Posted by DougD on December 03, 2001 at 16:00:12:
In Reply to: Couple questions George.... posted by ChrisM on December 03, 2001 at 13:43:05:
The day I got hammered at Shaw's Cove my first attempt at beach diving. I had my mask around my neck, fins on, and reg. out. Miss timed the questionable waves, got "cemented in" and then creamed. The air in my BC and fins on made it impossible to get back up. I was struggling to get my mask up when the next big wave smacked into me. That's when I swallowed a good gulp of seawater. I then managed to put my reg in my mouth and started kicking into the next wave with a flooded mask over my eyes. Of course the air in my bc pulled me back and kept me there for one more wave. I finally got past the surf zone, pushed my mask up on my forehead, and then rolled onto my back. When I got to my buddy I realized I had dumped my mask when I had rolled onto my back. Luckily my buddy recovered it after a few minutes of searching. That was the as close as I have ever come to drowning and it wasn't funny, so you can stop laughing now.
I've tried a few other combinations since then and have decided on: Mask on (hand on), reg. in mouth, and fins in hand until chest deep. This seems to be working for me.