Wearing mask on the back of your head

[AJ]

The rule I work to is until I am certain I cannot accidentally enter water too deep to drink my way out of, my mask and reg stay put. I do not think this is a bad habit to be in.

No, it's not a bad habit at all. But different divers have different ways of doing things.

I don't normally feel the need because a) I checked all my gear before entering the water, b) I want a clear view and no clutter entering or exiting the water. Btw, boat diving to me is different from shore diving. While boat diving or hauling heavy equipment like a DPV while entering the water I do wear mask and reg. It's not a rule, it's something I asses before entering the water.

 

[Gareth J]

Getting out is probably the worst time not to have a reg in your mouth and a mask on your face. I have seen umpteen divers fall on their arse walking up the slipway at our local training site. When their head hits the water when they are not expecting it, and they are pinned down by heavy kit, something about their body language usually tells me that they really wish they could see and breathe.
..............
The rule I work to is until I am certain I cannot accidentally enter water too deep to drink my way out of, my mask and reg stay put. I do not think this is a bad habit to be in.

Funnily enough, Sunday I saw someone slip off the ladder at a very benign inland dive site as they exited. They where coughing and wretching all over the place once back on the surface. They had taken their reg' out and swallowed a lung full when they hit the water.

There are nice simple guidelines we teach, reg in, mask on until clear of the water. Simple! Reduces a whole load of potential incidents, from the minor to the major.

As any instructor knows, the inexperienced pick up the bad habits really quickly. Some can be a minor irritation, others a serious risk.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Getting out is probably the worst time not to have a reg in your mouth and a mask on your face.

Getting out of the water is a completely different scenario. No one should take their mask off until their buddies are out of the water too.

 

[caruso]

No one should take their mask off until their buddies are out of the water too.

To be sure I understand this. Let's say you return to the surface with your buddy and a group of other dives, say around 8 total. As you make your way along the tag line to exit, your buddy happens to be about 5 divers behind you. A crewmember is assiting dives as needed as they return to the boat. So you're up the ladder, you walk across to your spot on the boat, sit down, and do what exactly? Take off all your gear except your mask? Take off none of your gear until your buddy is seated next to you? Or none of the above. Because none of the above is what I would do, I'd be out of my gear and might have a bottle of water ready for my buddy but that's about it.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

To be sure I understand this. Let's say you return to the surface with your buddy and a group of other dives, say around 8 total. As you make your way along the tag line to exit, your buddy happens to be about 5 divers behind you. A crewmember is assiting dives as needed as they return to the boat. So you're up the ladder, you walk across to your spot on the boat, sit down, and do what exactly? Take off all your gear except your mask? Take off none of your gear until your buddy is seated next to you? Or none of the above. Because none of the above is what I would do, I'd be out of my gear and might have a bottle of water ready for my buddy but that's about it.

I was referring to shore diving. If the boat has someone ready to respond, then sure I’d get out. Otherwise I’d let the other divers go past me and get out first. I’d get out right before or right after my buddy.

 

[TMHeimer]

On boat dives I do what is always recommended--mask stays on and reg in until back on board. Shore dives it varies a lot. Mask stays on if rough surf. If it's calm and I could see it easily on the bottom if dropped I may take mask off and hold it along with my fins. May just go the dreaded MOF! It's easier to see slippery algae/moss covered rocks without your mask on, plus better peripheral vision. To me that sounds safer. It really varies as to what I do.
I never mess around with mask on backwards or around my neck. I've had several straps and buckles break over the years and don't want to do anything extra to encourage that.

 

[Bob DBF]

Mask stays on if rough surf. If it's calm and I could see it easily on the bottom if dropped I may take mask off and hold it along with my fins. May just go the dreaded MOF! It's easier to see slippery algae/moss covered rocks without your mask on, plus better peripheral vision. To me that sounds safer. It really varies as to what I do.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

After falling at the shoreline I started using a bungeed backup and lengthened the hose between the boltsnap and primary second stage so I can easily access one or the other quickly. I usually make long surface swims to and from the dive site so the regs are stowed until I get to the site.


Bob

 

[chillyinCanada]

A sad situation happened here a few years ago. A new diver exiting the water slipped and fell backwards, landing turtled in the lake. The buddy, already up on shore and talking to someone else, hadn't been watching. By the time the buddy got back to the turtled diver, it was too late. I've often wondered if mask on, reg in, would have saved a life that day. Just something to think about.

 

[Gareth J]

A sad situation happened here a few years ago. A new diver exiting the water slipped and fell backwards, landing turtled in the lake. The buddy, already up on shore and talking to someone else, hadn't been watching. By the time the buddy got back to the turtled diver, it was too late. I've often wondered if mask on, reg in, would have saved a life that day. Just something to think about.

As I said, bad habits are picked up quickly.
More experienced divers often forget, their behaviour is copied by new divers. That includes the bad habits, unfortunately, its that bad habits that seem to get picked up the fastest - and retained.

 

[Gareth J]

No, it's not a bad habit at all. But different divers have different ways of doing things.

I don't normally feel the need because a) I checked all my gear before entering the water, b) I want a clear view and no clutter entering or exiting the water. Btw, boat diving to me is different from shore diving. While boat diving or hauling heavy equipment like a DPV while entering the water I do wear mask and reg. It's not a rule, it's something I asses before entering the water.

In many ways, I think boat diving is far safer than shore diving.

• Normally its easier to enter and exit the water (in the UK we generally have lifts - so getting a casualty out is a lot easier.)
• The boat will come to you.
• You have fast communication with the emergency services.
• You have exact location information (GPS).
• Getting help is often easier/quicker (RNLI, Coastguard, medical etc).
• You have trained surface cover - the skipper

You don't have to contend with surf, bad footing, or any of the other complications of shore diving.