And by blue and yellow angelfish hovering about my head. It’s a sensory smorgasbord courtesy of Snuba, a clever creation that combines the advantages of scuba diving with the ease and comfort of snorkeling. With Snuba, you can explore teeming underwater worlds to depths of 20 feet, unencumbered by air tanks, buoyancy control devices and other complex gear—and without the many hours of scuba training. Instead, you and your diving buddy breathe compressed air through a long hose connected to an air tank on the surface, which you tow along effortlessly in an inflatable raft.
Easy Diving
“Think of it as a low-intimidation introduction to diving, or a very exciting snorkeling session,” suggests instructor and guide Todd Gresham of Dive World, which offers Snuba trips at St. Thomas. “Couples love it, since two people can Snuba together,” he notes. “It’s for anyone who’s curious about getting underwater, but maybe a little nervous. They have a guide right alongside.” Our Snuba spot is a short van drive from our “Fun Ship” through the fragrant flowering hills of St. Thomas. Along the way, Jeanne, another Dive World instructor, covers the basics so we’ll be ready. We arrive at Coki Beach, a long crescent of golden sand, where visitors happily sun and stroll and splash in tourmaline waters against a backdrop of palm-fringed islands 100 yards offshore. We’re ready. As an avid snorkeler, I know to expect equally stunning scenery under those waters. With Todd’s help, I cinch a weight belt around my suit, wade into chest-deep water, take a couple of practice breaths through my regulator—and submerge into a brilliant universe alive with darting fish and fields of flowerlike coral.
A Whole Different World
In this 3-D world, my head swivels trying to take it all in. While snorkeling, you mostly look down on the scenery; with Snuba, you’re part of it. Schools of inky blue reef fish part as I follow Todd, casually swimming a few feet above the seafloor. He points out a crazy worm that looks like a feather duster. I watch a kelly-green parrot fish nibbling on a coral head, and actually can hear the sound of coral crunching. It seems no matter where I look, another tiny world comes alive. Soon Todd again beckons me to follow, and before I realize it, we’ve both ascended to the surface. I look at him, puzzled. Is something wrong? He laughs and points at his watch. What felt like five minutes underwater was more like 40. On the van ride back to Charlotte Amalie, I chat with a couple from Odessa, Texas, trying Snuba for the first time. “I was nervous at first,” admits Kim Odom. “Once I calmed down, it was beautiful.” “I enjoyed every minute,” adds Kim’s husband, Jeff. “I like the freedom of not having to come up for air all the time. I’d definitely do this again.” Oh, me too. I’ve got a date with some dolphins.
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