Mask Clearing Video for Noobs

[SparticleBrane]

From another thread I posted in--exhalation drills/cold water treatment sound like just what you need. Do them ebfore each dive and you'll be golden. "Fantasy Lake" is a quarry here in NC.

Personally I take a different approach from what was recommended of keeping your eyes closed.


If you want to increase your comfort in the water, especially in your "no mask" situation, there's something I can recommend to help.

In our basic scuba course we are taught (within the first day or so of starting skin diving) "exhalation drills" or "cold water treatment" depending on who is teaching. They are the same thing, just a different name.

To start off, hop into a pool and hang on the side. Take a breath and slowly submerge yourself while hanging on. LEAVE YOUR EYES OPEN! Then, slowly exhale while your eyes are open. This helps to get your body used to the chill of the water, slows down your metabolism, and generally prepares you for the colder water. Repeat this several times until you can perform the drill COMFORTABLY.

While on skin diving the exhalation drills are expanded somewhat. With your eyes open and your snorkel in (it helps to have your mask on the back of your head), inhale through your snorkel and exhale through your mouth. Then inhale through your snorkel and exhale through your nose. Alternate several times.

On scuba, it's again expanded. At the beginning of class we would leave our scuba rigs on the side of the pool with our regulators dangling over the edge. Drop down, exhale to clear a reg, and start breathing. Again, no mask on--with your eyes open. First reg breathe in and out through the regulator. After 5 slow and relaxed breath cycles, switch to your other second stage. Exhale into it to clear (as always) and then inhale through the reg and exhale through your nose. As always keep your eyes open. After 5 slow and relaxed breath cycles, remove the regulator and ascend. Remember to exhale on the way up, even if it's only 3-4 feet down in the pool!!
If you're in a quarry or otherwise "open water" condition, the scuba exhalation drills can be modified somewhat. Mask on the back of your head, put your reg in, and dunk your face in the water. Perform the exhalation drill as previously stated (5 breaths with eyes open, switch regs, another 5 breaths, etc).
Diving in Fantasy Lake is sometimes a chilling experience, especially in the off season. However, doing exhalation drills before you ever submerge, while uncomfortable, will help you to slow down and relax and you'll feel more comfortable in the water. Imagine what would happen if you were ~30ish ft down at Fantasy Lake and someone kicks off your mask in 55-degree water and you hadn't done exhalation drills. You probably wouldn't be able to breathe. Trust me when I say that doing this before you ever drop down in any kind of chilly water is truly worth the extra few seconds!

Note that doing this in a pool, especially at first, will feel very uncomfortable. The sensation of water around your eyes won't be great and the chlorine in the water will hurt. If you do this ever day, for the first few days your eyes will probably be slightly bloodshot and dry for a while afterwards. After a bit your eyes will get used to the chlorine. Same with salt water, it will sting!
If necessary it might benefit you to tilt your head to one side while exhaling if the bubbles interfere with your eyes.


The reason for us having to do exhalation drills every time we get in the water is that they are one of the most basic, yet important skills that is taught. I believe in earlier posts you mentioned that you had problems underwater when your mask was not on. That is the goal of this drill--to help keep you calm in a situation such as that. If you were 100ft underwater and someone kicked off your mask and you suddenly can't breathe--that's a serious problem. You have to be able to keep your eyes open and stay calm without a mask on while underwater!


Hope this helps--happy diving!

 

[MaconBubbles]

I hope I don't have some kind of nose deformity. It looks normal from the outside, I think. Like I said, after about five breaths or so, the water starts to trickle in through the nose. I just swallowed it. It was salt water. We all know what salt water does when you drink it. Not a fun night.

I just remembered I had a dream last night that my nose was REALLY HUGE. Ok...that's all now. Thanks for the lesson. :focus:

 

[GA Under Water]

well, we had to keep breathing, that is why he kept "checking his second stage" they teach it this way from the begining so that the maskless swim doesn't have you panic as water goes up your nose. One thing N00bs don't think about practicing is swimming with a snorkle and no mask.

When mask clearing you never want to hold your breath even when flooding. Imagine, Inhale, flood and then you rise, if you are the hard core "do it off the bottom" folks Now you are holding your breath, you are Positive and BAM too late to fix it.

Your mask isn't going to flood always at the exact time you inhale and be ready for you to exhale to clear. You need to learn to inhale with water pressure on your nostrils or you will have issues when it happens at sixty feet and you just exhaled your breath.

Again, I thought it was perfect for the N00b Class on Closed 1. Which is when you do the Flood and clear. And you find out then if you can breathe without a mask on. don't you think that is important at 60 feet?

 

[Tigerman]

we actually had to pass the "breathing with no mask" thing as well as taking off and replacing the mask and emptying it, so that part is covered more than once.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Someone please tell me for sure that the original video is just a joke and is used to teach instructors and divemaster how NOT to teach diving, Please..

 

[DeltaWardog]

I have a really hard time breathing with water in my mask, because I am a nose-breather and most of the time I was in the pool I was 'trying' to breath through my nose but just keeping the mask sealed. Once the water gets in there and I have to do a mask clearing, it usually involves a lot of choking and coughing, but I get it done without having to surface.

Lots of practice coughing into my regulator during the pool sessions.

Definitely something I need to work on! But there's no panic involved. I'm very comfortable coughing into the regulator now.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Do the exercises I posted on a regular basis, and you'll have no problems breathing with water on your face.

 

[Blackwood]

Finally got a CODEC to watch SB's video. Agree: great one to show how it can/should be done.

 

[Blackwood]

When mask clearing you never want to hold your breath even when flooding. Imagine, Inhale, flood and then you rise, if you are the hard core "do it off the bottom" folks Now you are holding your breath, you are Positive and BAM too late to fix it.

Why is "when mask clearing" different than any of part of the dive? You'll rise any time you hold a full breath from neutral. However, depth changes are delayed, and there’s no rule that says you have to clear your mask with full lungs.

I have no particular problems with learning how to clear while kneeling negative. But I do think that dive students should be able to 'do it off the bottom' proficiently before they graduate. Not only will they likely be off the bottom when they’re out - you know - diving, but doing clears is a great way to learn buoyancy control.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Finally got a CODEC to watch SB's video. Agree: great one to show how it can/should be done.

Eh, sorry it wasn't in something a bit more familiar.
Our videos are set up as *.mp4 files (Quicktime) so that they can easily be set up as podcasts for the students. Each student in our classes have a webpage with their videos on it, plus a link for a podcast. Click that and each time they open iTunes their scuba videos are automatically downloaded for viewing and critiquing.