Pt. Lobos, 3-24-09

[mikeguerrero]

I'm curious.

What's your thinking on why you were inhaling sea water as your mask flooded?

Assuming that your reg was working fine before, during and after the mask flooding, you are likely in the habit of inhaling a bit through your nose while diving. If that's the case, you should practice breathing with the reg and no mask. It's a learned skill and practice is key. Nose breathing could also lead to mask issues.

I've only owed one mask, Atomics Subframe. I've dove it 66 logged dives. It's never given me this type of failure.

However, on this dive I switched out the mask strap for the slap strap. The mask wasn't on tight as it usually is with the original strap.

This was my first clue that the mask was going to have a problem but I dove it away, thinking that perhaps a less tight fit would be okay.

I also thought that as I descended the pressure would keep the mask fixed on me without the help of the strap as much.

The entire dive I was clearing the mask, that was miserable, I placed so much air out of the mask constantly breathing through my nose I feel that at the end I someone had the mask create an opening at the bottom of my nose.

It was here that the problem arose and I couldn't see it. I'm currently using the Seadive mask which has a better latex seal than my Atomics.

However, I'm going to work with my Atomics in a pool to see what is going on, as I intend to use it as my backup mask in my side pocket of my drysuit.

MG
p.s
The reason I started drinking sea water is simple. When I couldn't clear my mask at all after four attempts I went into panic. I remember clearly, I couldn't see, everything was blurry, could only make out shapes, as I stood there holding onto the kelp my breathing became shallow and swift.

On every inhale I was forgetting to exhale through my nose to attempt another mask clear. I then started skip breathing my timming on my next inhalation. As I paniced to suck in air I would inadvertantly open my mouth and pull in some sea water.

I would then swallow the small amount of seawater followed by a full breath of air, I did this about 3 times before I got my breathing back into place.

I had to stop, think and act... Mask drills are easy when you are not in panic, but when you are in panic the simplest task becomes a problem, keep in mind I was really low on air and I knew that so that escalated my panic.

All these factors led me into missing my timming on breathing, trying to clear my mask and subsequently taking about three shots of sea water down my throat, not a fun experinece but of course an understanding of what panic feels like in the ocean down at depth.

 

[Anti-Hero]

Mike - This follows up PERFECTLY to what Ben_ca was telling you about new gear. Just look at how something so innocuous as a mask strap caused such an incident.

I'm really surprised by the number of "incidents" you've had lately. It seems each new dive report end with you in a state of anxiety or panic. Why do yo think this is all of the sudden?

 

[deltaVPR]

I am going to have to agree with don on this one...having seen the whole thing it did not look like mike was having serious problems. He was even alert enough to try and fix the problem by taking his mask of and putting it back on.

Breathing without a mask on is quite a shock, coupled with being frustrated that everything you have been taught is not working (aka clear the mask) can lead to a lot of stress. Mike was already stressed by having is mask leaking all dive and learning to handle his new rig. He is probably not yet 100% in his dry suit and the BP/W is new.

So how could this have gone better? Being more comfrotable breathing without the mask may have decreased water inhalation and stress, definitly something to practice. Not worrying about dry suit air would have made a huge difference. Trying to fix the quickly leaking mask immediatley would be best. Mike said he was waiting to turn the dive the entire time because of the mask...that is just building stress. Time to stop everyone and try to fix the problem. Even if mike had tried to remove and replace the mask at the begning of the dive I am sure it would have gone much smoother.

Mike is trying to make sure others dont make the same mistakes as him. I would say the biggest take away is to deal with problems as they arrise. Make sure you control your task loading and stress levels. And of course take it easy with new gear.

 

[Anti-Hero]

I hate cliches but the leaky mask was the first link in the panic chain.

 

[mikemill]

I remember seeing Mike's mask filled to right below his eyes when I looked at him after we grouped up before heading towards the other side of the channel for the swim back. I remember thinking that it must be hard to take pictures with that much water and wondering why he didn't clear it. I feel bad now that it didn't trigger a "hey something ain't right and we should try to fix it" moment.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Mike G.

This is just my O2 worth......

One of the first things we learn in Open water class is that any diver at any time for ANY REASON can call a dive.

In my Opinion you should have called this dive, fixed the problem and then continued on with the dive.

Mike, I am not bashing you buddy, I am just curious as to why you didn't stop the dive and fix the problem??? Instead of letting it get you to the point of panic!

 

[Hepcat62]

It was here that the problem arose and I couldn't see it. I'm currently using the Seadive mask which has a better latex seal than my Atomics.

So wait... You changed out the strap on the mask you've been using successfully for all of your dives, had a problem with the new configuration, and now you've switched to a completely different mask because you think it has a better latex seal?

Have you dived the new mask before? It didn't sound like it... It sounded like your mask wasn't sealing properly because of the way it was positioned. That's a human error - it doesn't matter how much better the skirt on another mask may or may not be, it won't help you in this case.

I'm a tremendous gear addict (I try very hard to control this w/ diving, mostly successfully), and I can't really judge anybody for always wanting something new, or thinking that new gear can solve a problem. I think in your case though, the best course of action is really to keep things as consistent as possible for as long as possible, starting now. Change NOTHING. Focus on consistency, control, and comfort.

Please don't take this the wrong way! I really enjoyed diving with you the one time I had the opportunity to do so, and I'd like to do it again sometime. I'm also not nearly so experienced as a lot of the other divers that have been giving you advice, but I do know what's helped me. Seriously though, I think you need to put a hard stop to the gear changes for 10+ dives (at least), to focus on the underlying issues that the gear changes just exacerbate.

 

[ryssyr]

ive got a dumb question... whats a slap strap?

On another note:::

I had a mask flooding problem on a liveaboard dive (deep to boot). It was completely full, so full it looked like it was clear, except my vision was all blurry. I knelt down and worked on it until I could flag a buddy (sarita) who came by and bopped me on the noggin to get the massive air bubble out of my hood and help me get my strap on straight.

my problem was the latex skirt was under the hood as its supposed to be but when I was descending I cleared the mask and the bubbles pushed under the hood causing it to lift up and pull my strap to the top of my head. Im sure that looked funny. now I routinely push down on the top of my hood to make sure its not lifting up or getting too much air trapped in it.

mask flooding is no joke.. its a pain and causes a lot of task loading.

I'll also second the 10 dive moratorium on new gear suggestion until you get really comfortable again. It took me a good 5 dives just to get used to the isolation feeling with my dry gloves. Its really interesting how minor changes can impact your perception while diving.

 

[dannobee]

ive got a dumb question... whats a slap strap?

Soft Mask Strap reviews and discounts, ScubaToys

Or

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=MaskStrapCovers


.

 

[ryssyr]

Thanks. I thought it was something new. I actually prefer the plain latex straps. They have some stretch to them and I like that better than the stiffer padded ones with fabric in these links.