I Had To Save A Drowning Snorkeler

Recently in Florida I had to swim out and save a drowning snorkeler. And I learned a few good snorkeling safety tips that I decided to share because of this experience. Now keep in mind, I am no expert. I am not a trained lifeguard or snorkel instructor. But you may still find my experience helpful.

What happened was that this person got a pretty bad muscle cramp in their upper arm and chest area. And basically it kind of freaked the person out. It was really hurting them and limiting their upper body movement. They stripped off and lost their snorkel mask and snorkel and a fin. And they were trying to tread water in an upright position. This person even had another smaller friend trying to help them stay afloat, but from shore I could see them flailing in the water and going under. And they were not really that far out from shore.

I swam out and brought the person in on their back, and it turned out OK. But there are a couple of things to learn from this. Had this poor person known these basic snorkel skills, they would likely never have gotten themselves, their friend, or me in that potential danger (rescuing a drowning person is always very dangerous because they often try to push themselves up by pushing you under).

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #1. Learn how to float on your back in salt water! It is super easy to float on our back in salt water. It takes very little effort, particularly in calm water. We have found that if we are tired or having any sort of problem we just turn over and relax our backs.

To float on your back, just turn onto your back, kick slowly, tilt your head all the way back until your ears are in the water (with your snorkel out of your mouth). Raise your chest as though a balloon was inside it. Relax and breathe easily. You will be able to float with very little effort in salt water. Practice this until it becomes very effortless for you.

If the person I saved had known how to float on their back they would have been able to relax until the muscle cramp went away, or even could have swam slowly all the way to shore on their back without any fear of drowning.

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #2. Don't panic. The person I saved made all kinds of bad decisions because he was in a panic. I understand that feeling like you are going to drown is terrible, but panic only makes everything worse. It leads to really bad decisions. This fellow's heart was racing and he was creating all kinds of tension that contributed to his problem.

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #3. Keep your mask and snorkel on your face, and your fins on your feet. They make survival in the water much easier than without them. The person who I saved had lost their mask and one fin. If they had kept them on, they could have even laid face down in the water with zero effort and been in no danger, even with a muscle cramp. And treading water is much easier with fins than without. But because he was in a panic and started to breathe hard, he stripped his face mask off and lost a fin along the way.

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #4. Swim with a snorkeling buddy. Who would expect that a cramped muscle would get you into that much trouble? Having a friend around to help is very important. Although not doing a good job of it, this person's friend was helping to keep them above water.

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #5. Learn how to help someone who is in trouble, and when not to. Take a lifeguard class. This person I helped had a friend with them. Admittedly this friend was a much smaller person. But still that person was floating vertically and trying to help hold up their drowning friend. This was not working very well, but it was better than being alone.

Now, once again, I am no expert. I am not recommending you do what I did, I am just explaining what I did. It is a known fact that helping a drowning person can put in you a lot of danger. The person is likely in a panic, and you risk getting knocked out and pushed underwater. In fact most safety guides strongly suggest you do not try to save a drowning person without training. If at all possible always try to get a trained lifeguard. Or if the person is close enough to shore, try to stay on shore and throw something out to them that either will help them float, or you can pull them in with. If you have to swim out, look quickly for a boat, or try and take a flotation device with you.

In my situation the person was panicked, but not overly. They did not try to grab me and were not flailing around. I swam out close to the person and asked if they needed help. I then told him calmly that I was going to place him on his back and for him to relax and breathe easy. I came behind him, wrapped one arm under his armpit, and across his chest, pulling him against my chest and side. I was basically on my back. This kept his head high. I let him know he could relax. I then used a side stroke to swim us both to shore. But it was still a very hard swim the short distance to shore, and I was pretty tired by the time I reached shore. And I can easily see how it could be very dangerous to try and save someone. But I was very glad to have been able to help.

Snorkeling Safety Lesson #6. Don't be proud or embarrassed. If you are in trouble, call out for help quickly. These folks were clearly in trouble and were not calling out. I noticed their problem and yelled out to them. Only then did they start asking for help.

Now I did not tell you all of this to scare you. Instead I want you to find a lot of confidence in the water. With a few basic skills, snorkeling in salt water can be very comfortable and easy. And if you are ever in some trouble, just keep in mind that it is easy to float. Relax, and float on your back.