How to expell water from your mask.

[tbone1004]

Lorenzoid, back then the classes were a lot longer and more thorough.....

If you want to try it in a pool, grab a lead weight, and sit on the bottom of the shallow end and you can flood and purge there, that's basically all they're going to do in class, you just don't have to stand up when you need to breathe. We also require our students to be able to do 5 mask purges on one breath, though most can get up to 10 in order to pass the class. This has nothing to do with a real world scenario but it is general comfort under water.

 

[namerg]

Actually it is not. Before I can put students on scuba they have to toss their mask in the deep end of the pool. Swim 40 ft underwater to it with fins on and put the mask on. After they do this they need to have the mask clear and the snorkel breathable when their head breaks the surface. This is also an exercise in my snorkeling and skin diving sessions for kids. I have 8 yr olds doing it. Due to their smaller lungs I do cut the distance though to 25 feet.
The trick is to keep moving and clear the mask first and use the remaining air to clear the snorkel on the way up. I learned to do this on my own as a kid. Guess I was about 9 or 10 at the time.

Thanks Jim. Do you have any recommendation for snorkel-mask ?

 

[RJP]

Before I can put students on scuba they have to toss their mask in the deep end of the pool. Swim 40 ft underwater to it with fins on and put the mask on.

Is that an agency requirement... or a Jim Lapenta requirement?

 

[tbone1004]

Jim requirement. We require our divers to do a full Mask, Fin, Snorkel ditch and don in order to be eligible to go to open water and 10% of their grade depends on it. TheyBeauty of NAUI over PADI. There is also a timed 800yd swim, first 25 are underwater, then next 375 are surface, then while treading water, have to put mask, booties, and fins on, then off to another 25yd underwater in snorkel gear, then a 375 surface kick. It's timed pretty gnarl and they have to complete that with a passing time to pass the class and it's another 10pts on the grade. Touching the wall gets penalties, so it's done in the water polo section of the pool. They also have to be able to swim under water 25m with no kick off from the wall and a clap/double OK before ascent in the dive well, it's not graded, but is required to go to open water.

There is no way any instructor could do this outside of a university, but it is also the reason most of the university divers are far better and more comfortable in the water than any other group of divers out there, but they have about 30 hours of bottom time on scuba before they even get to the quarry for OWT, and it's nice because it's spread out over about 14 weeks so there is time for everything to sink in. Granted, we also have the advantage of the DSO that wrote the program being one of the original cave divers, so things like putting a mask on your forehead gets you to go over to the water aerobics class and sing/dance to I'm a Little TeaPot, that doesn't happen more than once or twice a semester, and flutter kicking is taught for surface swimming but strictly forbidden underwater, so there are no bad habits to break by the time they get to tech training.

 

[RJP]

How do you expel water from your mask?

Well, since no one ever seems willing to come right out and tell students that they're asking the wrong question... I will. (tbone is on the money, but I suspect is too polite to just come right out and tell you that you're asking the wrong question.)

How do you expel the water from your mask? It's a trick question! You DON'T expel the water from your mask. You don't blow the water out of your mask. You don't CLEAR your mask.

I think such descriptions are why so many people ***k it up.

What you do if your mask has water in it is FILL YOUR MASK WITH AIR by gently exhaling through your nose.

If you fill your mask with air by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE there is no longer any room for water in your mask... because it's full of air!

So, what happens to any water in your mask if you FILL YOUR MASK WITH AIR by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE and there is no longer any room for water in your mask: THE WATER IN YOUR MASK WILL COME OUT THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE MASK.

On the other hand if you think about the skill in terms of needing to EXPEL the water you will not GENTLY EXHALE THROUGH YOUR NOSE. If you think in terms "expelling the water" you will absolutely "blow" air out of your nose... and right out the bottom of your mask. In the cruelest of ironies... in your effort to replace the water with air... the air has left your mask, and the water remains inside.

Which becomes frustrating... and often frightening. So you try even HARDER to EXPEL THE WATER. Which, we now understand, can be expected to be even LESS EFFECTIVE than the first time.

So... if people allow you to continue to think you are supposed to EXPEL the water from your mask, ultimately - with enough huffing and puffing and water up your nose and frustration - the mask will probably clear. Eventually. Or close to it.

On the other hand, if someone comes along and frames it within the proper context of what you really need to do (FILL YOUR MASK WITH AIR BY GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE) you will get it right the first time and every time. That's how my OW instructor taught me. That's how I teach it... in case you were wondering.

:d

With practice the skill can be demo'd to the point where almost no bubbles escape the mask while clearing it... which really helps make the point. I've actually had students ask me "where did the water go" or accuse me of somehow "drinking" the water out of my mask through my nose.

I've never had a student have a mask-skill problem hold them back. If you think in terms of filling your mask with air... I promise that you won't either.

 

[gypsyjim]

On a dive this Sept at Blue Heron Bridge I spotted a brand new lens from a mask on the sand, with the clear plastic label still on it.

My thought when I saw it was "I bet that mask leaks worse than mine with the torn skirt..:

 

[RJP]

Do you have any recommendation for snorkel-mask ?

Think about it... since the goal is to FILL THE MASK WITH AIR by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE you will want what's called a "low volume" mask. Less volume = less water = less air needed to FILL THE MASK WITH AIR by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE = easier time with skill. A larger mask requires more air, which makes the skill more difficult.

My personal recommendation is the Atomic Aquatics "Frameless" mask. If it fits you properly - which is of primary importance - it is the best mask on the market. Which it better be... for $110. I'm assuming most people sign up for scuba diving because they want to look at stuff under water, which is why I'm perplexed that the first thing most people do after they enroll in the class is try to save money when picking out a mask.

If you told me I could no longer dive with my Atomic Aquatics Frameless mask... I might consider giving up diving.

Snorkel? The crappy ones are nothing more than a plastic tube you can breathe through. Which is funny, because that's exactly what the most expensive snorkels are. I happen to like the Atomic Aquatics SV-1. It's kind of pricey for a plastic tube at $55... but it does match my mask.



I can dive with anything snorkel-wise. But my wife - who hates all things scuba and snorkeling related - actually has become more active snorkeling since I bought her an Atomic SV-1 snorkel. She says it breathes easier than anything else she's tried. So I tried hers and WTF... she's right! Turns out that it's actually a slightly larger bore tube than many others. Bigger tube = easier breathing.

Plus the mouthpiece is the most comfortable one I've ever used (I put Atomic mouthpieces on all my Aqua Lung and DiveRite regulators) and the flexible portion bends very easily so it doesn't feel like it's getting pulled out of your mouth. And, unlike every other mask out there, the part that attaches/unattaches the mask and the snorkel can actually be done by someone who doesn't have three hands and the patience of Job!

 

[gypsyjim]

Think about it... since the goal is to FILL THE MASK WITH AIR by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE you will want what's called a "low volume" mask. Less volume = less water = less air needed to FILL THE MASK WITH AIR by GENTLY EXHALING THROUGH YOUR NOSE = easier time with skill.My personal recommendation

On the other hand, once it is filled with water, and the pressure has equalized it quits leaking....

 

[tbone1004]

for specific mask/snorkel recommendations, the Hog Razorback is quite good and quite cheap so long as you don't have a big Roman nose.

Hog Razorbak Frameless Mask - Dive Right in Scuba
Piranha also has a very wide selection of masks that are quite cheap if you have a rather round face or a big nose etc. Both DRiS and Piranha have great support staff that will help guide you through mask selection, but the Razorbak is really a great all around low volume mask.
Masks

Simple J snorkel is all you need, you won't use it hardly ever after class, and will likely take it off, so get a cheap one and it'll be just as good as any other if you learn to use it properly
Oceanic BLAST SNORKEL | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba

 

[RJP]

On the other hand, once it is filled with water, and the pressure has equalized it quits leaking....