Mask drill - eyes open or eyes closed?

[Storker]

A statement in the Fish trying not to drown thread in the New Divers forum mande me go :

For example with the mask. You really never have to open your eyes much under water with the mask off.

Not wanting to derail the thread I thought I'd take it to a new thread where my question would be a little more appropriate. I disagree in the above quote. I believe that being able to actually see underwater after taking off - or losing - your mask is an important skill. Because of that, I'm gently encouraging my son to master that since he has problems opening his eyes underwater.

Now, I'm one of those who had extensive abovewater and underwater experience before taking SCUBA class, being an active swimmer in my teens, freediving a lot in the local pool and spending much of my childhood summers wearing fins, a snorkel and a mask. That may well have prepared me for the experience I had on one of my OW certification dives: At one moment, the throng of students turned into a minor CF as everybody was trying to get a glimpse of the wolffish the instructor found and tried to show us. During this, my vision suddenly blurred, and I could see my mask floating away before me. I guess one of the other students kicked me in my head - I was too preoccupied with maneuvering to really notice - and kicked off my mask. Without even thinking, I reached out, put on my mask, cleared it and continued my dive. No big deal at all. But what would have happened if I couldn't see? Best case, I'd probably lose what little buoyancy control I had since without vision I'd lose every reference to depth, and I'd soon be sitting in Boyle's elevator to the surface where I'd be floating without a chance to find my mask.

Now, how many agrees that being able to see underwater without a mask isn't necessary at all? Sure, for an overtly nervous student, it may be a necessary white lie to make the person relax and take one step at a time, but should a diver go through his/her career without the ability to see without a mask?

 

[Kevrumbo]

Eyes closed for me because of hard contact lenses; and I always carry a spare mask easy to reach in my left pocket. . .

 

[Melicertes]

I feel that it is definitely a very good skill to nurture and develop for exactly the reason you mentioned. The reality is we're not always diving in a pool where the mask can only fall down to our knees where were kneeling or something. In real life we have to be attentive to our diving environment and adjust our activities appropriately to complete a dive safely. Whether that means swimming down to pick up your mask on the bottom if possible and it is within your dive limits, or surfacing slowly and safely (potentially including the completion of a safety stop) and to abort the dive. In both these cases you need your eyesight, however blurry it may be to help you deal with the mask off situation properly and remain aware of your depth at all times.

What often looks like "it's only a little deeper" to go grab your mask on the bottom (if you can see it) is potentially quite beyond your real depth limit for a dive and you need to read the depth off your gauge our computer to know this. The same for surfacing slowly and safely; if you can't judge your ascent rate (and I don't believe you can without eyesight) you have a very slim chance of surfacing safely IMHO. Signaling your buddy also becomes impossible if you cannot see them or judge whether they saw you signaling them about a problem either.

Learn to deal with open eyes in fresh and salt water from the get go and none of it really matters besides having to deal with a bit of discomfort sometimes. That's just my opinion though. 8o)

Contact lens divers especially should have a spare mask and that's a good idea for all divers too. Some masks can also be fitted with optical lenses to avoid having to dive with contacts and I personally think if I had contacts that's the way I would go, but I'm blessed with great eyesight still so I might change my tune when I get to that bridge in time.

 

[dive_turkey]

I close my eyes initially to protect them from the rushing water, the dislodged mask, the piece of whatever that dislodged my mask, etc... Then once everything has calmed down (about a second later) I open my eyes and continue my mission, whatever that may be. I wouldn't worry about "Boyle's Elevator" because you should feel the pressure changes in your ears. Though I suppose if one was temporarily blinded for whatever reason, one could dump some air and just kick right above the next eat clear level while you wait for your buddy to come figure out that you need help with a controlled ascent to the surface... though really if your already in good buoyancy you could simply exhale and stay put. I would be considerably more worried about whatever it was that blinded me.

So back to the original point. Yes, you should be able to open your eyes.

 

[Storker]

Eyes closed for me because of hard contact lenses

I wear soft contacts myself, and if I lose my mask while I'm wearing contacts, I'll accept the loss of the contacts. Better to see some than not at all, I've got enough uncorrected vision to read my computer if I squint, and I'm changing the lenses every two weeks anyway. In my car's glove compartment I can find the old pair of glasses I put there "just in case" (not only for diving-releated "just in case" issues ) , so even without the lenses there won't be a problem getting home without causing a traffic incident :cool2:

Topside I sometimes wear contacts and sometimes glasses, so I've got one mask with correction and one without. I usually - although not always - dive with contacts and the ordinary mask, but if I'm doing a training dive that might involve a mask drill, I make sure to wear the one with correction.

---------- Post added September 3rd, 2013 at 09:51 AM ----------

I wouldn't worry about "Boyle's Elevator" because you should feel the pressure changes in your ears.

I'm working continuously on improving my buoyancy control, but I'm still not at the level where I can be sure of neutral buoyancy over time with my eyes closed. YMMV, of course.

 

[tstormdiver]

I can only rarely open my eyes underwater. as a child I used to do competitive swimming. I've had my eyes burned too many times by over- chlorinated water. Like Kevrumbo, I carry a spare mask with me. Push come to shove, I switch masks, find the wayward one, then switch back. No big deal. I can do this in neutral buoyancy & can tell if I change depths at all. Ears crackle, I'm going up, ears feel stuffy, I'm dropping, I can tell within a foot if I have moved.

 

[phoenix31tt]

Eyes open for me, seeing blurred is better than not seeing at all... But however, you should still be able to do all your normal skills without seeing at all,

the mask recovery is the biggest reason to have eyes opened



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[DiverGirl1972]

In "real world" circumstances, I'd sacrifice my contacts and open my eyes if I REALLY needed to, but doing training/drills, I keep them shut. I also carry a back up mask, and can have it on and cleared within seconds with very little effort. With that said, this was not a skill that came easy for me and the discomfort and anxiety was something I had to overcome with practice.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I've never lost my contacts opening my eyes underwater, including doing the no-mask no-gas 100' swim at 200+ feet. I shut my eyes while I take the mask off, and if I do need to open them, do so only just enough to see. I do keep a spare pair on the boat just in case.

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[dfx]

Not wanting to derail the thread I thought I'd take it to a new thread where my question would be a little more appropriate. I disagree in the above quote. I believe that being able to actually see underwater after taking off - or losing - your mask is an important skill. Because of that, I'm gently encouraging my son to master that since he has problems opening his eyes underwater.

It's not much of a skill if you're almost blind as a bat without your prescription mask on. And even more so under water.