Mask clearing

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Probably the last time I didn't rinse the de-fog out well enough and got soap in my eyes at depth.

I'm always clearing my mask anyway, either because of minor leaks or because I intentionally let some water in to rinse the fog off the inside. Mask clearing is second nature, something I don't think about.
 
Saturday, in the pool at the YMCA. Granted, my situation is different because my OW classes start tomorrow night, so I'm still in the "want to make sure I don't freak about anything in class" mentality.
 
A couple of weeks ago in the quarry... my hood was driving me crazy, filling up with air and pullling my mask out of place. I decided to ditch the hood, so my buddy hung on to me while I removed the mask, remembered to take a good breath, took my reg out, and yanked off the offending hood. Reg back in, mask back on and cleared, no problem. Felt pretty proud of that one, although a bit chilly by the end of the dive!
 
kdove did you ever put a tiny hole in the top of your hood? this keeps air from acumulating in the hood. just a little advice if you haven't done it. i always flood my mask at one point to either clear up some fog or if it is flooding because of sweat from being on the surface it floods, no big deal very confortable with it, keep practicing a mask could come off when fighting with a fish or just bumping into something. have fun out there, Dan
 
But, the whole thing led me to ask the following question, with I pose to everyone:

When was the last time that, during a dive, you intentionally flooded and removed your mask, so you could practice clearing it?

Three weeks ago when I was in Riviera Maya, I forgot to put defogger in my mask so to clear the fog, I flooded my mask and cleared it throughout the dive. I wear contact lenses during the dives and have never had a problem clearing my mask.

It is a good skill to practice and to master.
 
30 years ago when I was getting my OW cert, we had to do a ditch and don in the "hole" at Crystal River. Part of the process was to remove and re-install our mask, clear it and go from there...my partner who was a real character pulled his off, waved it around a little, put it back on and looked over at me - wearing it upside downward - I 'bout blew my regulator out of my mouth and he couldn't figure out why it felt funny and was so hard to clear... we both almost drowned - me from laughing and him from trying to clear an upside down mask.
 
My NAUI instructor insists on being able to don and purge mask, snorkel, and fins at the bottom of the diving well in the pool as a skill associated with advanced certification. Try swimming to the pool floor, remove your mask, snorkel, and fins, place them on the bottom. Then swim to the surface, relax and take a good breath. Dive back down and put on your mask and clear it, put on your fins, surface while clearing your snorkel using the displacement technique, and then float and relax on the surface without ever bringing your head out of the water. No, you probably won't ever have to do that on a dive, but when you can do that exercise comfortably, you'll probably be diving with more confidence in your abilities, and you will be more apt to clearly think and act decisively if a problem arises, and less likely to bolt to the surface.
Don't take the basic OW skills for granted; you should always be able to perform them comfortably, no matter how long you've been diving.
 
When was the last time that, during a dive, you intentionally flooded and removed your mask, so you could practice clearing it?

I can't say that it was for practice... but I flood my mask on almost every dive, to make sure it's nice and clear.

Also - just 2 days ago... My mask had a little spot of fog that wouldn't go away. I removed my mask, licked the foggy spot, and put it back on... cleared... no more fog.
 
2 weeks ago i made my first dive with a new set of doubles and a new RITE SOURCE. i was in 75' and when i loaded my gun and started twards the ledge i was sinking rapidly. notice the rite source was leaking badly, i shot a nice hog fish then found a good spot to remove my bc, take the rite source apart put it back on the wing, still leaked from the top, took that apart, put it back together, put everything back on, shot a snapper and then went back to the surface when the dive was done. then we dove 3 more dives that day. my friend a few weeks before shot a hog under a ledge and he took his gear off used his 7' hose and wedged himself way into the ledge and finally got the fish. he used almost every bit of his air in the double 80's but he got the fish. you can do alot when you are comfortable with your gear.
 
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