Sink test

Having got all the kit I needed to start on my snorkelling adventures, I thought it might be wise before getting into the sea to try the mask and snorkel out. This would give me the confidence that I wasn't going to get a mask full of water when I got into the sea and also would get me used to breathing through the snorkel.

So I filled the kitchen sink with cold water, might as well simulate the sea temperature, got kitted up with the mask, snorkel and hood and stuck my head into the water. Straight away I could feel cold water trickling down the right hand side of my face and filling the nose compartment up. Glad I decided to do the the sink test!!

I lifted my head out of the water, removed my mask and drained the collected water. Then adjusted the straps on the mask. As I adjusted the right hand side the roller pin in the buckle flew out of the buckle and I heard it bounce on the kitchen floor. Ten minutes later I found it and went to fit it back into the buckle but could not get it to seat properly. Closer inspection of the buckle showed a slight distortion in the moulding which was preventing the pin from seating properly.

Yesterday I was able to get back across to the dive shop from where I had purchased the mask from and explained the problem. They replaced the mask with another one and it was back home for another sink test. This time all went well apart from a slight trickle below the nose which appeared to be due to my moustache. The woman in the dive shop had said that the mask might leak because of it but a dab of vasaline should stop it, which it seemed to. However I have decided to shave it and the beard off.

So now I'm keeping a close eye on the weather over the weekend and hoping a for reasonable spell so that I can finally get into the sea. With a full moon today the tides over the next few days will be higher and lower than normal, which could be interesting.