With only my snorkelling kit, I was free tomove under and through obstacles,spotting the black-faced blenny, a rarespecies I’d never seen before, tucked upunderneath a fallen beam.

Handy as our snorkels are for spottingthe minutia of the marine world, theyreally come into their own when you’replaying with the big boys. I’ve dived withseals all over the UK on open and closedcircuit and have consistently found I havecloser interactions while on my snorkel.Seals respect agility, and when you’resnorkelling you are free to try and emulatetheir lightning-fast moves without belchingblasts of air. I always feel closer to them,less of an intruder, as if visiting them moreon their terms.

I’ve snorkelled with basking sharks andblue sharks in UK and Irish coastal waters.I am confident that had we got in thewater with the blue sharks on open circuitthey’d have disappeared immediately, as isoften the case with the baskers.

And if you still don’t believe that you canexperience the best of British marinewildlife, get up close and personal with itwithout the need to don diving equipmentthen take a look at the incredible shots ofour undersea animals on these two pages.Every one was take by Dan Bolt using onlya snorkel… and a camera obviously but Ithink these images make my point. z

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It occurred to me that when I dive, mymind does tend to wander away from themarvelous underwater spectacle. Not onlyto those tasks necessary to stay aliveunderwater but also to the mundane suchas how cold I am; how stiff is my lowerspine; whether I’ll have fish or a pie when Iget out; what’s the plan for the next dive.But when I was snorkelling – because Ionly had a minute or so to seek out andobserve the flora and fauna – I wascompletely focused, spotting more andtaking an increasingly detailed interest ineverything I saw. I felt my senses wereheightened.

It also drove home how encumberedwe are as divers. I have found myself ondives with rebreather, stages, drysuit, anda couple of chapel roofs’ worth of leadfeeling so physically un-dexterous that Ispot potentially interesting nooks andcrannies but simply cannot be botheredwith manoeuvring myself into a contortedposition to inspect them at close quarters.

SOME WOULD SAY THAT YOU CANonly get a fleeting glance of thephenomenal wildlife under British watersunless you can spend time down therestudying it, motionless. And I have toconcede that I’ve found a rebreathergenuinely more productive than open circuitwhen I’ve been involved with underwaterfilming and photo shoots. The big benefitwith a rebreather is that it is quiet anddoesn’t produce bubbles. Well here’s arevelation… neither does a snorkel… andthey’re marginally cheaper too!

I’ve certainly found that the shortenedlength of time I can spend underwater withmy snorkel hasn’t curtailed the ticking off ofspecies. If anything, I see more. That mayseem like I’m twisting my perception tochampion snorkelling but I believe it’s true,at least for me, and here’s why. Whilesnorkelling above some novice divers atSwanage Pier, I noticed they focused ontheir buoyancy, trim, air and all the stuff thatthey should naturally be concentrating on.

Torbet on the Tube:

For Andy Torbet, snorkelling is often the most satisfyingway to get close to wildlife in UK waters

Animal magnetism

ALL PHOTOS: DAN BOLT – TAKEN WHILE SNORKELLING

Handy as our snorkels are for spotting the minutia of the m

arine world,

they really come into their own when you’re playing with th

e big boys

R compass jellyfish drifting along withthe plankton at Anstey’s Cove, Torbay

U a nudibranch makes its way across itsseaweed habitat. The natural light nearthe surface makes them easier to spot

U a spiny spider crab going defensive

Q an inquisitive grey seal off Lundy

U small spot catshark – the lack of bubbles when snorkelling oftenmean it’s easier to get close encounters

V giant kelp swaying in the current

For more information on snorkellingwith BSAC go towww.bsac.com/snorkellingLooking to introduce snorkelling intoyour club? Find out more atwww.bsac.com/snorkellinginstructorBSAC is now looking for its SnorkellingBranch of the Year 2012. Register yourbranch now and your club could winScubapro snorkelling kit! Go towww.bsac.com/sboy