I told them there their maybe a couple of reasons  may be a couple of reasons why you are cramping up while using fins.

1. You may have fins that are too small. If you are using full foot fins and you have wide feet or high arches, you will usually cramp up in the arch of the foot or the front part of the foot. If that is the case then I would suggest getting a more correct size or switching to strap fins.

2. Another answer could be that the blade portion of the fins you are using may be too stiff. Snorkelers use fins that have a reasonable degree of flexibility in the blade area to help reduce stress on the calf and thigh area of the user. The stiffer the blade, the greater the chance for cramping.

3. Or maybe you may be using improper kicking or kicking too hard.. When using fins the legs should be kept as straight as possible and the kick should be more from the hip rather than below the knee. If your knees bend when you are kicking then you are kicking too hard. Here is a video of a good example of a good snorkeling fin kick.

4. You may be low on potassium in which case bananas or avocados will help in that respect.

Here is a good article on How to Select the Right Snorkeling Fins.

Well check out this new tool! How cool is this…. It is from WeatherUnderground.com and it is a site that shows to the day, what the water temperature is.

Do you see the bright red? That is water temperatures from 85 to 90 degrees, so it looks like if you want to snorkel in the warm waters, you better head to the South Pacific, Central America or South Africa.

Send me a postcard!

I found a website about How to Hold to Hold Your Breath Longer that incorporates breathing exercises. You can also hold your breath longer by a process called hyperventilation. This involves taking 3 or 4 quick breaths in succession immediately before you go underwater. Place emphasis on your exhales by blowing as much air out of your lungs as possible. The last inhale before descending should be as deep as possible.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the gas that we need in order to trigger the brain to initiate the response to inhale. CO2 is the byproduct that results when the body metabolizes the Oxygen (O2) The body needs the CO2 to reach a certain level before it is triggered. Doing the forceful exhalations you are trying to get as much CO2 out of your lungs as possible. This extends the breath- hold by tricking the brain into thinking it doesn’t need to breathe.

I learned it eons ago and have taught it to a countless number of Scuba Divers and Snorkelers. I teach for Visibility Unlimited and it is extremely important that no more than 4 breaths be used because excess hyperventilation can cause you to pass out or experience what is called “Shallow Water Blackout“. Here is a link to an article I found on shallow water blackout. Being able to hold your breath longer in warm water than in cold water, is because your body works harder in colder water.

Years ago, I have had the pleasure to visit the beautiful islands of Hawaii many times and I was totally unaware of this wonderful experience. (though this program might have just started in the last few years).

If you know scuba diving, you will know that the diving in Maui is not inexpensive. You will pay an average of $125.00 for 2 tanks and there is no guarantee what you will see. Here at the Maui Ocean Center, you will be in the water up to 2.5 hours for $199.00. You will experience in the 750,000 gallon tank, sharks stingrays and thousands of tropical reef fish.

Though the Maui Ocean Center only offers the experience of scuba diving, we hope that one day they will realize that us snorkelers would love to experience this adventure also.

Thank you Amalia for the information!

SnorkelingOnline.com offers bright colors on our snorkel vests that include neon yellow, royal blue, gold and even hot pink. So you want to go more fun, maybe something with flowers? Well we can help you and we have a large selection of styles and colors.

For those who like something more masculine but still would like bright color snorkel vests, check out our snorkel vests that have a nice postcard print on them. And for those of you that like basic solid snorkel vests in bright colors, we also offer them in all styles.

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the kids snorkel vests!

Well after many many years, I finally found a tool that did what I use to do… qualify your likes & dislikes. Fodors & Discover has teamed up to make this free internet tool, 80 DEGREES. Answer a few questions and they will give the top 10 destinations that you should travel to.

I tried it and found that 80 DEGREES is right on but I was disappointed to see that it only covered the Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Hopefully within time, they will cover the rest of the world.

Snorkels not only help you breathe while you are in the water but it also helps you conserve energy so you do not have to constantly lift your head out of the water to talk. SnorkelingOnline.com has put a video to show you, the snorkelers, how to communicate with your snorkel buddy. We like to add humor in our videos so we hope you enjoy it.

I found this article at the NJ.com website and it seems that the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey offers a swim with the sharks adventure for anyone age 12 and older. What a cool way to introduce someone to the underwater world. This is also a great learning experience for the kids and something that they will remember for years to come. There are a few other places across the United states that offer this unique experience….with the exception of my home state of Illinois….:(

Does anyone know of any other swim with the sharks programs in other states? It would be cool to get a list together. Let me know.