I did a dive in Domincan Republic a couple of years ago and loved it but haven’t had the opportunity to dive since.  I have recently got a job with Scubasure - who sell dive insurance - which has sparked my interest again.  However I have always thought of diving as being an expensive sport and do not have much disposable income - am I right in thinking this?  If so is there a ‘cheaper’ way to get into diving?

Also I tend to be a little claustrophic and under-confident in water.  I panicked a little when I did my dive as the instructor started adding the weights but once I was down there I loved it.  Anyone got any tips for overcoming this?  Also struggle to do the mask clearing as everytime I tried during pool training the water went up my nose and I panicked!  So spent my entire ‘proper dive’ holding my mask down with my hand to avoid this - any advice?

Also, just a bit of shameless self promotion (sorry).  I have just worked really hard to produce a Scubasure dive calendar - I am a make-up artist so thought I would use my skills to help the company in my new job!!  We have produced a gorgeous calendar and some of us, myself included, braved the January cold to pose outside!  10% of the proceeds will go to cancer research and the calendar runs April to April in line with the traditional UK dive season.  Please take a look, it will only take a minute - http://www.scubasure.com.  Thanks in advance for your support everyone.

Charlie x

Hi charlie
I’m quite new to diving as well and the cheapest way I have found to dive is Malta.
I’m going again in early May and booked the flights very early in advance and paid £2.00 each way. Yes two quid. After taxes etc it was still only £80 for the return flight.
I’ve booked a cheapish hotel off the net and will rent most of the gear when I get there.
I learnt with a company called corsair diving, they are very good with beginners. I too had trouble with mask clearance and she was very patient. Now I’m fine with it.
Give it another go, it’s worth it.

Hi Charlie,

There are loads of us who have add trouble with mask flood n clear, i could not do it infact i nearly failed my OW course so i understand the worry you are putting yourself though and for that reason when im teaching i take things easy with students who find this skill hard.

When you get more experianced you will relax more during the dives, thus enjoying the dive more, use less air and stop worrying about masks etc, this will only come by you spending time underwater either in a pool or out in the lake or ocean.

Find an experianced buddy and go diving.

Ron

Hi

I think we all have the occasional leaky mask just remember your training and relax it will all be OK an experienced buddy will always help out.

Shaun

i think the mask clear is the skill that almost everyone has difficulty with at first.  I learnt a great trick for overcoming this and that is to go to the edge of the pool, hold the edge and take off your mask then just place your face under water with your reg in.  with your face under water and without your mask, just breath, feeling the bubbles pass over your face and if your feeling brave, open your eyes and carry on breathing.  I’m only a divemaster (not instructor) but I found this really calmed people down a lot as i feel most of the fear is having water on the face and eyes, but once you realise that you can still breath ok without the mask, its a lot easier. hope this helps.

Thank you for the advice!  The only problem is for me the panic came from the water going up my nose!  The natural reaction when that happens of course is to cough and splutter but you cannot do this several metres down!  In the training pool I just kept shooting up out of the water when this happened (which was every time) - but of course realised I could not do this on the real dive!  Unfortunately this issue was never addressed by the guy training me so I got into the sea with a morbid fear of this happening and subsequently spent the dive holding onto my mask so no water could enter!!!  Not good!!

I agree with cazg, I find it easier to clear my mask from when it is totally off and full of water than by letting in a little.  As said practise breathing with your reg in and mask off, just through your mouth, your brain learns not to use your nose then to breathe, only when you breathe out your nose to clear your mask which is the main skill for pushing the water out of your mask to clear it.  Do persevere, you will get it, I promise!! 

On my first proper open water dive (which should be in shallows anyway) I tried my mask clearing at the beginning of the dive, which choked me and made me panic and surface and I gulped so much air I had chest pain which turned out to be air/wind, literally when my very understanding and patient buddy floated me upright and the biggest burp ever came out!    My suggestion on first dives is to get used to being under the water first, swim around in the shallows a bit to build water confidence and then practise skills towards the end of the dive.  An experienced trainer should be able to guide you safely to do this.  Good luck! 

I agree with scubachick’s advice. I also found the mask clearing hard in the beginning, so I’m very patient when teaching this essential skill to my Open Water students and give them loads of practice. It also helps to learn in warm, clear waters where there’s plenty to capture your interest.

Once you build up your confidence and experience you’ll be able to train yourself not to breathe through your nose. I have guided a dive with a completely flooded mask the whole time - as it was a hastily purchased temporary replacement.

By the way, you can cough through your regulator. Once you realise this you don’t have to resort to surfacing.

Good luck (get in touch if you’d like to learn with me: )

I am not the most confident diver and hated taking my mask off under water but my trainer in Eygpt gave me a great tip. I took a breath as i was taking my mask off then pinched my nose once it was off, then once i was used to not breathing through my nose i let go! I could swim around easily with my eyes open and then just replaced my mask and cleared it. The best advice is relax and take do it slowly. It worked for me!

Don’t try to deal with it too quickly.  Let yourself deal with breathing through your mouth only, for a few breaths before you consider putting your mask back on.  I personally find it easier to hold the mask over my face and clear it before putting the strap over my head.

best wishes,

Maria