Getting ready for your first snorkelling adventure

The right equipment

Before you get in the water, get to know your equipment and make sure it fits you properly. Try on your mask to make sure it has a good seal. If your mask stays on your face unsupported, than it is properly sealed on your face. And make sure your fins are a good fit, otherwise you can quickly get blisters once you start swimming with them.

Take a few minutes to test out your snorkel in shallow water; you want to be sure that it fits well with your mask. It's also important to be sure that you are comfortable breathing through a snorkel and that you know how to blow water out of it in case it gets clogged.

And take note: it's now easy to film and photograph all the things you discover under water using a lightweight waterproof digital camera such as Fujifilm's Z33WP.

Getting in the water

Armed with your snorkel, mask and camera, we know you will be eager to get started. But if you're new to snorkelling, start slowly. Experiment with breathing through your snorkel in shallow water. Then gradually move into deeper, more open water once you feel comfortable with your equipment and the environment.

Practice using your fins to move through the water and experiment with floating upright. When you're ready, make some test dives and gradually increase the amount of time you can spend under water.

Breathing Tips:

1. Before you dive: Take a series of long, deep breaths to push all the carbon dioxide from your lungs. Just before you go down, breathe out half way.
2. When you're underwater: Keep the air in your lungs (don't breathe out).
3. On your way up: Gradually exhale as you ascend. When you're almost at the surface, push the last bit if air out of your lungs to clear the water out of your snorkel.

Surfing tips for beginners

Watching a skilled surfer catch a wave and ride it to shore might make you believe that surfing is easy. In fact, there are a lot of small things to master before you make your first successful attempt.

Though it may not be easy, surfing is definitely fun. And the more you practice, the closer you come to riding that wave. Remember to document your surfing adventures with a waterproof digital camera like Fuji's Z33WP... some surfers mount cameras on their boards, or wear them in specially fitted camera pockets on the front of their wetsuits.

By following a few simple rules, your first surf will be, if not perfect, a little easier:

1. Use safety equipment. There are three pieces of equipment that all beginners should use: a vest or T-shirt to prevent your board from giving you a rash; a leash or leg rope that ties you to your board; and a safety nose guard on your board to prevent painful collisions with your board.
2. Always surf with a buddy. Quite simply, don't surf alone. It's too dangerous. This is true for beginners and seasoned experts alike.
3. Get to know your board. Watch the way your board floats on the water when no one is on it. Then discover where you need to position yourself on it so that it floats exactly the same way. In other words, your board's nose and tail should be level, neither pointing up nor down in the water.
4. Learn how to paddle. Paddle your board as if you are doing the front crawl. This is the most efficient way to move in the water; it will give you a constant pace that will enable you to catch waves.
5. Try to sit as still as possible on your board. Practice sitting on your board so that the board does not wobble. This is an important skill that will help you learn to stand up on your board.
6. Now learn to stand. Standing on your board is a good thing to practice at home. The key: go from belly down to standing on the board while keeping it as still as possible. The more you practice, both in and out of the water, the better prepared you will be for that first wave you surf.