Patient unconscious after diving accident - Vancouver, BC

[John C. Ratliff]

I find it interesting that the mask is such a problem if it leaks or if the diver looses it. When I started diving, way back, I had already been on a swim team for several years, prior to goggles. We had swam for hours without anything over our eyes in the water, and suffered through the chlorine. For me, swimming underwater with a mask was quite nice compared to what we had to do for swim team.

This helped me out when I went through the US Naval School for Underwater Swimmers in Key West, FL as in our pool harassment session, my buddy and I simply took off our masks and handed them to the instructors when they came down to harass us. 'Kinda took the fun out of it for them, as all they had left to do was turn off our air, which they really could not do with our hands on each other's valve manifold. They turned it off, we turned it back on. They did not get us to the surface, which was their intent.

So if you want to really become more comfortable without the mask, swim some lengths without it (as some have said here) and get used to the loss of visual acuity (blurry vision), the feel of the water, and know how to breath comfortably with your nose in the water.

During my Air Force career, we made parascuba jumps, and our mask was always around our necks behind our head on entry. We had to do the initial phase of water entry, removing the parachute, etc., sans mask. Then, when we took care of the initial stuff, we could put the mask on and do our job (floatation collar on an Apollo capsule, or medical aid to injured, etc.).

So I believe that working comfortably in the water without a mask is a very important skill. I worry if someone feels it is an emergency, or needs to learn how to keep their orientation in open water, if the mask is displaced. It should have no bearing on how you dive, other than the loss of vision.

SeaRat

 

[paperdesk]

I find it interesting that the mask is such a problem if it leaks or if the diver looses it. When I started diving, way back, I had already been on a swim team for several years, prior to goggles. We had swam for hours without anything over our eyes in the water, and suffered through the chlorine.SeaRat

My thoughts exactly. This topic has troubled me. In my Open Water cert class, we were assured that you don't need to be a good swimmer, or even be able to swim at all, but as long as you can do the skills to pass the certification you can be a diver.

I was shocked to hear this but accepted it because it came from the instructor. Now I question it. It seems to me that someone must be comfortable in the water before they can be a safe diver. This may mean different things to different people, but I have come to the conclusion that everyone needs to be comfortable enough in the water to deal with simple things like water in the eyes or a little current or surge. Most people would need to have this level of comfort prior to taking the OW course, or would need to work on it in a very controlled way after cert. Just my 2cents, but it makes sense to me.

I'm a swimming instructor, so maybe I'm biased? If so, I'm sure I'll hear about it . . .

Ted