Maskless ascents

[tceylan]

All;

I need some information about how to perform maskless ascents.

I guess the teammate with the mask should maintain physical contact with
the maskless teammate and should handle the ascent profile while the maskless
teammate "simply" stays with him/her.

Any tips/recommendations on this?

 

[PfcAJ]

Thats pretty much it. The buddy with a mask controls the show at this point and is in touch contact with the other diver's hand.

Buddy one puts buddy two's hand into a thumb up position to go up, thumb down position to go down, and a thumb horizontal position to level off.

Now, if your diving requires you to see (for a gas switch, for instance), it behooves you to carry a backup mask.

 

[rjack321]

Holding the maskless person's right hand allows them to dump and add gas to the wing or drysuit a bit easier with the left. If you hold their left they can add with the right and dump the drysuit by rolling a bit. But they won't be able to dump the wing without letting go.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, this is something I can talk about all day, because it's the single most horrible exercise in the whole techreational world to me

Keep your eyes OPEN!!!! There is no law that says you can't, and it's amazing how much information you can gather, even if things aren't sharp.

Touch contact -- If you're the guiding diver, make sure your contact and your motions are clear and unambiguous. Turn the thumb up and move the hand up and down to make sure the other diver knows to ascend. Give the "level off" signal (hand moving back and forth on a horizontal plane) WELL before the depth, so the maskless diver has time to receive and process the signal and begin dumping to stop. As Richard says, hold the RIGHT hand, or you hamper the other diver's efforts to control dump valve and wing.

If you are the maskless diver, try to relax. Stay in trim; getting out of trim really makes it more difficult to control buoyancy with precision. Use your teammates as a visual reference -- with your eyes open, you really can do this. Monitor your breathing carefully, as it's easy to get a little anxious and therefore a little positive.

I handle it pretty well with my eyes open, but I hate opening them to 44 degree water, so sometimes I forget to do it, and then all you-know-what breaks loose

 

[do it easy]

Does the salt water sting when you open your eyes?

I've done this in freshwater and it was brisk, but it did not sting.

 

[TSandM]

No, it doesn't sting at all, but it's bitterly cold.

 

[Gombessa]

Salt water doesn't sting, I open my eyes during mask clears/removes all the time.

It's the chlorinated pool water that stings! Pools just aren't good for your eyes or your gear

 

[shellbackdiver1]

Leader: hold on to maskless divers elbow with thumb and forefinger. 2 tugs down mean go down. One tug up means go up. 2 squeezes means stop. push on back of elbow means go forward. push hand to the left means go left, right means go right. That is the way it was taught to me recently to the best of my memory.

Maskless diver: Avoid the above sentence. Carry backup mask in right thigh pocket.

 

[TSandM]

From the perspective of a very anxious maskless diver, I'll say that holding my HAND and giving signals (thumb up for ascend, thumb down for descend, hand back and forth for hold station) is MUCH easier to understand than anything done to my elbow.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

How do contacts fare through this if you're a contact user?

Obviously in the real deal you really don't care, but I'm thinking more for practice purposes.