Snuba Fun

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Geo: 19.6406, -155.996

Today we were on the other side of the Big Island in Kona and, like other Hawaiian Islands, the weather was the complete opposite of the rain forest type weather we had experienced in Hilo. It was sunny and warm so we went on a kayak trip to a bay with some excellent snorkelling- the brochure didn't say anything about a double kayak but with the patience I'm known for, we were able to avoid the divorce-like conversations going on in the other spinning kayaks. We won the race on the way back (although I'm not sure the others knew it was a race).

In the afternoon we gave ‘snuba' a try (effectively a cross between snorkelling and scuba). This
would seem to be one of those sports that people invent simply out of boredom but just to satisfy curiosity, we signed up. For those unfamiliar with snuba, it actually utilizes most of the gear involved in scuba with the exception of the BC vest- the big difference is that your tank is floating in a raft up on the surface and you're connected via a long hose which limits you to about a 25' depth and given that all the other snubaites are connected to the same raft, as a group, you look like some sort of bizarre octopus. Our ‘dive' was actually pretty good with some colourful coral and fish life. About half way through the dive, and unbeknownst to me, the other 3 members in our group got tired (how do you get tired just floating through the water) and surfaced to hang on to the side of the raft- the same raft we were connected to via the regulators in our mouths. I ended up feeling like an underwater mule with a bit in his mouth towing a raft full of snuba rejects- come to think of it, that might just be a new sport- muleba??

It was a full day but we got back to the ship just before the hamburger grill closed so DH was happy. And to top it off, Elvis is doing his gospel numbers tonight.

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Comments

[Doug & Elaine]

Love that 'muleba'. Could be the new Olympic sport!

[Martin]

Snuba you say. For two individuals who have scuba dived in Antarctica, I can only imagine how basic snuba must have seemed. Kind of like a Formula 1 race car driver riding the bumper cars at the local amusement park. Still, sounds like you
're having fun. All of us at the office are enjoying the postings. Hope to hear from you soon