US Coastguard Swimmers

[Annie]

Hi everyone,

We watched Kevin Costner in "The Guardian" last night. It was an OK type film for a Saturday night when the diving's been called off.

Anyway, everytime the "swimmers" jumped out of the helicopter they had their masks on their foreheads. Personally, I'd have liked my mask in place when jumping from a helicopter into a raging sea. I thought at first it was so that we could see Costner's face, but they all did it. They also pushed their masks up when in the water.

Maybe they really do do it like that, for a reason? What do you think? Any US Coasties out there?

Annie

[Eddie Clamp]

Hi everyone,

We watched Kevin Costner in "The Guardian" last night. It was an OK type film for a Saturday night when the diving's been called off.

Anyway, everytime the "swimmers" jumped out of the helicopter they had their masks on their foreheads. Personally, I'd have liked my mask in place when jumping from a helicopter into a raging sea. I thought at first it was so that we could see Costner's face, but they all did it. They also pushed their masks up when in the water.

Maybe they really do do it like that, for a reason? What do you think? Any US Coasties out there?

Annie

Know sweet fa about Coastguard swimmers but just read James Thayer's Force 12 book in which a swimmer from the US Coastguard saves a maiden from a fate worse than death in the Bering Straits. :D

Eddie

[DRW]

When the film first came out, there was an interesting and knowledgeable thread about it on Vintage Scuba Forum:

http://vintagescuba.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1159684821

The thread mentions the positioning of masks on foreheads and expresses doubts about the benefits.