[katieHaylor (OP)]

Terri asks:

What are some tips to stay safe while snorkelling?

Can you help?

[Colin2B]

- Most important, get a buddy. Alternate, one dives other stays on surface and watches.
- Get a line cutter, fishing line is near invisible and will be impossible to break.
- Don't hyperventilate, running out of oxygen in the blood doesn't trigger the need to breath feeling, CO2 build up does; so hyperventilating flushes CO2 out of blood and delays need to breath feeling so you can run out of oxygen.
There are lots of other tips, but I'd put those as top 3

[Paul.D]

Some other useful tips include:

1. Swim with a friend: Stick together and watch out for each other, just in case an accident occurs.
2. Double check and make sure equipment is good working order and that you know how to use it correctly.
3. Look after yourself and don't push yourself beyond your skill or comfort zone.
4. Be aware of the ocean, be familiar with the waves and currents.
5. Don't touch marine life, this is for your own good and that of the sea life around you.

[chiralSPO]

I would also add:

Stay hydrated and well-fed. Swimming is exercise, and must be treated accordingly.

Also for those with fair skin--protect your back and the backs of your legs from the sun (especially in tropical locations). I recommend wearing a wetsuit or similar, because sun lotion doesn't always last as long as you would like to snorkel. Also, some of the compounds used in sun lotions are supposedly not great for the marine life, which is taxed enough as it is these days.

[chris]

Also for those with fair skin--protect your back

I can definitely endorse this! Even through a shirt, I got painfully sunburned across my back while gazing for too long at stunning corals in the Cook Islands...