Breathing with a Flooded Mask or without a Mask If you lose your mask under water, or if your mask floods, you must concentrate on your breathing and maintain air pressure in your nose to avoid inhaling water through your nose until you correct the problem. You must be able to do this without needing to hold your nose closed, because in many situations, you will need to use both your hands for other purposes. Clearing Your Regulator Whenever the mouthpiece of your regulator is out of your mouth, you must continually exhale a small stream of bubbles (figure 3-38). This helps keep your airway open. You do not want to lock off your throat. If you do rise in the water, the air in your lungs will expand, and the air must be able to escape through your mouth instead of over expanding your lungs and causing damage. Your regulator should remain in your mouth as much as possible, but there are a few situations in which you must remove it. If the mouthpiece of your regulator comes out of your mouth for any reason, the regulator second stage will automatically fill with water. When you put the regulator back in your mouth, you must be able to clear the water from the second stage before you can breathe. There are two primary ways to clear your regulator second stage of water: the blast clear and the purge clear. Blast Clear The quickest and easiest way to remove water from the second stage of your regulator is to do the blast clear. The blast clear is not truly a “blast” of air, just a simple exhalation. To perform the blast clear, you put the regulator mouthpiece in your mouth and exhale the air remaining in your lungs out of your mouth. The air from your lungs forces the water out of the one-way exhaust valve located on the bottom or side of your second stage. Most regulators require that you be in an upright position or facing slightly down to clear all the water out of the second stage. Some regulators require you to tilt to the side opposite the hose to fully clear the regulator. Purge Clear If you do not have enough air in your lungs to perform the blast clear, you can use the purge clear to get the water out of your second stage. To perform the purge clear, use the following steps: 1. Put your tongue up to the roof of your mouth and against your teeth to prevent water from the second stage from going into your mouth and throat. 2. Lightly press the purge button located on the front or side of the second stage to replace the water in your second stage with air from your cylinder. Recovering Your Regulator There will be times when your second stage will be out of your mouth during a dive. For example, if you are diving in kelp, the kelp might wrap around your hose and it might be convenient to take the regulator out of your mouth to untangle it. Also, you might get so relaxed that you forget to bite on your mouthpiece to hold the regulator in your mouth. There are two ways to recover your regulator: the sweep method and the reach method. Sweep Method Use the following steps to find your regulator using the sweep method: Chapter 3- Diving Skills Diving Skills 69 FIGURE 3-38. YOU MUST EXHALE A SMALL STREAM OF BUBBLES WHENEVER THE REGULATOR IS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH.
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