NEW TO DIVING

[Mario S Caner]

Since you know you aren't 100% comfortable with the skill, I would highly encourage you to work on it thouroughly intsead of mearly doing it a few times and moving onto the next skill. Make sure you and your instructor keep practicing the skill over and over again until, it's something you can do in your sleep. It's very important that you overcome your tendancy to bolt. It seams like the natural thing to do, but it can often do more harm than good. Learn to relax, think, continue to breathe and then act calmly to solve any problems or difficulties you may encounter while diving. Tis the recipe for a fun and relaxed encounter in the aquatic realm!


Sea you in the Deep Blue!

 

[ScubaBurt]

Hi Joane,
Welcome to the world of underwater(pool water that is). The skills will come. Remember, this was your first time. When my wife and I were taking our OW pool class we were practicing the skill of removing our mask, putting it back on and clearing. Flo(wife)took off her mask and hit her regulator knocking it from her mouth. She very calmly found the regulator, placed it back in her mouth, purged it, then put her mask back on and cleared. Ta Da! The instructor told her she had just completed the next class. Seriously, the skills are a very important step in your many years of diving to come. They need to be second nature. Take your time and practice, practice, practice. Remember, you still have to do these skills in Open Water. Good Luck.

 

[joewr]

Joane,

You are going through what we all went through! Geez, I like that mask between me and that water! But, a lot of the uncomfortable things you will be asked to do are things that will make your diving more comfortable and safe! And, believe it or not, one of these days you will wonder what the big deal was!

And, as Mario so sagely said, bolting is definitely a bad idea. It is very hard to "bolt" when you are down at 50'--hard and dangerous. Also a little trick--when you clear your mask, you can shut your eyes--a very handy thing to do in sea water since it can sting some folks' eyes.

And, finally, I always thought Flo was the real pro, Burt!

Joewr

 

[Butch103]

Joanne Welcome to another "Wet Head" waiting to join the throngs of divers whom will take over the earth. Ha Ha Ha lol. Butch

 

[keralucu]

We're all scubanuts here! You will get the hang of removing your mask in the water eventually - it's just a matter of remembering to keep breathing thru the reg and not your nose! I actually enjoy taking my mask off and getting some cool water on my face...

Enjoy yourself and don't forget to come back and tell us all about your experiences.

Cheers

 

[Mitch]

Hi Joanne, welcome to the scuba world!

If I may offer a pointer about mask-clearing because I see this happen all the time. I had a friend who always had trouble clearing her mask, could not do it with any consistency, so I watched her do it once when we did a dive. This is what I saw her do.

When she would lift the mask away from her face, she pulled the entire mask away instead of just lifting from the bottom keeping the top sealed against her forehead. When you keep the top sealed against your forehead, it does trap the air you breathe out inside and displaces the water in your mask. However, if you pull the mask away, you lose that seal.

Of course, I do not know if that is what you were doing, but I would bet that it is. Most everyone who has trouble with mask-clearing (including me at first) does what I just described. Try that out the next time and see if it works.

Hope this helps.

 

[Laine]

Hi JoAnne from Michigan,

I always love to hear about couples joining the world of diving together. We started when our son was a senior in highschool. We thought we should find something he would like to do with his parents as he reached adulthood. Now he is off on his life adventure and diving has made our transition into empty nesthood exciting.

Laine