Did my first POOL Dive today!

[SBP Studios]

Everything went great, had no issues EXCEPT

Clearing my mask underwater!!! I just cant figure out why its such a hard concept for me but I cant for the life of me get the whole blow the water out of my mask while tilting my head back thing.

The DM worked with me for about 10 mins apart from the class but I thik got frustrated after i failed it about 12x...

The instructors said they will work with me more tomorrow on it. Would a purge mask fix the problem? I feel like I panic and when ive got the reg in my mouth I just cant exhale through my nose, it just wants to come out my mouth.

Sooo frustrating!

 

[LOG-SPLITTER]

Dont feel bad lol took me many tries and I still hate doing it lol!!!

 

[Fordan]

The instructors said they will work with me more tomorrow on it. Would a purge mask fix the problem? I feel like I panic and when ive got the reg in my mouth I just cant exhale through my nose, it just wants to come out my mouth.

I doubt a purge mask will help you if your issue is a reluctance to exhale through your nose. Water still can and does build up in a purge mask, especially if there's more pressure outside the mask than inside, which is likely if you aren't at least occasionally exhaling through your nose.

What a purge mask does do is make it so you don't have to tilt your head back to clear, and gives air and water a way of exiting the mask without passing through the seal against your face.

I have all of one pool session in with my purge mask, so if I'm wrong on this, someone please correct me.

 

[Eagle-scuba]

Some people are just mouth breathers, it seems quite common, something learned and used since youth, ...don`t get frustrated...just try different methods, ..I often tell people to put the tip of their tongue at the top of their mouth and touch the back of the front teeth, then as you exhale, make you tongue seal the roof of you mouth and throat closed ,...then exhale thru your nose.. breath in and keep the tip of your tongue at the back of your front teeth.....sound weird, but with practice it will help adjust you issue under water...and after a while it becomes habit.Try it sitting around and practice before you go to your next pool session.....see ya` under

 

[Don Wray]

You can do a search on mask clearing and you should turn up alot of good suggestions and see that alot of others have/had the same problems. Just remember, you never solve problem areas by supplementing equipment. Practice, practice practice.

 

[Reggae Joe]

Everything went great, had no issues EXCEPT

Clearing my mask underwater!!! I just cant figure out why its such a hard concept for me but I cant for the life of me get the whole blow the water out of my mask while tilting my head back thing.

The DM worked with me for about 10 mins apart from the class but I thik got frustrated after i failed it about 12x...

The instructors said they will work with me more tomorrow on it. Would a purge mask fix the problem? I feel like I panic and when ive got the reg in my mouth I just cant exhale through my nose, it just wants to come out my mouth.

Sooo frustrating!

Lol...I know what you're talking about. Mask clearing and mask removal skills were pains in my arse during my certification. I was jealous of my girlfriend when she did her skills...she just took her mask right off without any problem. Took me about 4 trys to get it down.

Like Eagle and Don said, it's harder for some, but keep practicing it, and it'll all be cool. It's a good skill to be familiar with, especially if water gets in your mask while diving. Just follow your instructor's lead.

Happy diving!

 

[JodiBB]

You know what??? You're not alone....practically EVERYONE who first comes to this board has the same issue/complaint/concern. If you do a search, you'll find this topic 100's of times.

Sounds like you've got a good instructor who is willing to work with you on this skill. Keep at it and follow the suggestions that have been posted on these and other similar threads....before you know it, you'll have it down pat!

 

[Scuba_Shark]

I know exactly how you feel and what you mean, I had the same problem and I still don't really like doing it.

 

[diver_pirate]

Practice in the air at night with your mask in place breathing through your nose with your mouth shut until your mask begins to leak air. Do this until it is easy. Then add the water the next day and remember to only hold the top of the mask to your head so the air leaks out the bottom. Taking away some of the complexity helps get the skill developed.

 

[SBP Studios]

Practice in the air at night with your mask in place breathing through your nose with your mouth shut until your mask begins to leak air. Do this until it is easy. Then add the water the next day and remember to only hold the top of the mask to your head so the air leaks out the bottom. Taking away some of the complexity helps get the skill developed.

I can do it with my mouth shut, I just cant do it with the damn Regulator in my mouth! Frustration bigtime.

Last Pool dive is tomorrow. Then next weekend out to the lake. We will see how it goes.

Loving Scuba so far!!