Caribbean dream Islands

Snorkelling Hazards

Introduction

Snorkelling is a very safe sport, and even safer if you know what hazards at avoid. Some are more perceived than real, others are unexpected and can catch out the unwary. We list some of both categories below.

Motorized Water Sports

In many places motorized and non-motorized water sports are segregated for safety reasons. This usually takes the form of lines of buoys dividing the sea into lanes, each for a designated set of users. Unfortunately, this arrangement is not always policed effectively, and speed boats and jet skis remain the most lethal hazard. The ability to dive under water offers the possibility of escape in a dangerous situation, and bending one leg at the knee to raise your fin in the air may make you more visible.

Sunburn

When snorkelling on a coral reef for the first time, it is very easy to completely loose track of time. Been there, done that, got the teeshirt. Wear the teeshirt! Sea water is far more transparent to ultraviolet rays than to the heat of the sun - you can feel beautifully cool while burning to a crisp. Your back and shoulders are most at risk, and the backs of your thighs. Snorkelling is at its best in the middle of the day when the daylight illuminates the undersea world most effectively. This is the time to wear long swimming shorts and a teeshirt or rash vest.

Coral

Coral is often sharp, and a coral abrasion is likely to become infected and give pain for many days. Fire corals also have the ability to deliver a powerful sting, with even longer lasting results. The commonest fire coral in the Caribbean grows as upright mid brown flattened fingers with white edges. It can be found on rocks in very shallow water where there is some wave action.

Apart from the damage coral can do to your body, contact can also do a lot of damage to the coral itself. Avoid all physical contact, and never, never walk on the top surface of shallow reefs. Damaging coral is against the law in many places, and penalties can be surprisingly severe, reflecting the importance of coral to the marine environment.

Rip Currents

When a longshore current hits a projecting spur of land, the current is deflected seawards; any swimmer caught in such a current will be rapidly carried out to sea. Swimming directly against a rip current is futile and quickly leads to exhaustion and drowning. The essential thing to remember in such a situation, is that rip currents are quite narrow - swimming across the current will take you out of its clutches and enable you to swim back to shore in safety.

Sharks

There are over 350 species of shark known worldwide, but few are likely to be encountered by snorkellers. Most sharks are highly adapted specialist feeders, and, not surprisingly, most have evolved to eat fish. Even those that have a more varied diet do not esteem humans with their heavy bones and meagre reserves of energy rich fat.

Sharks tend to be shy and will avoid snorkellers unless provoked, or tempted by activities such as spear fishing.

Barracuda

Barracuda are large torpedo shaped fish which have 'predator' stamped all over them. In areas where swimmers are uncommon they will often approach closely. This is curiosity, not aggression. Be aware, however, that as top predator on its stretch of territory, a Barracuda regards all dead or wounded fish as its rightful prey. Spear fishing is not a good idea if there is a large Barracuda in the vicinity.

Moray Eels

The fearsome reputation of moray eels is based on the lurid writings of authors who had never even come close to a real specimen. They look fierce, of course, with small glaring eyes and mouths opening to reveal needle sharp teeth. In reality the action of opening and closing the mouth is merely the moray eels' way of breathing!

Stingrays

Many species of ray, including the very large Eagle Ray, have sharp venomous spines near the base of the tail. Even without the venom, these can be long enough to deliver a fatal wound. Fortunately Stingrays are not aggressive, and the spines are purely used for defensive purposes. The main danger is of treading on one when wading in shallow water, but even here they are pretty good at keeping out of the way. Stingrays can be hand fed quite safely - the mouth is on the under side, the sting on the top of its tail.

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