Snuba is an underwater breathing system developed by Snuba International.
The word Snuba is a portmanteau of "snorkel

Snorkeling

Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...

" and "scuba

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

". The swimmer uses swimfin

Swimfin

Swimfins, swim fins, fins or flippers are worn on the foot or leg and made from finlike rubber or plastic, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities such as swimming, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, kneeboarding, riverboarding, and various types of underwater diving.Scuba divers use...

s, a diving mask

Diving mask

A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. When the human eye is in direct contact with water as opposed to air, its normal environment, light entering the eye is refracted by a different angle and the eye is unable...

, weights

Diving weighting system

Divers wear weighting systems, weight belts or weights, generally made of lead, to counteract the buoyancy of other diving equipment, such as diving suits and aluminium diving cylinders...

, and diving regulator

Diving regulator

A diving regulator is a pressure regulator used in scuba or surface supplied diving equipment that reduces pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and delivers it to the diver. The gas may be air or one of a variety of specially blended breathing gases...

 as in scuba diving.
The air, however, instead of coming from tanks

Diving cylinder

A diving cylinder, scuba tank or diving tank is a gas cylinder used to store and transport high pressure breathing gas as a component of a scuba set. It provides gas to the scuba diver through the demand valve of a diving regulator....

 strapped to the diver's back, comes through a long hose from tanks on pontoon

Pontoon (boat)

A pontoon is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient to float itself as well as a heavy load. A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. Pontoons may be used on boats, rafts, barges, docks, floatplanes or seaplanes. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A...

 rafts on the surface.
Snuba often serves as a form of introductory diving, in the presence of a professional, insured guide, and following a half-hour lesson (but not requiring scuba certification).

Popularity

The Snuba system was devised in 1989 by California diver Michael Stafford. It was then developed and patented in 1990 by Snuba International, based in Diamond Springs, California, who own the trademark and who license it as a touring program. Snuba diving is a popular guided touring activity in tropical tourist locations such as Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, The Caribbean and México

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

Snuba is also popular because no prior dive experience is necessary. Participants need only to be at least eight years of age and have a basic swimming ability. Its popularity as a first timer's experience can be attributed to several factors.

• The participant tows the raft on the surface via a lightweight harness connected to the air line. This gives the customer the secure knowledge that he/she cannot descend too deep and allows them to choose the depth that they feel most comfortable with while being able to control their depth, descent and ascent rates. By utilizing the hose as a guide, combined with wearing soft weights to achieve neutral buoyancy, participants are able to descend anywhere from just under the surface to 6 metres (19.7 ft) deep.

• Participants are able to hold onto the raft at the surface using a lanyard that runs the length of the raft on both sides. This also allows the user to hold onto the raft while becoming comfortable breathing before beginning to descend. Being connected to the raft also provides users with a feeling of safety, comfort, and the option to hold onto the raft should they want to return to the surface.

• Compared to scuba, Snuba divers wear minimal gear. Each diver is equipped with a mask, fins, weight belt, harness and regulator. The harness holds the regulator and air line in place, allowing the diver to swim unencumbered beneath the surface. This may be compared to full scuba gear, which includes a buoyancy compensator, weights, cylinder and often more, and can weigh in excess of 27 kilograms (59.5 lb). Although scuba equipment is nearly weightless underwater, out of the water the weight becomes a significant factor for weaker individuals. Unfortunately for Snuba divers, in case of emergency, the Snuba diver is not provided with any emergency buoyancy system unlike a Scuba diver who has a buoyancy compensator, meaning that the Snuba diver must swim to the surface or tread water until help arrives, which could prove fatal. On the other hand, a correctly weighted snuba diver will be neutrally buoyant at all depths (no compressable dive suit), has a hose and harness to prevent sinking, can pull on the hose to surface, which is less effort than swimming, and has a raft with a grab-rope to hold onto at the surface.

Disadvantages

In strong current, wave action, or breeze, the combination of underwater hose and surface raft can pull quite hard on a diver. Snuba is therefore best used in areas where wind, waves and current are negligible. Since all Snuba use is offered by licensed Snuba operators who operate the systems as a guided tour, the possibility of being subjected to strong current, high waves or high wind is not likely. However it is beneficial if one employee of the Snuba operator remains on the surface to monitor conditions.

Since the depth of a snuba dive is limited to about 6 metres (19.7 ft), decompression sickness

Decompression sickness

Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...

 is not likely to be a problem. However, as the snuba diver is breathing compressed air, there is still a risk of injury or death due to air embolism

Air embolism

An air embolism, or more generally gas embolism, is a pathological condition caused by gas bubbles in a vascular system. The most common context is a human body, in which case it refers to gas bubbles in the bloodstream...

, which is a more severe hazard at shallow depths if a diver ascends as little as three feet without venting the expanding gas volume in the lung

Lung

The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...

s. This danger is easily avoided by breathing normally and continuously while ascending. This point is thoroughly covered in Snuba pre-dive briefings, and monitored by the dive guide throughout the dive by watching for the continual release of bubbles from each diver.. However most diving accidents do happen within 15 feet of the surface of the water because this is where the greatest change in pressure happens, unfortunately this most dangerous area of the water is where snuba takes place.
Based on certified diving agencys, like PADI or NAUI, Snuba is slowly being phased out due to the number of the diving accidents that have been recorded due to the lack of certifications and training in involved. But according to the Snuba website, since operation started in 1989, more than 5 million dives have been conducted without injury or fatality. It is not clear if any other dives with injury or fatality have occurred, as the wording is ambiguous in this regard. The Snuba Liability Release form, releases the operators and developers of the Snuba system from any liability or responsibility for damage, injury or death due to neglect, system failure or any other reason. Yet, there are many non-official reports about inadequate training. In 2006 a woman tourist from Japan began "Sea Walking" or Snuba diving, showed a distress signal, came up a boat ladder and then fell back into the sea drowning. The case was brought to court, and the boat owner's motion for limited liability refused due to insufficient evidence. The case will be continued in court. From the details given, it seems this may not be a Snuba system or if it is, it may not be about a certified Snuba operator.