fear of losing mask

[TrimixToo]

I have had a mask kicked off at a safety stop. I caught it and put it back on. I had a mask strap on the edge of breaking, and when I removed the mask after the dive to see why the strap was loose I noticed the tear in the strap.

But the most memorable thing was what I saw sitting on a boat. A large area of the ocean suddenly effervesced, perhaps 20-30' across. This was from a first stage failure that vented someone's deco tank very quickly. Not long after that, the diver surfaced, having omitted 12-15 minutes of deco. It seems that the cloud of bubbles created a near-zero visibility situation and the sudden movements in reacting to the startlement caused by the failure and the bubble cloud caused the primary reg *and* the alternate to be hard to locate in turn.

The diver's buddy was close by when the failure occurred. In the ensuing rush by the first diver to get something breathable in hand under low-to-no viz, his mask was knocked completely off. He knew his deco obligation and had two more stops. He estimated depth with handwidths on the upline and counted down his stops ("one thousand one, one thousand two...").

Despite the omitted deco the diver with the reg failure was OK after agreeing (with some persuasion) to sit still and breathe some O2. The buddy surfaced sans mask and calmly swam to the boat, perfectly OK after completing deco.

I carry a spare mask in the pocket of my dry suit. If I did not dive in overheads and with a deco obligation on most dives I probably would not bother, but these real-life examples have adequately demonstrated to me that sh...er, "stuff" happens. YMMV.

 

[RockiesFan]

Yeah, kinda like being a Rockies fan...?
MOF can also mean better vision walking ashore around slippery seaweedy rocks.

Being a Rockies fan is a bittersweet roller coaster. I have yet to lose my mask on a dive, it's on the boat or on shore I misplace crap.

 

[Neilwood]

I was told that "mask resting on top of head" means the diver is in distress and needs help.

As a number of others have said it is a POTENTIAL sign of distress and should be taught as much (and no more). If it was truly a sign of distress my entire dive club would be in distress every dive and on the way back up the shore. Feel welcome to try to rescue them but be prepared for the barrage of abuse.

If I am on a surface swim in flat water, I see no point in having my mask on my face. It will be put on before I dive and put on my forehead when I surface. If anyone asks the question they will be told in no uncertain terms "Do I look like I am distressed?" except possible with expletives added.

If a diver is really distressed It will more than likely either be tossed completely along with their reg or, in my case, round my neck (I am more likely to rip it downward than off).

 

[happy-diver]

I just clip my mask off here.

on this side I clip my paralenz that only works half the time

and because my brain is small there's room for a spare mask

 

[Prostardiver]

My instructor onld me that he once dived with a guy who, every time he looked at him, was flipping him the bird. When asked why he was doing that, the diver said his strap broke and this was how he held it on. Well, he did have to finish the dive, didn't he?

 

[AfterDark]

Try putting the mask on before your hood, put the hood over the straps, your mask will stay on your face.

 

[wnissen]

Try putting the mask on before your hood, put the hood over the straps, your mask will stay on your face.

Are there disadvantages to doing it this way? Because it seems pretty handy, especially if you have heavy gloves on and have trouble feeling the skirt to see whether it's under the hood or not.

 

[sea_ledford]

Are there disadvantages to doing it this way? Because it seems pretty handy, especially if you have heavy gloves on and have trouble feeling the skirt to see whether it's under the hood or not.

Hood isn't as effective since it doesn't seal against your face all the way around. The degree to which the hood is held out depends on the mask design. If the water is cold enough to need heavy gloves, you will certainly notice the difference in head warmth though.

-Chris

 

[dmaziuk]

Are there disadvantages to doing it this way?

You could try it and report back.

 

[TMHeimer]

Hood isn't as effective since it doesn't seal against your face all the way around. The degree to which the hood is held out depends on the mask design. If the water is cold enough to need heavy gloves, you will certainly notice the difference in head warmth though.

-Chris

Never thought of that. Maybe I'll try mask inside hood next August here....