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| SNORKELING UNDERWATER COMMUNICATIONS - VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT |
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VIDEO - SNORKELING UNDERWATER COMMUNICATIONS
Snorkels not only help you breathe while your head is submerged at the surface, but they also help to conserve on energy by the snorkeler not having to constantly lift their head out of the water every time they need to take a breath. This is great but what do you do if you need to communicate with someone without having to take the snorkel out of your mouth. This video will help.
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SNORKELING UNDERWATER COMMUNICATIONS - VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Verbal communication is an important factor in life. Having been brought up that it is impolite to talk with your mouth full brings up a problem for snorkelers. Having to continually remove the snorkel and verbalize to your snorkeling buddy can get tiresome and usually ends up with more water in the mouth than the words coming out. Top this with the fact that your fellow snorkelers ears are probably under water makes the verbal communication difficult. Overcoming this problem is quite simple with the use of non-verbal communication. We use non-verbal communication in everyday life with the most common example being while driving. If you are displeased with another person's driving performance, there are definite international recognized hand signals that are used to display that displeasure. Roy, don't even go there! For the most part, the non-verbal communications that we use on land can be utilized just as effectively while snorkeling.
The first step in using non-verbal communication is getting your fellow snorkeler's attention. Physical contact is probably the best as they will then know that it is them with whom you wish to communicate. Grabbing their fin and pulling it is usually not a good form of contact as they may have been startled into thinking something got them. Tapping them on the shoulder or using an audible, underwater attention-getting device works well. Look before you tap as not to end up with a sexual harassment lawsuit in your mailbox. Once you have gained their attention, communication can progress using what are called hand signals. Scuba divers have been using hand signals since the inception of the sport, most of which lend themselves quite well to snorkelers. Many hand signals are modified versions of what we see in everyday life on dry land, such as stopping and pointing.
Other signals may have dual meanings which you may want to clarify before using them, such as the thumbs up gesture and the thumbs down gesture. Since the hand signals in scuba diving have become standardized worldwide, we will focus on these in relationship to snorkeling.
The following signals are used when you are in close proximity with your snorkeling partner.
The first one is Stop
Stop Danger
Look
You lead - I'll follow
Up
Down
Are you okay
Yes, I'm okay
Something's wrong
Slow down
I'm cold
Where's the boat
Which way
It is also a good idea to discuss and practice these signals with your snorkeling partner before you get in the water. There are other signals that are useful under water when you spot things such as an eel, a shark, fish, lobster. You often times end up creating unique ones which will definitely need to be discussed with your snorkeling partner before getting in the water with him. There are also important hand signals when you are communicating to shore or to boat from the surface. These signals are broader and more exaggerated so they can be seen from a greater distance. They include, 'I'm okay.' Another variation of this is the one-handed Okay signal which is ,'I'm okay.' If you are in distress and need help, the following signal is used --.
Please note that it is important that you never wave to someone while you are in the water because this is definitely the international recognized signal of distress. We hope that you have learned a bit about in-water communications used for snorkeling so the next time you go out, you won't ---. Bye, bye. Thank you for watching.
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