Anyone tried "snuba"??

[beachgal]

After our POA cruise in March, we're spending another week in Oahu. We've seen several companies offering "snuba," which is where the air tank is attached to a raft with an air line to you so you can go underwater down to about 20 feet. We love snorkeling and think this would be fun to try. Has anyone done it? Was it easy to learn how to do? I'd love to hear any feedback. Mahalo!

[KTE]

SNUBA - yes!!

Have done it a couple of times in the past 3 years. Loved it! Easy! Great experience. Many more companies avail now than a couple of years ago. Never did on Oahu - only Maui, Kauai and Key West.

Have fun!

KTE

[elephant98]

I did snuba in St. Thomas and really liked it. As you stated, the air tank is suspended above you on a raft and you can swim down about 20 feet or so. However, you will have about four people to a raft, so you cannot swim about freely. You must stick to the group and follow your leader (who will likely be wearing separate scuba equipment and keeping an eye on you).

 

There's not really much to learn before you get started. If I recall correctly, the first step is learning how to clear your mask if it fills with water. The next step is learning how to breathe through a regulator just like a scuba diver would. Its not that hard to do, but since you are breathing compressed air from a tank, you'll be a little surprised at first how different it is from regular breathing. At first, I was really sucking the air too fast and had to concentrate on taking deep, regulated breathes. Then, you learn how to clear water from your mouth by pushing a little button on the front of the mouthpiece. This is helpful should the mouthpiece pop out of your mouth while swimming. You don't want to be swallowing any salt water. Yuk! Then, of course, there are some simple hand signals to learn from your instructor to avoid any problems while under water. (i.e., the universal "okay" symbol). Finally, because I had some trouble staying on the bottom, I was given some weight to hold me down.

 

I can't speak for the snuba tour in Hawaii. But, I thought that it was a very safe, well operated excursion. In fact, our snuba lesson took place in only a couple of feet of water. Only when we were comfortable with the equipment did we go out further.

 

One word of caution. As with scuba diving, you will have to constantly decompress (is that the word?) your ears as you swim deeper in the water. That is simply done by holding your nose and blowing . . . this relieves the pressure. Unforunately, my wife had a heckuva time with that and was unable to swim any deeper than five or so feet before the pressure in her ears became to great. So . . . while I was swimming down below, she was swimming near the surface. For me, it was more like scuba diving. For her, it was more like snorkling. But, she still had a wonderful time. If you have sinus problems, then this might not be the tour for you. Hope this helps.

[beachgal]

Thanks for the info! I've been e-mailing with several companies in Oahu, so it's been added to our "to do" list! It looks fun and will be a little different than snorkeling.