Dappled light and changing shifts of marine life are the rewards for snorkelling at dusk or dawn, says Andy Torbet
TORBET ON THE TUBE
Sunrise snorkels with friends
PHOTO: DAAN VERHOEVEN
Get your glow on
Dappled light and changing shifts of marine life are the rewards for snorkelling at dusk or dawn, says Andy Torbet
PHOTO: DAAN VERHOEVEN
Although all seasons have their unique characteristics, I stand with most divers and snorkellers in holding the summer above its three rivals. It’ s not just the warmer, drier and more settled weather( well, relatively so for the UK) that allows us to spend more time outdoors and underwater. Another of summer’ s traits I treasure is the extended daylight.
I often wake early, and to be met by sunlight rather than darkness is both motivating and inspiring. Just as in the evening I am encouraged to keep working, to spend more time outdoors and just enjoy life for a few more hours under the sun. Compare this to an afternoon’ s darkening sky that comes in the winter, when I am urged to retreat inside and hunker down against the gloom.
Two the most inspiring periods of a summer’ s day to snorkel is dawn and dusk. This is the transient time, when the world shifts from diurnal to nocturnal, or back. The light is at its most glorious and the whole world seems just a little more peaceful.
I find it an exceptional time to snorkel, whether inland or offshore, and it offers more than just the chance of glorious illumination. If timed right, a snorkeller can bag two dives in one – a day and a night dive. The normal, more civilised, way to achieve this is at dusk with a later finish. But for those with steely motivation, a very early start can offer the benefit of being semi-submerged at sunrise. It’ s hard to think of a better beginning to the day. This
Andy ascends through shafts of morning light
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