calendar is wild camping by snorkel.
For logistical and safety reasons, the recommendations in this feature are designed for periods of settled weather. It all gets a lot more complicated in stormy conditions. If you are overnighting somewhere, bring two means of communication and make sure someone knows where you and your team are going to be.
Equipment matters
Apart from your usual snorkelling gear you’ ll need a few extra things:
■ Sleeping system. I use a light, compact sleeping bag and a bivi bag( like a Gore- Tex jacket for your sleeping bag). The bivi bag allows me to use my wet wetsuit as a sleeping mat.
■ A small stove, lighter, spoon, mug, food and water. Even if you’ re heading out for dinner, it’ s nice to flash up the stove and make a brew to sip at sunset.
Use your wetsuit as a mattress below the bivvy bag
■ Small towel. I have found that I can dry myself pretty well with just a face cloth.
■ Dry, warm clothes. To change into between exiting the sea and bedtime.
■ Sandals. Because you need to let your feet dry out and rocks are hard.
■ Dry bags. All the above should fit into individual dry bags( maybe not the sandals) which go into a robust, large drybag so everything is double bagged. You don’ t want your kit getting wet. If the main drybag is brightly coloured it can also act as a SMB, as you’ ll be towing it behind you.
■ Line, lanyard or something to attach your SMB-Bag to you. I use a small reel so I can spool out extra line if necessary.
■ VHF. Worth considering if you think your phone will have no signal. I had one for my offshore sea-kayaking, so it was not an extra cost for me.
Considerations at the site
■ Distance. A towed drybag is surprisingly un-hydrodynamic so you’ ll not be finning fast. The idea isn’ t to complete some epic, ironman-style snorkel but simply bimble around the coast to a quieter, more secluded spot than the entry site by a car park. A lot of our great British coastlines, Devon, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, the West Highlands, Channel Isles to name but a few have dozens of little, private coves every few hundred metres.
■ Tides. Make sure your pitch will not be inundated at high tide. It’ s a miserable way to wake up at 3am.
Drybags ensure your dry kit is organised and salt-water free
■ Some of our spectacular coastal coves are dominated by impressive cliffs. Ensure the ones above you are not loose.
■ Sealife. One of the reasons this type of camping is so good is to get you closer to nature. But, after spending a night on a ledge filming seabirds for the BBC, I can promise you a large colony of guillemots, razorbills and gull make a lot of noise. All night long.
■ The route. As with any snorkelling you need to consider the tides and conditions, but for overnighting we must also consider what it will be like trying to get back the next morning. Plan ahead and don’ t get caught out. �
PHOTO: DAN BOLT
For more information on snorkelling with BSAC go to bsac. com / snorkelling Looking to introduce snokelling into your club? Find out more at bsac. com / snorkellinginstructor
Taking a break halfway to the camping spot will keep you fresh
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