The Happy Snorkeler
You will be wearing a thick insulated suit underneath the drysuit commonly known as a teddy bear suit. The only thing you need to wear underneath the teddy bear suit is underwear and socks. Thick warm socks are preferred!
Follow these guidelines when dressing into the teddy bear suit:
1
Fold it over, as shown in the photo to the left so it looks like a pair of pants.
2
Put one leg in at a time.
3
Finish dressing into the rest of the teddy bear suit.
TIP
Take your socks and fold them over the suit! That will prevent the teddy bear suit from being pushed/pulled up your leg when you dress in to the dry suit!
Note: If you wear clothes made from cotton underneath the teddy bear suit they will not keep you warm if they get wet! wool or fleece are preferred if you want to wear anything other than underwear underneath the teddy bear suit.
When dressing into the dry suit we follow these simple steps:
1
Hold the dry suit in front of you, with the zipper facing torwards you and the toes of the boots facing away from you. Reach with your hand inside the drysuit and turn it half way inside out (in other words, grab it by the balls and pull so the top part of the drysuit is lying over the feet).
2
Put one leg in at a time. Pull the excess material up your legs. Your goal is to have your toes in the boots and the suit hanging around your waist. You have to take your shoes off before putting your feet in the dry suit. Make sure you are not stepping on the wrist seals or dragging them on the ground.
In this photo you can see how to take the dry suit boots off after use. Just like regular shoes! (Don’t turn the dry suit inside out.)
Here you can see how the dry suit looks on the back. ONLY the guides are allowed to zip and/or unzip the dry suit!
The Latex seals are what keeps the water from entering the suit. They are both very strong but have to be handled with care. That means earrings, rings, wrist watches or sticking your fingernails excessively in to the Latex can make it rip. For the seals to work as intented they need to be fairly tight around your neck and not folded or wrinkled.
When dressing into the dry suit keep these points in mind: If you can, remove all jewellery and take your wrist watch off too. Make sure not to jam your fingernails in to the Latex, as it could rip. If you need to stretch out either the neck seal or wrist seal DO NOT stretch it out by pulling on the edge. But rather put your fingers all the way in and pull the whole seal open.
Not folded or wrinkled!
Stretch the whole seal, not just the edge!
Fingers straight! Neckseal: Use your hands to open up the seal by putting your fingers deep in the seal and then pulling the whole seal open before putting your head though, starting with the top of your head. When you are in the suit, ensure that the seals are not wrinkled and that there are no gaps between them and the skin. Wristseal: Make sure that your fingers are straight and close together when you put your hands through the sleeves. Use the same or similar methods when undressing from the dry suit.
The mask might leak if the mask seal is over the Neoprene hood! Try to have the mask seal under the hood! The mask strap does NOT have to be super tight! It is more likely to leak if the mask is on too tight.
Bite the snorkel mouthpiece with your teeth. Seal your lips around the mouthpiece. If you get water inside the snorkel use on of the following methods: Remove your head from the water and take the snorkel out of your mouth and release the water or blow hard/exhale into the snorkel (Blast method).
If you experience fog inside of the mask use the following technique:
1
With the mask on your face and floating horizontally on the surface of the water dip your face under the surface.
2
When your face is in the water, up to your ears, lift the mask from your upper lip. You only have to lift it enough for a small amount of water to get inside the mask. Take your time when doing this and just keep on breathing through the snorkel.
3
Once the water has washed away the fog and your mask is again fog-free, repeat what you did to get the water inside the mask, but this time do it with your face out of the water so the water can drip out of the mask.
You might have to repeat this technique once in a while over the period of the trip!
! p U e Clos
Always take the mask down to your neck when it is not being used.
If the heel strap does not go far enough you might lose the fin when you start snorkeling! Please let the guide know if you think that the fin has come loose! When putting the fins on follow these guidelines:
1
Put the fin strap under the fin. Insert one foot at a time and kick it in as far as possible. Tip: if you can, have someone stand on the fin whilst you are kicking your foot into it or, if you can manage stand on top of it with your other foot!
2
Pull the rubber strap with the spring OVER your heel.
The hood that you will be wearing is made from Neoprene material. Neoprene gets wet and then the body heats up the water in the material witch will keep you warm. Use the following method putting the hood on:
1
Fold it up
2
Pull it over your head starting with the top of your head.
3
Adjust the hood so it sits comfortably on your head and around your face.
IMPORTANT: If the hood is excessively tight around your neck and is constricting your circulation tell the guide immediately!!!
The gloves you will be wearing are made from Neoprene and work in the same way as the hood. There are two kinds of gloves, five finger and three finger/lobster gloves. There is no difference between them other than the size. Use the following method when putting the gloves on:
1
Make sure you take a right & left glove ;-)
2
Take the glove and fold it slightly, like in the photo.
3
Put them on and unfold the glove over the dry suit.
Please pair the gloves together BEFORE returning them!