Yelled at for MOF

[Mustard Dave]

This is a pet hate of mine. Mask on forehead can be a sign of a distressed diver; divers have been known to reject their kit in panic situations, but it does not automatically indicate a distressed diver. A diver who is smiling and chatting on the surface with his buddy is unlikely to be distressed. The sort of diver who makes a big deal about it is generally either a freshly minted DM parroting what they have just been taught, or some gobshite who loves the sound of his own voice trying to assert his greater knowledge.

I try to stay in the habit (and advise others to do the same) of not having my mask on my forehead though; the simple reason is it is easier to lose; this is a) costly and inconvenient, and b) you may unexpectedly need it again before getting out. When climbing out of water too deep to drink my way out of, I always have my mask over my eyes and a reg in my mouth; if I take a tumble back into the water, I'll probably be glad of it!

Sometimes a mask can be a hindrance to communication; it is particularly useful to instructors and experienced divers, when guiding novice and inexperienced divers, to be able to have good eye contact on the surface to reassure them (having advised them in normal circumstances, it is best not to remove the mask). Obviously there is a time and a place though, and judgement is needed; pool, flat calm sea or a quarry is fine, but in a choppy sea before descending, or when waiting for the boat, is not so.

The last time I heard somebody come out with the panicked diver nonsense was in Malta about a month ago. I was with my club doing five days of easy, warm blue water diving. We were on a guided diving trip with an outfit my club has used for almost ten years. This was my seventh time with them, and I know the guides very well. On the first dive, one of their trainee DMs loudly pointed out a panicked diver when she saw my mask on my forehead. I replied by saying "You know, a mask on the forehead can sometimes be one of many signs of a distressed diver, but you don't really believe it's going to be the case if he's walking across the car park towards the entry point do you?". She seemed to accept my point and I carried on walking a few more paces before turning back to point out, "Anyway, I can't be a diver, as I'm not in the water yet. At this moment in time, I'm just a pedestrian with an oxygen tank on my back and my flippers in my hands!".

 

[TMHeimer]

Typically I approach the boat first, pass up my camera, and then board. So there is a period where I am holding camera in one hand, the guide rope on the other. Even when approaching without camera there is the rope, there is watching for the bouncing ladder.

To each their own but little gas breathed with reg in mouth. Plus it is very easy for me to breath around the reg without ever taking it out of your mouth. I have a seacure and a couple missing teeth so reg secrure with mouth relaxed. I can relax the mouth and breath around the reg without any problem.

Yes, easy to breathe around the reg in mouth. I have a bungee cord attached to my primary and around my head (my home made ff mask in case I should ever go unconscious on my solo dives). I stick the reg sideways in my mouth when gearing up and walking to the shore. When in the water about to don my fins, the reg goes in my mouth--not a drop of gas lost.

 

[Bierstadt]

If your air supply is so precious that you'd miss the few breaths you'd be taking on the surface, then I'd contend you're not carrying an adequate air supply to begin with ... a consequence of diving with those oversize beer cans that seem to be so popular among tourist dive ops.

Whenever I'm in the water my mask is on my face, in the working position. But then, I wear a prescription mask so it's helpful if I want to see what I'm doing ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Given I am typically one of the guys with the most air when I get back to the boat or shore, I'd say my air supply is fine. However, I tend to consider that as an affirmation of my approach. The salient point for me is I don't know what is going to happen in the future. The breath of air I save now could be the breath my buddy uses after a Great Lakes shark eats his hoses. Or whatever. I also know that my air consumption on the surface can be much higher than it typically is underwater. Swimming hard, excited, fighting with gear or lines, etc etc. I find my breathing Zen underwater, not above it. Even after a dive, you can't know for certain there is not going to be some emergency that requires you to head back down. Perhaps something heavy fell on you, like a church. Churches are heavy and they sink. Then you'd want all the gas you have.

 

[wedivebc]

I was once on the front of a community news paper teaching an OW class with (gulp) my mask on my forehead. I actually got hate mail from more than one instructor, DM who felt I was the cause of the downfall of the scuba industry. That was about 15 years ago, glad nothing has changed.

 

[TMHeimer]

Given I am typically one of the guys with the most air when I get back to the boat or shore, I'd say my air supply is fine. However, I tend to consider that as an affirmation of my approach. The salient point for me is I don't know what is going to happen in the future. The breath of air I save now could be the breath my buddy uses after a Great Lakes shark eats his hoses. Or whatever. I also know that my air consumption on the surface can be much higher than it typically is underwater. Swimming hard, excited, fighting with gear or lines, etc etc. I find my breathing Zen underwater, not above it. Even after a dive, you can't know for certain there is not going to be some emergency that requires you to head back down. Perhaps something heavy fell on you, like a church. Churches are heavy and they sink. Then you'd want all the gas you have.

I agree. Once in a while (like yesterday actually), I find myself a bit further from shore than I'd like, either due to tidal current or yesterday when the tide changed and the now outgoing tide coupled with the river current at it's mouth. I usually do a strenuous surface swim to get closer to shore, as at times the bottom can be flat silt with no reference and compass use is questionable unless you somehow stop and do the necessary complicated calculations (who actually does that as per the Nav course?). During such surface swims is about the only time I think of exactly how much air I have since most of my dives are very shallow. It's a good idea to never waste any.

 

[boulderjohn]

Being back on the surface with 500 psi should be adequate ... that's enough reserve to last you a long time on the surface. Who cares what you have back on the boat ... you are, after all, back on the boat. The whole point of surfacing with a reserve is to have adequate gas to deal with whatever conditions you might have to deal with to get yourself out of the water.

I think a lot of people don't understand this point. There is no benefit whatsoever to getting on the boat with 500 PSI. The benefit is in planning the ascent so that you will have 500 PSI when you get back on the boat, assuming everything goes well.

If everything does NOT go well, and you have planned to have that 500 PSI, then you will have the air to deal with it. For example, If during the ascent your buddy suddenly goes OOA, you will have enough to get the two of you to the surface safely. If you had instead planned your ascent so that you barely have enough air to get to the surface, you will not have enough air to deal with that or any other emergency. Once you are on the surface, the benefit of that ascent plan is over, and you are free to breathe as needed.

There is another benefit to that plan, in that doing so gives you some "breathing room" if you do a lousy job planning your ascent.

 

[73diver]

[/QUOTE]

Been around for years. Purely a myth, passed on from instructor to student. No agency backs it.

Actually PADI teaches that "Mask on forehead" is a sign of a panicked diver not a tired diver (Page 51 Rescue Diver Manual, published 2011). Mask on forehead rules are also passed down to basic certification levels as 'never do that' because it is 'symbolic' of panic. I was taught (NAUI) to pull the mask down around the neck. This prevented it being washed away if hit by a wave. FWIW, the Vintage Scuba Club, must have their ID picture taken with double hose mouthpiece around their neck and mask on their forehead just like Mike Nelson.

 

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

FWIW, the Vintage Scuba Club, must have their ID picture taken with double hose mouthpiece around their neck and mask on their forehead just like Mike Nelson.[/QUOTE]

Not True....You can have it on your forehead if you like but it's not a requirement.

 

[NAM001]

The logic of the complaint is really stupid. I have a lot of people asking about my well being when i dont have a mask on. To avoid thew foolish asking if i am OK be cause of mof I HAVE TO TAKE OFF THE MASK and either slip my arm through it or remove the necklace run it through it and put the necklace back on. or thread my long hose through it. There really should be more concern for missing a mask than where you are putting it to maintain vision.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I thought about this thread today when I put my swim goggles on my forehead when getting out of the pool. Good thing there was no lifeguard around to yell at me.