Mask flooding - panicking

[TSandM]

I think you're completely right, Pete.

I had an odd experience when we made our recent trip to Canada. Water temp was 43, which was the coldest I've been in. We were boat diving, which meant that, unlike my dives at home where we wade in and have plenty of time doing equipment checks and all to get used to the water, here we were just leaping in. The first dive, I hit the water, and began to swim around to the granny line to pull myself to the bow. I found myself acutely short of breath, to the point of pulling my reg out of my mouth because I felt like I couldn't get enough air. I'm hanging on the granny line and thinking, "I'm having a freaking PANIC attack, sitting on the surface, hanging onto a rope!" It took a couple of minutes of really focusing on my breathing to get things under control.

What I discovered was that this was going to happen to me EVERY time I jumped into that cold water. My husband had a similar experience. Sudden immersion in very cold water does strange things to your physiology.

I didn't try to flood my mask on any of those dives, but I probably should have at some point, just to find out if I could cope.

 

[Thalassamania]

Mask flooding, like air sharing should, IMHO, be part of the standard drill a the start of the dive. And yes, serious PITA in really cold water,

 

[TeddyDiver]

In a real case most propably some Maxwell Smart will kick of your mask, and regulator too, so this is the scenario to practice.
1. Swim aside away from the moron before he knocks you of.:11: 2 Recover 2nd stage and breathing. 3 Show the finger and deal with the mask (if you still got it)

 

[MikeFerrara]

I haven't had a mask kicked off in years. Not since we stopped diving in packs. The last time it did happen, I got kicked good and it not only knocked my mask sideways on my face but just about jammed the regulator through my teeth and knocked me half silly too. If you're going to practice for this, you have to learn to take a punch.

The last time I lost a mask was when I still had one mask left with a rubber strap on it and it broke on a dive with students. It was great entertainment for the students and it didn't hurt near as much as a kick in the head.

The time before that...well I'll leave that alone for now.

Anyway, if you're getting kicked in the face very often you need to be hanging with a better crowd...or just keep getting kicked in the face...as you wish.

 

[spectrum]

More than once I have raised a forearm just in case!

 

[labaum]

The EXACT same thing happened to me the first time I used a hood (not that long ago).
I dive in South Florida, usually during the warm months, and signed up for a lemon shark dive in December.
My story was your story, same problem and same rotten reaction on my part.
The only good news is that I hadn't gotten too deep or too far away from the boat so I surfaced, climbed aboard, ditched the hood, and was placed back over our site (and found my group).
The issue, of course, was not the initial flooding or my inability to clear a flooded mask. The issue was that the mask would never clear.
All and all it was another good lesson about Murphy's Law, particularly when diving with new gear and, with the relatively colder water (for me), diving in unfamiliar conditions.

 

[Buoyant1]

The easiest solution to that kind of problem is to just get used to being underwater with NO mask on...then when those kind of problems occur, it won't be a panic situation...that's actually one of the easier "problems" to overcome IMHO..prior to diving, I NEVER opened up my eyes under water, EVER! In fact I had to towel off my face before I could! Now it's a no brainer, nothing thing..because when it HAPPENS it's not while you're comfortably kneeling on a platform at 30 ft, you'll be at 75 ft and not expecting it!

 

[Buoyant1]

Mask flooding, like air sharing should, IMHO, be part of the standard drill a the start of the dive. And yes, serious PITA in really cold water,

The "ice cream headache" from HELL!!!

note to self...buy FULL FACE system!

 

[Thalassamania]

The "ice cream headache" from HELL!!!

note to self...buy FULL FACE system!

Even with a FFM! Maybe, especially with an FFM.:shakehead

 

[Buoyant1]

Even with a FFM! Maybe, especially with an FFM.:shakehead

Ok then...run the hose from your drysuit "pee-valve" up through your mask over your nose, then back out the "pee dump"...Nah...I just need to move south!