Mask removal skill = no fun..

[scuga]

For me if I need to do something tactile and my vision would not be able to help me I close my eyes or turn away.

I'll close my eyes to feel for something, for example once when I got frustrated with clipping my console to the wrong d-ring on my left side and my jacket was floating up so it was hard to see I closed my eyes a felt for the metal d-ring(not the bottom of the plastic buckle which is what I was getting) and 1. I did it with less stress 2. I did it more quickly without the confusion of pressing my BC down sticking chin to chest and looking

 

[rcs9250]

You don't really need to tilt your head back until the final bit of water is expelled. We showw people to start clearing it with your head vertical (we're kneeling) then as it is emptying tilt your head upwards to get the last bit of water to rest on your cheeks and then you are done.
We tell some folks that just really fight it to hold there nose closed while the mask is full , inhale then release nose and give a good exhale.
I've seen some folks do what I call explosive clearing . They must be taking a huge breath and then wham, exhale and instantly the mask is clear.
Also, as you are putting the mask on your head take a deep breath and as you are putting the mask on start exhaling through your nose and as you are sealing the mask up it is being cleared. If you run out of breath just take another one and finish the job.
Standards don't say it has to be done with one breath.

 

[CamG]

Greetings softballer and welcome to diving! You have some really great advice so far and created some awesome conversation. I think that all the nose breathers here on Scuba Board should start a club! I was the worst of the NB's and took a whole pool session to master it and really OW dive #1 till I got it down. As scuga and sdiver68 have mentioned biggest help was to relax and do it slow to master it. Since the struggle I have learned that the way to success is train, train, and train some more!
When we encounter issues they seem like mountains at times when really they are mole hills. Welcome these adversaries and learn them well, break them down part by part then conquer them! Relax be focused and determined. The more we practice the uncomfortable skills the better we get at them. Before long they become our strengths and then we progress into other challenges. Ever learning and ever evolving is my mantra when it comes to diving. In my short 3+ years of experience the more I learn the more I see I need to learn. We all are on our own path and enjoy the journey it can be bumpy but so worth every moment!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[tstormdiver]

I think that all the nose breathers here on Scuba Board should start a club!

Amen!!!!!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Ah yes. 16 hours is for the whole course, not for the mask skill... LOL

small detail there.

<small hijjack>
Jim, how do you see the issue of drilling skills that the student gets right away? I've noticed that most people get maybe 80% of the skills/material naturally without a whole lot of drilling. For example, showing cramp removal or towing a tired diver I don't focus on a lot of repetitions to see if they understood it... just 2 or 3 times on different days of the course.

For some skills I do, for example, mask skills, air sharing, and buoyancy control, to pick a few examples, get huge amounts of repetition, for some students more than for others, depending on their needs/performance. These are what I see as "core" skills". Do you guys make a distinction between core skills and non-core skills and focus more energy on the core skills or do you see all skills as equally important and subject to equal amounts of repetition?

Also, do you tailor you approach to the needs of the student or do they all go through the same number of hours?

I'm asking to get a sense of why you take 16 hours in the water with students. The PADI system is more "performance based" and I've had students who were naturals and could probably have learned to dive without an instructor and people who have taken considerably longer than 16 hours to reach a level of comfort that both they and we were comfortable with (I think the record to date for our shop is a little over 30 hours--maybe a *lot* over 30 hours, with some people we stop keeping track...LOL)

I'm curious how you see this
</small hijjack>

Rather than take this completely off track I'll answer you later in a new thread. I'm at work now and don't have time to describe my typical class from start to finish. I'll post it in the basic section later this afternoon or tonite.

 

[SkimFisher]

Congrats on doing mask clearing in cold water. That is a mighty achievement. Generally when water that cold hits the face, it can trigger the mammalian diving reflex, interfering with breathing.

I was going to say the same thing. If anyone has ever seen a free diver blackout you'll notice that most often they revive the diver by blowing and/or tapping on the divers face. Specifically around the nose and eyes - known as "blow, tap, talk" (or BTT). There was a good article I found on how/why this works but I can't seem to find it. But in a nutshell it is basically a reflex action. If you've ever splashed cold water on your face and had it "take your breath away" - basically the same thing.

Freediver Blackout - here's an actual example of BTT (though I believe the rescue breath here was more effective, you get the idea)

 

[SolarStorm]

Why do people do this with their eyes closed? I understand if you're wearing contacts, but if you're not, why not leave your eyes open?

For me, the issue is a Chlorine Allergy. I used to be a competitive swimmer. And the chlorine in a pool just about does me in. If I gulp some, or get it in my eyes, that could end my pool session. I still go to the pool, but will not open my eye in a chlorine pool. Ocean or lake, no problem.

But one other thing that I see the mask skill and the repitition doing, is providing a loaded excercise that can be done in a pool. One of the goals I assume in a course is that the student must become comfortable underwater. To do this the student must do "work" while below the surface. There are only so many tasks that a new diver can accomplish with minimal risk and this is one of them. Not to mention being prepared for what is probably one of the more common "emergencies".

 

[OldNSalty]

I did (and still) hate that skill. For some reason I have trouble blowing out my nose to clear the mask. I have found that if I exhale a bit out of my mouth and then switch to my nose I can do it easier.

This is one of those skills you will use often so get it down in the pool first.

 

[scottsax]

Puget Sound is COLD!! :cold:

I managed the mask removal/replace skill in OW class, but never did it again. A buddy wasn't watching where she was going, and wandered into my fins, and I kicked her mask off. She held it together remarkably well as she replaced it, but I was a nervous wreck thinking about how I would handle that same situation. I resolved to not be afraid of it anymore, and started beginning each dive by breathing through my reg with my mask off on the surface. Then, I started practicing mask removal and replace at the end of dives. Finally, I worked up to mask removal, retrieve backup mask and put it on, take it off, replace primary mask while at depth (+/- 30fsw or so.)

Like others, I don't open my eyes underwater because I wear contacts. I find that being blind is very liberating. It's amazing how dependent on sight I can become.

Keep practicing! It gets better!

 

[Fatterboy]

I also was not comfortable with this skill. I don't know if it was my claustrophobia or what, assuring myself (over and over) I had plenty of time may have helped. Another aid was my facial hair, my mask never seals. A small amount of water in my mask helps me keep fog from building and I have learned that breathing out through my nose with pressure at the top of my mask expells almost all water. I have tried expelling water while rolled over on my back, but my reg is harder to breathe this way. I have swam around with one hand on my mask and the strap dangling to prove to family the strap is only to keep your hands free for playing. My best friend was a comercial diver before he even received certification and has one of my greatest sources of dive wisdom, the second is Scubaboard. Thanks Ya'll.