time.
Not that everyone knows this, but if you're exhaling back through a swim snorkel, you're doing it wrong. You should be exhaling through your nose to prevent the dead air in the snorkel.
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Something that I really like about Koz Enterprises races down here in San Diego is that they provide "swim buddies" for people who are little bit anxious when it comes to Open Water Swimming. Basically, these are volunteers who are very strong swimmers who will swim along next to you offer encouragement, if you need it, Etc. Imo, US AT should be advocating for that kind of stuff at races if they really want to encourage new participation by people who are a bit scared off by the swim
The 3rd triathlon I did was a Koz event and they pulled 3 people out of the breakers on backboards before my wave started. The problem there was the people wearing wetsuits were getting flipped by the breakers, so maybe we should ban wetsuits too. (BTW, I'm all for that)
The people who are getting flipped by the 'breakers' weren't getting flipped because they were wearing wetsuits. They were getting flipped because they didn't dive under the waves, which is what an experienced open water or ocean swimmer would do.
They did it wrong, and they got hurt.
Kind of proves my point about inexperienced people in open water getting hurt, right?
As far as 99% of snorkels being used in open water, you are correct. They're used by people with fins on, a mask, and in calm conditions where water isn't coming over the top them, nor are they getting tusseled by dozens if not hundreds other swimmers
Add a little bit of wind chop, and suddenly there is water coming over the top of the snorkelers, into the snorkels, and you have snorkelers panicking, inhaling water, Etc. Again this is the lifeguard in me talking.
I've seen experienced freedivers get dropped in on a kelp Paddy 30 miles offshore in snotty conditions freak out because ehitecaps were slopping over the top of their snorkel.
Now imagine someone who is using a snorkel because they are inexperienced and already scared of open water swimming. Imagine them with that snorkel locked in their mouth during the scrum. That's hardly calm, relaxing water.
I didn't know that you were supposed to exhale through your nose with a swimming snorkel. I wonder how many people actually do that.
Even so, they still restrict airflow. That's always a huge trade-off with snorkels. The larger bore snorkel you go, the easier it is to breathe, but the more likely you are to get water in your lungs.
Like I said, I just see it as a safety issue in a mass start or even wave start swim. There are so many other things you could do to make it safe for weaker swimmers, and more user-friendly: Swim Buddies, pull buoys, paddles, fins, a separate wave for self-identified weak swimmers. All those things improve your ability to breathe, sight, and complete the swim without issue.
