Clearing someone ELSE's mask...

[DennisW]

Interesting solution. I'll have to put it in my bag of tricks. Good job.

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

if you have someone who can't figure out how to clear the mask during a dive.....

I read this as the beginning of a sentence whose ending is "then they shouldn't be diving in the first place"

 

[kiwiman]

ifionlyknew4
btk127

 

[snorkbot]

Just hazzarding a guess, but is it possible that she had never had to deal wth a real-life situation where she had to clear her mask? or had not done so in some time?

I am not all that far removed from my classroom days and the first time my mask flooded in a non-training scenario it was a very different experience than clearing my mask while kneeling in a circle with my instructor right there.

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

it was a very different experience than clearing my mask while kneeling in a circle with my instructor right there.

Very different how? Did you exhale out of a different nose or something? eyebrow

 

[Iruka]

Just to clarify, I was not her buddy, but her guide. Thank you for the "maybe the mask was too tight" suggestion....I agree, sometimes that is the problem. It turns out it wasn't the case. The next day she practiced clearing her mask "the usual way" shortly after descent, while still shallow. She also used the octopus the same way I'd done the day before. Except for that one instance, (which was caused by her trying to correct the positioning of the mask) she never had water in her mask, so these were just "practice" clearings. As for the "liability" issues, I never felt there was a problem in that regard. All I was doing was adding air to a flooded mask, which wouldn't endanger her in any way. IF she had been "actively panicking" trying to bolt to the surface, etc, I probably would have (as I have numerous times in the past) just accompanied her to the surface, keeping her ascent rate reasonable, and making sure the reg stayed in place. It seems that she just "forgot" to exhale through her nose when surprised by a mask full of water....that shouldn't happen, I know, with a certified diver, but it has & will happen in the future.
Anyhow, I just thought I'd mention it because 1) it worked, and 2) someone else might want to know about/consider it in the future. Naturally, for anyone who considers that "risky" they can always ascend with the diver to the surface. My experience, in general, to paraphrase the Las Vegas commercial campaign "what happens here, stays here"....."what problems you have underwater, you deal with underwater".....is that I prefer to avoid ascending during a dive if there's a possibility of separating the group. Of course, sometimes you have to surface, which I understand.

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

Panic on a dive because your face is all wet and you can't see as well? Strange indeed. I could understand if there were sinus problems. That's why I always have sudafed in my dive bag.

Its been a while since I was in scuba school, but don't instructors still make students dive without a mask sometimes?

I remember having the instructor rip my mask off my head, yank my reg from my mouth, and turn off my air while shaking me. When he stopped I had to turn on the air, purge my reg, and find my mask on the bottom of the river. Might not be a bad idea to reintroduce this into scuba classes.

Oh, by the way, great job on clearing someone elses mask. But if she was cute you could have always blown mouth to mouth until air came out her nose....

 

[Willie]

I remember having the instructor rip my mask off my head, yank my reg from my mouth, and turn off my air while shaking me. When he stopped I had to turn on the air, purge my reg, and find my mask on the bottom of the river.

I think that would have been my last experience with that instructor. JMO.

Willie

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

Well the guy was a former seal....

But people ought to know how they will react to a situation where everything goes wrong. As for a mask, it is not life support equipment. A lack of mask function should be treated as a minor annoyance at having to look very closely at your guages while the dive is cut short.

That being said, the original poster did a wonderful and creative job in dealing with the panic of a fellow diver. For that he should be commended.

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

I think that would have been my last experience with that instructor. JMO.

Willie

My instructor was the same way. You might as well learn difficult situations while in an instructional environment rather than out in big blue. I doubt that anyone certified by my instructor "forgot" how to clear their mask.