Frustrating!!

[farsidefan1]

As one who has gone through 6 masks - only 2 of which fit right, I sympathize with you. The 2 that fit are identical. I got another one for a backup when I finally got one right. I wanted the latest greatest highest tech mask available. Low volume, anti glare blah blah blah. The one that works is the first mask I got. So much for high tech. Find one that fits your face and be happy. Just my .02 is that I agree, probable problem was hood initially then adjusting mask too tight. Good luck and happy diving.

 

[Guba]

Let me get this straight...the water was TOO CLEAR for comfort???

Now THAT is a problem we've never had in my neck o' the woods! lol

I agree with the others. Hang in there, get some experience, and advance when you are good and comfortable.

 

[freewillie]

I had a problem with my mask once when it kept flooding during the dive. It was the same mask I used many times before and usually really fits well.

Sometimes the silicone skirts can fold on itself. More likely to happen when diving cold water wearing thick gloves, makes putting mask on and adjusting little cumbersome.

Once my mask is on I generally take a finger and run it around my hood to make sure the hood does not interfere with the mask seal.

Make sure you hair doesn't get caught under the skirt either, a buddy is a good resource for this. Depending on how many dives you've mad together it might take a little bit of charades to communicate check mask for hair.

The problem I had was the mask strap wasn't sitting on my head properly. It was too low and wasn't allowing the mask to seal properly. I actually wound up taking off my glove during the dive to check the hood and for hair. That wasn't the problem. I got so frustrated with the flooding I just took the mask off altogether and replaced it underwater. Once the strap was properly positioned the flooding stopped.

I had run through almost 600 psi in just a few minutes after blowing into the mask to clear it and my hand felt like it was frozen when I put the glove back on but at least the flooding stopped!

 

[cnar]

Tried squeezing my nose which let water into my mask again.

This is usually a problem for me. You are way more fortunate since it only occurred once. I now have to prepare myself prior to diving. I make mental notes about what I have to do. I know that there is a particular way to pinch my mask to reduce the water or chance of water entering. When I remember to do this my dives are perfect, when I don't I struggle until I do or I just struggle.

 

[rivers]

Forgot to say, I only went to do advanced because I need to be at rescue diver level by summer....but I think it's time to rethink that option. I want to be comfortable in water.

Anyways, thanks for all your advice. I think it's my hood! The mask was fine with a different hood. Going to log more dives etc, and get used to using the gear and work on my legs hahah, it was comical trying to get out of the water...wish someone had a video camera

I think gaining more experience is a good option. There are tons of dives in the UK between 3 and 20 metres. Since I live down in London, I'm more familiar with south and southwest coast dives than any of the dives up north. There are 3 dives that I could do again and again down this way, and not be bored. the deepest is 20ish metres (James Egan Lane in Plymouth) and the shallowest is 3-5m depending on the tide (Swanage Pier). No need to rush through the deep stuff. No need to even rush through courses. Find a mentor, do some diving with friends. If I remember correctly, you're in uni, join the uni dive club if they have one. If not, I'm sure there are tons of dive clubs up in Edinburgh. Doing course after course won't make you a better diver. Working on the skills you have already acquired by just diving makes you a better diver.

 

[adutto]

I'll ask about the elephant in the room...
Why rush thru the certs?? Diving shouldn''t be about collecting badges in order to gain status, it is not like a video game
Guys, as instructors, there should be more common sense around this, it's people's life... we should asses every single person attending an advanced cert, again, there is no need to hurry... while some people may find it natural to get the advanced cert when they have 10 dives, others may not.

Due to this, we had a couple of accidents here in Argentina. People that took the OWD in the caribbean and got back directly after that to take the AOWD course (in our QUARRIES). Irresponsible instructors accepted that, and then accidents happened.

Again, I believe that it all goes back to seting the proper expectations... Why Rush?? Last time I check this was called RECREATIONAL DIVING right?

Safe dives for everyone!

 

[Edward3c]

Hi Kellykins,

You know you’re always welcome to come over to one of our training sessions on the West Coast.

Part of our buddy check training is to run an eye over each other. Last session I noticed my buddy had the mask seal over his hood on one side, yet he felt it was OK. Got it all sorted before we hit the water.

As many have said earlier, don’t rush, this is a hobby/sport/passion.

Kind regards

 

[Andreni]

When I dive in Switzerland in really cold water I "put" my face in the water without mask first. During gearing up, my face always gets sweaty and then my mask is leaking and fogging. The cold water helps to cool down and remove the last rest of face cream. Maybe this helps you too ?!

(Sorry for my spelling mistakes!)

 

[Nick c]

Don't rush into things too quickly, best thing would be to go to warmer climate such as Egypt, the water is warmer, clearer, minimal current & cheap. There are many companies to choose from, all the major ones will have patient qualified instructors who will help you with all your concerns. Once you have
30 or so dives under your belt, start looking at the AOW course and all the other speciality courses.
I only dive on vacations now, warm weather diver & would be happy to recommend places I've used. PM me if you wish.
all the best
nick

 

[mikeycanuk]

I distinctly remembered our instructor saying that we should go for our AOW as soon as we were OPW. Didn't feel right at the time and the more we've dived I've come to see this "advice" as at best "all about the $$$" and worst DANGEROUS. Especially where they do AOW. It's in a great dive spot in Ontario (Tobermory) but cold as hell! Talking full 7mm suit, hood, gloves and a 7mm farmer john over top, probably top out at 30lbs+ lead. For my 5th or 6th dive? Are you serious?

I must also add this shop had a dive in the Niagara river (down from the falls....) once a month. This dive was "all levels", but ONLY on that date, a misprint IMO (only saw it later). But not according to the dive shop when we called. All the other dates were advanced level. What did the river slow down? Never done a drift drive and have a jr diver with us. So we cancelled, but the shop wasn't happy.

We will do be doing our AOW in the St Lawrence this summer and we all are around 50 dives now. There should be a minimum # of dives before you are allowed to do AOW, but I'm not holding my breath. Again it's your safety and nobody cares about it as much as you do, so be careful out there.