Clearing someone ELSE's mask...

[Iruka]

Just thought I'd throw this out in case it might be useful for anyone in the future. Had a couple of divers the other day, on their third dive of the day. They were fairly experienced and seemed competent enough through the first two dives.

On the third dive, however, one of them, at about 12m/40', in dealing with her mask, managed to nearly flood it. I could see she was exhaling from her MOUTH in trying to clear the mask, which won't work, of course. I tried to signal to her to breath out through her nose, and wrote that on my slate as well, but about half the time her eyes were below the mask water level, so she wasn't getting the message. I also tapped her nose (lightly, of course ) through the mask, to try to indicate the same thing. No luck. Her eyes kept getting bigger, and she wasn't making any progress on clearing the mask, and she'd been at it for maybe 30 seconds already.

Anyhow, I cracked open the lower skirt of the mask, and purged my alternate/octopus right under the mask. It was enough to get nearly all the water out of the mask, and we were able to communicate more effectively & continue the dive. The funny thing is, in diving the next day, she tried that HERSELF a couple times....don't know if it was just for fun, or if she has some sort of "issues" in mask clearing. Don't think I'll be teaching that technique (I suppose I'd have to name it after her, if I did, ha ha) but it might be something to try as a last resort if you have someone who can't figure out how to clear the mask during a dive.

 

[El Orans]

Hmm, may be a nice trick for my next dive...

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Thanks for sharing. That was a very creative approach to a unique situation.

 

[scubavili]

Haha! Good story!

 

[shugar]

Hmm, may be a nice trick for my next dive...

yeaaaaah hehehehehehe.... i owe chip bigtime hehehehehehehe (insert VERY evil grin here)

Jag

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Nice job, Chris!

 

[Mr.X]

It was a very considered action you took ... did you, or others get a chance topside to speak to this diver?

From an instructional perspective - If she cannot execute a standard OW exercise (clearing the mask properly) there is no way she should be diving. Personally, she should be in a remedial class where she understands this technique backwards and forwards before trying another OW dive. Also, from a litiginous aspect she received instruction (from a fellow bystander) and if she injured herself using this technique could have a lawyer use this as well as other actions as a part of a lawsuit.

Sorry, just looking at her strange actions from litiginous perspective. X

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I helped out some newly certified divers who were flooding their masks by opening the bottom of the mask, and then having a hard time understanding why they were getting water up their noses. Sheesh... LOL

 

[Iruka]

It was a very considered action you took ... did you, or others get a chance topside to speak to this diver?

From an instructional perspective - If she cannot execute a standard OW exercise (clearing the mask properly) there is no way she should be diving. Personally, she should be in a remedial class where she understands this technique backwards and forwards before trying another OW dive. Also, from a litiginous aspect she received instruction (from a fellow bystander) and if she injured herself using this technique could have a lawyer use this as well as other actions as a part of a lawsuit.

Sorry, just looking at her strange actions from litiginous perspective. X

Yes, we talked after the dive, and she "knew" how to properly clear the mask, but apparently the unexpected (as is usually the case) water in her mask panicked her slightly...not enough to where she bolted to the surface, but enough that she wasn't doing what was needed. Sometimes, if I have divers who are having trouble clearing the mask, if I can get them to exhale from their nose, I'll take care of the rest (tilt the mask as needed.) In this case, since I couldn't get her to put air into the mask, I tried something different. It's quite surprising sometime, for people who are pretty much self-sufficient in the water, to see the level of some certified divers.

 

[Divingnthedark]

Just wondering if possibly her mask doesn't fit her face? Been there on a liveaboard and just gave up on trying to clear it because it filled up just as fast as I could clear it. Gave that mask away and used a smaller mask with proper fit haven't had a problem since. Just a thought since she had problems the next day...