mask remove/replace technique - newbie-itis revealed

[Knfmkr]

My 2 sons (13 and 12) and I just finished the first 2 classes of our Open Water Certification. The boys loved it and had a great time. The instructor was very "understanding" of teenage boy behavior and attention span.

And despite being an old dog, I learned something new about myself. I was having a terrible time removing/replacing my mask without water running right up my nose and down my throat. Did this 3 times before deciding to stop and avoid reaching a panic level. I then realized (duh) that I can just breathe out through my nose instead of my regulator and that should keep the water from backflowing. I don't remember seeing anything about this in the PADI books/videos....and only 2 people in my class had this problem...so I figured I'd share my newbie-itis here for everyone else's benefit (and my embarassment). Turns out it worked great and I passed that part no problem, no worries.

That was the only snag in an otherwise very smooth and enjoyable process so far.

Well, that and the time we were on the bottom practicing "hovering" and the Instructor signaled us to "go up" and my 12yo decided his BCD was really an underwater jet-propulsion pack and shot right up to the top in about 2 seconds flat. The Instructor chewed him out (as did I) - so, hopefully that will stick and he'll never do that again. Looking back, I'm actually quite impressed with how much these boys picked up....but put them in the water, and it's "play time". :blinking: :shocked2:

Dan

 

[Akimbo]

Chewing him out is fine, but not all that effective. Calmly take him down to 30' on your next dive, inflate a balloon, and surface together. While holding the remains of the exploded balloon say "This is your lungs when you surface too fast without exhaling." Shake a bottle of a red-colored soda and open the lid. "This is your blood when you surface too fast."

 

[Knfmkr]

Ooooo - I like the red soda idea....

 

[Akimbo]

I was 11 when I took my first Scuba class and can relate. Fortunately the instructors didn't pussyfoot around like they do today. Instead of "never stop breathing" the phrase used was: "Never hold your breath on ascent with SCUBA or your lungs will explode in your chest and you will die a horrible death" -- Scuba was an acronym then, not a word.

Being #3 of 5 boys I can attest, making a lasting impression on young testosterone-fueled males is not for the faint of heart.

 

[TMHeimer]

Closing off your nasal passage (with what I believe is the Glottis) is better than exhaling and keeps all water from going anywhere but the nostrils--such as what you must do in the "no mask" swimming/breathing skill. When doing that skill you can't inhale by mouth while exhaling by nose--unless you are skilled in "circular breathing" as some wind musicians are (not me). Even then, you'd have to circular breathe in reverse and I don't know if that's possible.

 

[FinnMom]

Spend a little time in a pool and practise swimming underwater w/o a mask. You will develop an instinct of creating back pressure in your nose that helps keep out the water, at least as long as your nose is facing down or within about 45 degress of straight down.

The mask remove/replace and even more so swimming w/o a mask seem to give incredibly many people unreasonably much trouble. You can set a fine example for the boys now and throughout your diving by putting some extra effort into getting used being w/o a mask, and also practising the skill now & again for the rest of your diving years.

 

[TMHeimer]

Spend a little time in a pool and practise swimming underwater w/o a mask. You will develop an instinct of creating back pressure in your nose that helps keep out the water, at least as long as your nose is facing down or within about 45 degress of straight down.

The mask remove/replace and even more so swimming w/o a mask seem to give incredibly many people unreasonably much trouble. You can set a fine example for the boys now and throughout your diving by putting some extra effort into getting used being w/o a mask, and also practising the skill now & again for the rest of your diving years.

Right. I was corrected a while back regarding the glottis keeping all water out always. It won't work if your head is tilted back (not a likely position on scuba). You're OK if you are vertical and looking straight ahead. I have experimented with these 2 things.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

knfmkr, I enjoyed your post, and have one comment: you are your sons are all students in the class. You are not the instructor. The instructor can admonish and correct another student. Other students cannot. While you are in the class, turn off the "dad monitor." Your sons will do better if you let the instructor do his job. You should be the encourager, not the critic. Now, when the three of you go off on a dive together and you are the dive leader...that's another story. Enjoy the class and then enjoy a long future of diving together. It's great you are all taking the class together. Consider reading my blog post here on SB "To the Parents of Junior Open Water Divers."
DivemasterDennis

 

[Knfmkr]

Great advice, Dennis.

Being in the class with my boys has been both rewarding and stressful. My 12yo that pulled the stunt was my buddy that day and I was trying to communicate with him underwater. He turned and shot up...so I needed him to understand the buddy aspect of it. The Instructor got to him first, of course....so I came up slowly/properly. I just pulled him aside and gave him a "firm but gentle" reminder to not leave me in the dust.

After he shot up I looked over at the Instructor to see if she noticed him (I was at the bottom, he was a few feet above me)...she looked at him, tried to communicate, then looked at me, then followed him back up. I knew she would take care of it. Again, I was thankful she was alert and not overloaded by the other students.

But I agree....it's definitely hard to "let them go"...and especially to let them screw up in front of others...but is essential to them "owning" the experience themselves.

The others probably thought I was a mean Dad...but she said everyone had to load up their own gear themselves...and I let 'em do it. They screwed it up, of course, but got themselves corrected and were successful at suiting up.




My Dad filled my head with so many SCUBA and Snorkeling stories growing up...but never took any of us diving - no idea why.
It's something I've always wanted to do...and now I'm in my 40s and really enjoying being able to have this opportunity with my 2 sons.
Hopefully it will become a "family thing" someday.

 

[Frosty]

hey dan--welcolm to the "not so exclusive" club. parents scuba diving with their kids.
Its just fantastic seeing the underwater world through your kids eyes,
Incredibly rewarding. -Incidently I have two words to build into your pre dive with the kids--SLOW DOWN
Use it every time you dive with kids and itll extend your bottom tiime about 10 minutes.