Hi everyone.

[KY_BOB]

I'm Bob from Kentucky. I'm a total newbie to diving. I'm currently enrolled in a SSI open water class. I got started on my first confined water skills last weekend and had major problems with mask clearing. I started searching the net for tips and ran across this forum.

It appears that there is a wealth of information here and I can use all of the help that I can get.

 

[Land Locked]

Greetings Bob!

Where abouts in KY are you located? Come on over to the KPP, link in my sig line.

Maybe you can meet up with some of our locals and we can share experience!

 

[Jchoby]

Welcome to the board..... Take your time, relax and practice and you'll get the mask clearing down. If you can get comfortable breathing through the reg without the mask and work towards donning and clearing the masking in a relaxed and controlled fashion, you'll find that its not that bad. You don't have to be a speed demon.

 

[waterbearer]

Hi Bob and welcome!

Some tips I give my students (mask clearing is usually the toughest skill to master)...

Ever been skiing or biking? You know how it's never easy to blow your nose? It's a bit gross but comparing the mask clearing skill with "snot-rocketing" usually does the trick. I also have my students stand in the shallow end with no mask, put their reg in, face in the water and get used to breathing in through their mouth and out through their nose. You can also practice that at home using a snorkel before your next class.

Good luck and welcome to diving!

 

[k ellis]

Thats what I would suggest too. If you can find an indoor pool at this time of year take your snorkel and practice in the pool. Also when you flood your mask the standards require you to clear it but dont specify a time limit. So pull your mask away slowly let it flood then if necessary after its completely full take it off and place it back on and blow the water out. Just practice makes perfect

 

[KY_BOB]

Greetings Bob!

Where abouts in KY are you located? Come on over to the KPP, link in my sig line.

Maybe you can meet up with some of our locals and we can share experience!

I live just outside of Dawson Springs on Lake Beshear. I taking my class through Pennyroyal Scuba Blue Springs in Hopkinsville. Ever been there?

 

[KY_BOB]

Hi Bob and welcome!

Some tips I give my students (mask clearing is usually the toughest skill to master)...

Ever been skiing or biking? You know how it's never easy to blow your nose? It's a bit gross but comparing the mask clearing skill with "snot-rocketing" usually does the trick. I also have my students stand in the shallow end with no mask, put their reg in, face in the water and get used to breathing in through their mouth and out through their nose. You can also practice that at home using a snorkel before your next class.

Good luck and welcome to diving!

Thanks for the welcome. Actually, clearing the mask isn't the problem. When the mask is off I can't seem to keep water out of my nose.

The instructor passed me on it in confined water but if I were him, I wouldn't have. I did it but I sucked and within seconds I had to stand up, remove my mask, and blow water out of my nose. I want to do a lot better on the check-out dives when I can't just stand up and be out of the water.

I just tried filling my mask with water in the sink, putting it on, and mouth breathing for a couple of minutes with the mask flooded. I did it but still got some water up my nose. I'll keep practicing and hope to be better by next weekend.

If I have time before class next weekend, I want to practice sitting in a few feet of water and breathing through the regulator with no mask. That was the first skill that he had us do and I didn't do well with that either.

 

[Fossilbabe]

Just dropping by to say hello and welcome to scuba board. I live this site and hope you will find it as great for information and meeting new friends. ~~~Babe~~~

 

[Land Locked]

I live just outside of Dawson Springs on Lake Beshear. I taking my class through Pennyroyal Scuba Blue Springs in Hopkinsville. Ever been there?

Sure have, Dennis runs a pretty nice quarry. Another good spot, Mermit Springs just outside Metropolis IL is a must do dive! I'm just outside of Louavull , hope we can meet up and dive some time!

 

[tstormdiver]

Hey Bob, I think I may have met you at Pennyroyal the other day when I was finishing up on my Open Water presentations for my instructor class. I'm in Owensboro & am a Dive Con for a shop up in Evansville & occasionally for Pennyroyal. I'll be down there over the next couple of weekends assisting with OW checkout dives for the Evansville shop. If there's anything I can do to help feel free to contact me. Who's teaching your class Dennis, Brian or both?