Why do people spit their regulator out as soon as they surface?

[rgkv]

Because beginners get taught the ridiculous “skill” to jump in with a snorkel and switch on the surface to a reg.

Never heard nor seen such a thing.. where do you know, that this is being taught?

 

[The Chairman]

Anyways, just because you surface doesn't mean you immediantly take the regulator out!

I usually spit mine out when I surface. I've never sputtered or swallowed water. No, I don't wear a snorkel, either. It's how I roll, and it works for me. If I have to swim, I usually roll over on my back and kick.

 

[tursiops]

Believe it or not, from what I have heard, some people do not breathe from the regulator at the surface at the end of the dive because they want to make sure they are back on the boat with 500 PSI (or reasonably close to it).

As I said, I got the information from Thalassamania, who I believe was involved with NAUI standards at one point.

He was not always right, but was never in doubt.

 

[34109411]

It's called a Christmas tree ladder. Standard procedure on my boat especially when the seas are "sporty".

nice

 

[landphil]

I don’t need my reg when I’m hanging out at the surface- doesn’t really matter what the conditions are (although, it’s always going to be about an hour from when it was good enough to let divers get in the water.) But I’ve also spent a lot of time swimming after windsurf gear in 30 knot winds and 10 foot seas. So, I’ve gotten pretty good at not inhaling when my head is suddenly underwater. I did have one dive where my reg started free flowing at the surface and I had to wait for it to swing back around to where I could grab it. The main downside to that was a lot of heckling from up on the boat.

But definitely reg in when I’m pulling off my fins and climbing the ladder. Also, for beach exits, as soon as it’s too shallow to easily roll back over if you fall on your face, I’m breathing off the reg.

 

[Vicko]

As I said, I got the information from Thalassamania, who I believe was involved with NAUI standards at one point.

It was a part of the SSI OWD course in the 2000-2005 period, we used to use the instructional video during our courses and using a snorkel was mentioned as something important during a giant stride entry.

 

[Scubagermany]

CMAS and the VDST still teach not to take out your regulator when you surface.
I find it good practice to keep it in your mouth until you get on the deck of the boat.
I recently read about a diver who drowned while walking in to the sea without his regulator in his mouth because he fell and could neither get his regulator or get up.

So in my opinion there are no good reasons not to keep your regulator in place, especially since you always surface with at least 50 bar so you have air to spare....

 

[Edward3c]

After 45 years I still have a reg in my mouth when I’m in the water. A friend of mine died a few years ago in 2ft of water because they didn’t have a reg in their mouth when they fell over exiting the water. By the time others spotted them and got over to roll them over, it was to late, no more than 5 minutes.

 

[steinbil]

I never understood the fuss about this. I feel like this whole thing is a non-issue for people that (a) are comfortable in the water and (b) have a necklaced backup. I almost always take the reg out of my mouth after establishing positive buoyancy on the surface, usually to talk with my buddies and hang out while waiting to get picked up by the boat. If the conditions were really bad on the surface, I might consider keeping it in a while longer. If I fell off the ladder, I'm confident I could get the necklace in my mouth and surface without problems, even if I didn't have a mask on. The only reason I keep the mask on my face until I'm on the boat, is so that I don't lose it, and I almost forget it's on my face after a dive. But if the weather is really nice and I want some sun on my face, I'll take it off.

 

[stepfen]

It looks like I'm the only "human" diver in here. Oh well.

The moment I (and most if not all of the fellow divers I dived with) hit the surface I spit the reg out and the mask goes around my neck. Then I clear my throat and nose as usually a lot of disgusting stuff are released at this stage, so I try to do this facing away from my fellow divers.

I can't recall ever diving in a sea rough enough that I couldn't breath comfortably on the surface (without reg of course).