How to expell water from your mask.

[TMHeimer]

How could you POSSIBLY know my all time favourite quote from my all time favourite movie?

 

[pasley]

Hello all, I have been reading the PADI OW Dive manual and they state all the time that never ever hold my breath.

Very important that you never hold your breath. Ever. Regulator out of your mouth? Still you do not hold your breath, slow, steady stream of small bubbles and keep the airway open so if you should rise in the water column even just a few feet the expansion of the air has someplace to go.

So, if you are in constant and slowly breathing (In and Out) through your mouth/regulator and something happened and your mask fills of water.

Do I breath in through my mouth/regulator then forcefully expel the air through my nose to take the water out?...

NO, you do not FORCEFULLY expel the air. You do continue to breathe in through the regulator and GENTLY, SLOWLY exhale through your nose while looking up a bit to get the water against your face where the mask and face meet. The SLOW, GENTAL EXHALE will allow the bubbles to float to the top of the mask and force the water out the bottom. if you do it Forcefully some of (most) the air will be shot out the bottom of the mask and be wasted. This is not hard. My students, some of whom are paralyzed from the neck down can do it.

Thanks thank for your help,
G[/QUOTE]

 

[RJP]

How could you POSSIBLY know my all time favourite quote from my all time favourite movie?

"Well, you have to know these things when you're a king."

 

[Jim Lapenta]

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

Agency, part of the sei watermanship skills.

---------- Post added November 11th, 2014 at 05:53 PM ----------

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

For a snorkel yes. Get a simple j tube that does not have any kind of dry or semi dry top, does not have a lower purge valve, and is flexible yet not floppy. This is the one I use and the only one I stock. Welcome to UDM Aquatic Services
I can get others and will do so on request.
As for a mask - no. I used to do this and I do carry some that seem to fit many divers but truth is without having you in front of me to try them on it;s too much of a crap shoot. Most of my mask customers have purchased from me before and therefore know what they want. For those who have not I have a program where if you buy it and it does not fit you can return for purchase price refund. Minus shipping. You can clean it, try in the pool for 2 weeks. If it does not fit, as long as you have not scratched it, got it dirty, broke the strap, or some other damage I will buy it back or exchange it for another model. Same deal. All you pay is shipping. You can do this with up to three masks.

 

[PhatD1ver]

d 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.

Man, I am doing something wrong... I generally clear my snorkel as I break the surface, not below, hadn't thought about the fact that I could start pushing air thru it earlier

---------- Post added November 20th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ----------

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.

Welcome to the University SEALS... you didn't mention that I had to wear 12 pounds of weight while I did the snorkel skills (otherwise, I'd be floating on the top of the water, and the underwater swim wouldn't happen - yes, I am THAT bouyant)....

Maybe it creates comfort in the water, I consider it OVERKILL