Snuba: A New, Quicker Way To Become Part Of Scuba Elite

As McDonald’s is to dinner, so snuba diving is to scuba diving.

Convenient. Quick. Fairly easy. Low-risk. Call it “scuba lite.”

The newest underwater sport is a cross between snorkeling and scuba. Divers breathe through a 20-foot hose connected to standard scuba tanks floating on the surface, instead of toting them on their backs.

Snuba is aimed at beginners or casual divers who don’t want the bother and expense of full-fledged scuba.

Snuba already is popular in Hawaii, but still new to the mainland.

“You can experience diving without all the training and all the equipment,” says Jeff Tamlyn, whose snuba operation in Key Largo, Fla., is the only one in the continental United States.

“We have high-profile coral and shallow wrecks, less than 30 feet (down),” Tamlyn says. “With snorkeling, you can only go so (deep). Most people can’t hold their breaths that long.”

For $100, a novice can get the mandatory lesson in the morning and a couple of dives on the reefs that afternoon.