Completed OW but had some issues.

[jasonX5]

This weekend my fiance and I finsihed our open water dives. We did our dives in a dingy freezing cold 5ft viz lake. She was nervous the whole time. Eventually she got comfortable until it came to 1 particular skill. We had to do a full mask removal from 15ft down put it back on and clear it. She pulls her mask off and then she sniffs water up her nose she goes shooting to the top like a rocket. :11:

This totally catches our DM off guard so I grab the bottom of her fin (not sure if that was right or not) This gives the DM enough time to force a reg in her mouth. She comes to the surface and is coughing up water. After some hesitation she tries again it takes her 20-30 seconds to clear her mask and we've finally finished. I'm still a little worried what would happen if her mask ever comes off. Would a mask purge help a fully flooded mask?

She said she feels comfortable underwater except when her mask comes off. I told her we're going to have to keep practicing this in a pool from 3-4 feet down so if she rushes to the surface she can't blow a hole in her lung. What can I do to help and calm her down? She hated the lake due to the viz which admittingly made it scarier. We're going on a trip to Turks & Caicos soon so I want her to be comfortable. She said once we're in good viz that isn't freezing she will be a lot more comfortable. Any suggestions???

 

[RICHinNC]

A couple of things I see.

Good idea on the pool. You dont have to be in a quarry or the ocean to practice skills. And, the mask skill seems to be the number one problem skill for OW.

She needs to practice that skill so much she can do it in her sleep.

I get blasted a lot when I say this...but I will say it again....(load up guys)...I see nothing wrong with if she looses her mask in a real situation why she cant hold her nose with one hand....just to calm down. Certainly she needs to acquire the skill of breathing without sucking in water up her nose.....but in a pinch....PINCH.

Second, thinking being in T&C with great viz and beautiful fishies will make a diff.....she is just kidding herself. The first time she loses her mask and sucks water up the nose....the viz and fishies wont mean squat. Practicing practicing and more practicing is what will make the difference. And your encouragement and support...NOT PRESSURE>

Good luck...let us know how it turns out.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

practicing in the pool is a good idea. a purge mask may help but with out actually observing her technique it would be hard to pinpoint the clearing problem. usually this is from not exhaling from the nose only, holding the mask too far out, tilting the head up too far or not enough, or because on that day the moon was only half full. There are so many variables. How did she do in her confined water? It may be that warm clear water will relax her and do the trick. You could try a purge but being new she'll need proper instruction and practice with this also. I would first go to the instructor or a certified DM and ask if he/she could observe her technique and make the necessary corrections. It is usually one small but critical attribute of a particular skill that can make the whole skill go bad. As I said holding it out too far, not pressing down in the right way, exhaling improperly, etc. It should normally take only about a 1/4 to 1/3 of a breath to clear a fully flooded mask. Hope this helps.

 

[DiveMaven]

I have to agree 100% with RichinNC...she should practice that skill in the pool until she's comfortable. I also agree that there's nothing wrong with pinching the nose some. If she pinches her nose after taking the mask off, she can self-talk and say "breathe in through the mouth, out through the nose" to herself. Then she'll be more able to slowly let go of the pinch and take a breath or two before putting her mask back on. She can slowly increase the number of breaths she can take before putting her mask on, and eventually may not have to pinch her nose at all.

 

[RICHinNC]

Oh I forgot.... a purge mask will do nothing for her but give her false security. If someone comes a long and knocks her mask off what good is the purge? Its the skill she needs.

Ya know...ya get old and just forget things sometimes.....I think... not sure....I forgot.

 

[MikeeH]

Jason,
I'm taking a wild guess that you were at Dutch Springs. I was there on Sunday and didn't find it bad at all. Sure, it ain't warm water, sandy bottom, reef diving but with the 7mil FJ on I was very comfy and the viz for our first dive at about 10 AM was a good 40 feet; viz dropped to 20 feet by our 3rd dive after lunch. The place (IMO) is a great training and skills mainteniance facility. Personally, although I had some bouyancy issues (experience will help to correct that) I enjoyed it and plan on getting an annual pass so I can keep my skills up between the trips to paradise.

As for your fiancee, if she was anxious going in I'm sure the conditions didn't help as it wasn't what you imagined when you planned this for your trip. Mask clearing skills should be the same at any rec diver depth so work with her in the pool and keep the visions of swaying coral, trigger fish and rays swimming about in her head!

I'll be back at Dutch this Sunday for my final 2 OW dives and I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[TSandM]

I had a horrible time with mask skills in OW, and had a panic attack like your fiance's, although the instructor supervising me kept me from shooting to the surface (I wanted to!) In addition, my OW dives were in cold water and VERY poor visibility, and were definitely anxiety-producing. One of our best friends got certified right after me, and mask clearing was such an issue for her (even in the pool) that she wasn't sure she could get through the course.

For her, pool practice was the thing. Swimming around our little pool with her mask off helped her realize that she COULD, and replacing and clearing the mask repeatedly in the pool built the confidence she needed to do it in the cold water. But it's harder there, no doubt about it.

Your fiance may never be tremendously enthusiastic about diving in cold water and poor viz, and if we are all honest, who is? I've gotten used to the cold water, but I still like diving better if I can see my buddy and the bottom My husband took me to Maui after we finished our OW and I got to do five dives in warm, clear water, and that built my confidence enough to come home and tackle the chilly murk again . . . and I won the second time!

 

[jasonX5]

Jason,
I'm taking a wild guess that you were at Dutch Springs. I was there on Sunday and didn't find it bad at all. Sure, it ain't warm water, sandy bottom, reef diving but with the 7mil FJ on I was very comfy and the viz for our first dive at about 10 AM was a good 40 feet; viz dropped to 20 feet by our 3rd dive after lunch. The place (IMO) is a great training and skills mainteniance facility. Personally, although I had some bouyancy issues (experience will help to correct that) I enjoyed it and plan on getting an annual pass so I can keep my skills up between the trips to paradise.

As for your fiancee, if she was anxious going in I'm sure the conditions didn't help as it wasn't what you imagined when you planned this for your trip. Mask clearing skills should be the same at any rec diver depth so work with her in the pool and keep the visions of swaying coral, trigger fish and rays swimming about in her head!

I'll be back at Dutch this Sunday for my final 2 OW dives and I'm really looking forward to it!

Acutally, we were at a lake in Texas.

 

[Jamiek]

Jason,

As an instructor myself I can not tell you how many times I have seen this happen. This skill is the most important skill she will ever learn and it does not need to be done fast just done right. A purge will help a little but if she has problems with clearing and water up the nose, the purge will help minimally. Being in limited viz and cold water will play a factor in the comfort level of any diver, new or experienced. All she has to do is just practice and I recommend that you put a hand on her shoulder to make her a little more comfortable. This usually works for my students. All in all, keep to warmer tropical waters like I do in Florida.

Happy Diving,
Jaime

 

[jeckyll]

I just finished my cert. dives on the weekend. In our group, we had a similar situation (one girl freaked a bit on the first mask flood and went up, but the instructor was there the whole time and was prepared).

I believe that the cold water is a contributor. It's a shock. And I think that initially, a quick holding of the nose is really not a big deal.

When we practiced in the pool I practiced about 5 or 6 mask removals, including several no mask swims. I found that once I was in proper trim and the bubbles from exhaling were not going directly past my face, I didn't have a big problem and didn't need to hold my nose. However, when I was kneeling I had a much worse time (due to the air bubbles going past my face & up my nose) and I had to hold my nose a bit.

I would say that it's an important skill to be able to do. Anytime you have a situation that can cause you to panic to the point of an uncontrolled surface, you have a potentially very dangerous situation. Just imagine a reg / spg or anything else getting snagged on the way up and holding the diver down.

The repetitive pool practice really made the difference to myself. Don't get my wrong, I don't like the mask removal in cold water ( it was between 45 & 49 on the weekend ) but I feel that if I had to do it I can stop, think and work my way through it.

My $0.02 (and that's Canadian, so not worth much )

Best of luck to you and your fiance!

Bjorn