Ever accidentally dropped your mask and snorkel into the water and watched them quickly sink out of sight?
Joanna Diamond, an avid scuba diver and snorkeler who lives in South Florida, has had that happen to her more than once, and came up with a solution.
The Snorkelbuoy is a specially-designed piece of foam painted red with a white, diver-down stripe with a hole in it for inserting the snorkel, allowing it to float on the surface. She says:
“Having lost a couple of masks and snorkels while snorkeling, I was frustrated that there wasn’t a single product available that would stop this from happening. Losing a mask and snorkel while snorkeling or SCUBA diving is inconvenient to say the least, costly (a good mask and snorkel can cost over $100), and contributes to marine pollution on the ocean bed, damaging or even killing coral and marine life.”
While the Snorkelbuoy isn’t a safety device, a floating mask and snorkel should alert a vigilant dive boat captain that someone may be in trouble.
A fluorescent model, called the Snorkelbuoy GLOW, is also available and designed for night divers.
Diamond says the Snorkelbuoy doesn’t affect a diver’s buoyancy, and can additionally be used as a dive-reel float, an underwater camera float (instead of buoyancy foam), or a reef marker buoy. It can also come in handy when cleaning the keel of your boat, she adds.
The Regular Snorkelbuoy retails for US$14.95/13.58 Euros, while the Glow model retails for US$16.95/15.39 Euros, with free shipping for orders in the contiguous United States.
When ordered together, the Regular and Glow models retail for US$28.71/26.07 Euros.
For more info, check out the Snorkelbuoy website or Facebook page or watch the video below.
