Page 80

20490TC

NAUI Scuba Diver 68 Diving Skills and is different from the normal pattern of breathing on scuba. If you do not concentrate on what you are doing, you might forget and inhale water through your nose, which will cause you to choke and cough. A single, sustained exhalation is more effective than short or strong bursts of air. It does not take much air to clear a mask completely. When you become proficient at mask clearing, you will be able to clear your mask several times on a single breath of air. Removing water from your mask is an important diving skill. You must repeat this skill until you are completely comfortable with it and can do it automatically. Initially, your instructor will have you practice this skill in shallow water and then will have you repeat the skill in deeper water. Removing and Replacing Your Mask You might wonder why you would want to take your mask off under water. Generally, you don’t, but someone else might inadvertently remove it for you. Your mask can be bumped and dislodged, or it can catch on something and be pulled free. In these cases, you must be able to calmly locate your mask and put it back on. Your vision without a mask will not be good, but you will be able to see. Learn to open your eyes without a mask on, because they are more useful than you might think. When you are wearing contact lenses, you run the risk of losing the lenses if your mask floods or comes off your face under water. In this situation, keep your eyes closed unless you need to see to locate your mask. If your mask is lost, you will have to rely on your buddy to find it or help you surface, to avoid losing your lenses. One way to replace your mask under water is to use the following steps: 1. Orient your mask so that the inside of the mask is facing you and your snorkel is on the side on which you wear it. 2. Position the mask over your eyes and nose and place the mask strap on the back of your head. 3. Run a finger around the mask seal and make sure that all of your hair or your hood (if you are wearing one) is out of the mask. 4. Clear the water from your mask as described in Clearing Water from Your Mask on page 67. Verify What You Have Learned Review the following questions about mask skills: 13. What are the recommended steps to replacing your mask under water? ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ 14. Which way should you tilt your head when clearing water from a mask with a purge valve? _______________________ REGULATOR SKILLS Learning to scuba dive includes more than just learning how to breathe from a regulator. You can do that already! Some of the regulator skills you will master during your NAUI Scuba Diver certification course include: • Breathing underwater if your mask comes off your face. • Finding your regulator if it comes out of your mouth while you are swimming under water. • Sharing air with another diver. • Breathing from a free-flowing regulator. Breathing Underwater When you breathe on scuba, you do all of your breathing through your mouth. However, you must exhale small amounts of air into your mask as you descend to prevent mask squeezes. You must always remember to keep breathing so that you will not trap expanding air in your lungs during an ascent.


20490TC
To see the actual publication please follow the link above