Sean Chinn’s Snorkel Journeys: Part 1

In this ongoing series regular contributor and worldwide snorkel adventurer Sean Chinn shares his snorkel journeys.

A Snorkel Journey-Part 1

For all my life I’ve been a fan of water. Swimming lessons from an early age meant I’d take any opportunity to be in the water when abroad or at home. With my father taking us snorkelling on many occasions during family holidays.

I met my fiancée Shenesse back in 2009 and our first holiday together was in June 2010 to Thailand. This was my first chance to see whether she shared the same love I have for getting in the sea and snorkelling. So…. It didn’t start well. We were on a boat trip to Phi Phi Island and had the opportunity to get in and snorkel on some shallow reefs. As I was in the water my partner shouted to me from the boat “I feel like I want to get in.” “Come on in” was my reply and sure enough she built up the courage and took the plunge. Unfortunately as soon as her head came above the water her first words were “I don’t like it, I don’t like it.” Safe to say she didn’t last long and was soon back on the boat. Now don’t get me wrong it wasn’t an issue with swimming as she was a competent swimmer. It was the fear of the unknown that sucked the courage and pushed her back onboard.

My partner Shenesse enjoys some snorkelling off Grand Bahama Island.

My love of the water and snorkelling then led me to taking it further in 2011 and starting my Scuba journey. My girlfriend definitely wasn’t ready to join me on this journey but a brief snorkel on holiday to Mexico that same year was a step in the right direction. It wasn’t a complete lost cause in getting her to share a small part of my love for the ocean.

In 2012 we embarked on a special 3 month trip that took us briefly to the Great Barrier Reef. It was actually here that I done my first tropical water dive. While I was on my second dive on shallow reefs, Shenesse, with a little guidance from one of the guides, plucked up the courage to go snorkelling without my presence. Itreally shocked me when I returned to the boat from the dive and she wasn’t there. It made me really proud to know she’d pushed herself to do it. I scanned the herd of people that littered the reef to see whether I could spot her enjoying her snorkel. After a while, and when she was just metres from the back of the boat, I saw her holding on tight to the lifebuoy ring that the guide was using. It something that we still laugh about to this day as joining her on the ring were an elderly couple that were around 80 years of age. Too be honest though I was really proud of her overcoming a fear. I also loved the fact the elderly couple were still enjoying adventures like snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef into their later years.

Snorkelers enjoying their time in the water with sharks off Ship Channel Cay, Bahamas.

Over the next couple of years there was some short snorkel adventures in Gili Trawangan and the Bahamas. Both times with Shenesse gaining more experience and being more comfortable in the water. Ditching the life jacket at times for more freedom in the water. However, it wasn’t until 2015 where her snorkel journey really took off and the adventures became more “daring.” Tune in to part 2 of Shenesse’s snorkel journey to see where it took us.

My partner Shenesse seeing an underwater wreck for the first time in Nassau.

Find out more about Sean, his photography and his trips at: www.greatwhitesean.com