For the snorkel, exhale a burst of air through your mouth, breathing in cautiously at first to make sure you've forced all the water out. To clear a flooded mask, place your hand on the upper edge of the mask, tilt you head back at a 45 degree angle, or turn your head sidewise, and blow air through your nose until the water evacuates. For most of us it's normal to have a little water gurgling at the bottom of a snorkel, or a little puddle inside your mask around your nose. Tayna Lane came to me during a recent program with a leaky mask. She may be the only person I've ever asked to stop smiling.
Fins are great in the water, but awkward as snowshoes on land.
If you're going to a snorkeling area from a calm beach, try putting on your fins in waist-deep water. Snorkeling companions can help one another maintain balance. On boats, fins are usually put on at the dive platform, and taken off before climbing up a ladder. Walking with fins on a moving boat can prove challenging at best, dangerously precarious at worst. While fins can facilitate fast swimming, their greatest asset is increased effeciency.