Mask on forehead=panic. Where did this mask signal originate?
- Thread starter Ty Hamby
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It is a good example of a great reward for little effort.
The classic curve of likelihood v impact looks like this:
A common example of low likelihood but high impact is Nuclear War...top left on the chart. The other extreme is high likelihood but low impact -- exchange of nasty letters between ambassadors -- lower right on the chart. the point is tht most thing fall on this curve somewhere. The point is to pay attention to things that are high impact, especially if you are diving. Also, pay attention to things that are moderate impact but way off the curve to the right, i.e., anomalously high likelihood even if only moderate impact.
A scuba example of high impact but low likelihood is complete loss of gas (e.g., gas bloockage, hose burst); we mitigate this by using doubles and an extra second stage, for example. the key is that we look at the difficulty of a mitigation measure: if it is easy to mitigate a high impact problem, then do it.
Mask loss is somewhere in the medium to high impact range....depends on if you can surface or not, for example. So we mitigate with a low difficulty measure: carry a spare mask.
When I took cave training, I asked about carrying a spare mask. My instructor said that in 40 years of diving and instructing, he had never seen or heard of a lost mask, and it was up to me if I wanted one.
I have not been diving 40 years yet, but I have never heard of one, either, although I was required to practice it incessantly in my early tech training. (When we were made to lose our masks, we were also made to lose our backups, too. On one dive, both my budy and I were required to lose both masks, so on that dive something that I have never heard of happening happened 4 times--you have to be ready for anything!)
I did break a mask once, but that was by accidentally sitting on it by a swimming pool. For that reason, I always have a backup in my kit.
I also broke the connection of the mask strap while setting up for a class. I was on the surface, a long way from shore, and I had to do about a half hour of diving after that. Rather then head to shore for a backup, I did the half hour dive without a strap. It isn't hard--just maintain a touch of negative pressure.
I have not been diving 40 years yet, but I have never heard of one, either, although I was required to practice it incessantly in my early tech training. (When we were made to lose our masks, we were also made to lose our backups, too. On one dive, both my budy and I were required to lose both masks, so on that dive something that I have never heard of happening happened 4 times--you have to be ready for anything!)
I did break a mask once, but that was by accidentally sitting on it by a swimming pool. For that reason, I always have a backup in my kit.
I also broke the connection of the mask strap while setting up for a class. I was on the surface, a long way from shore, and I had to do about a half hour of diving after that. Rather then head to shore for a backup, I did the half hour dive without a strap. It isn't hard--just maintain a touch of negative pressure.
Medium-to-high impact, but low likelihood. Not zero likelihood.
OK....last attempt....instructional training is only the beginning....water time and dive time experience is what truly makes a diver safe and that should continue; if they keep situational awareness and an open mind, as long as they dive they should become more competent and safer divers....if you only lock step with current practices and never question the validity of so called evolved understanding then you in my opinion will never profit from past practices that were time proven....sure, new manners of dealing with presented issues can be developed but all those stand on shoulders of what has gone before and fundamentals don't change.....the "what if' situations should and can be preconceived and solutions trained for...old axiom: "Be a thinking diver". Some folks and divers never link the experiences together nor pre-plan or practice solutions for the unexpected. Some 'wallow'
in the their past experiences or of those of other divers and improve their skills, knowledge and survival probability.If your knowledge base and skills terminate or or limited to your training time then you are limited in both.
As for some continuing a dive once a mask is lost this may be an individual decision based on necessity....perhaps if you need to exit an overhead or leave the bottom for the surface, then with or without any of your gear including the mask you must re-surface to survival....but to continue a dive without a mask just to prove you can comes down to personal choice and judgment.
Closing....I use this often and perhaps a good mantra for the adoption of any diving techniques or selection and use of gear.
Ask yourself : "if I could be wrong" and mean it. We all have a lot to learn.
Out here...stay safe.
Part of that is for instilling confidence.
I accidently popped a lens out of my mask on the way to a dive site (Socorro Islands). The Belle Amie crew were quite patient, and even found a small screwdriver so I could take the mask apart to reassemble it. A few minutes of delay, and it was an awesome dive with 100 hammerheads all around me. Magical.
Dive and let dive. We all have different experiences which mean we need different skills and needs. What works for you may not work for me. There was a user who contended I was going to die because I did not wear a weight belt but dove integrated weights, instead. He was completely convinced that I couldn't do a doff and don safely. All my students do it while being horizontal and in trim, so why not me?
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