Unconscious competent or conscious incompetent (part two)

Ok, when I left off I was panicking like a drowning rat. I was executing a textbook powered ascent with blatant disregard for the air rapidly expanding in my lungs and that of my instructor. (ok, it wasn’t that dangerous we were only in a 10ft pool) anyhow (ahem) I dug deep and somehow found the strength to surface with my instructor in tow. I coughed and sputtered and looked over at my instructor expecting him to be impressed by my strong swimming. He was not impressed. Neither was my bruised ego, but I was alive.
After that disturbing episode I practiced and practiced but I couldn’t seem to master this skill, every time I took off my mask, I could expect one of three outcomes; either water would rush up my nose immediately or after a few breaths or sometimes, and I’m not sure why, it wouldn’t and I would complete the skill. If I didn’t figure this out I would fail this course, which consequently, I needed for my job or worse I would drown when we did our final practical exam at sea 70ft below the surface of the water.
After I gave up trying to master this on my own strength I prayed. I know, I know, that’s probably what I should’ve done first but I didn’t and anyhow nothing happened and I was still worried. And on the last day of the course we headed out to the dive site for our open ocean dive.
Of course it was a miserable, cold, rainy day and we were all shivering in an open aluminium herring skiff. I confided in my instructor that I was still having trouble with the mask removal skill. I think I was hoping he would let me skip it but instead he advised me to get my gear on as quick as possible and while everyone else was getting ready I could dive down 10ft and practice a few times before we went down to the bottom as a group. That didn’t really calm me down instead I grew more tense as the boat slowly, inexorably moved towards the dive site.
As soon as we arrived I quickly geared up, tucked in my legs and rolled backward off the boat into the water. You might find it hard to believe but in every other way I am like a fish in water and so while everyone else was gearing up I was already in the water. I dove down to 10ft, grabbed onto the descent line and started practicing. I’ll spare you the gory details, suffice it to say it didn’t go well. The time arrived for us all to descend and as a group we started our descent. Some swam down; some held onto the descent line and dropped feet first. I pointed myself headfirst and swam straight towards the bottom. As I got close a huge grey hulking mass loomed into view. It was the ruined hull of a destroyer that had been purposely sunk there to be used as an artificial reef dive site. This gloomy and lifeless warship would be the scene for our practical exam. I was really hoping it wouldn’t be my grave.
You’re going to have to wait until my next post to find out if I lived or died, ok, ok there could be kids reading this so I’ll tell you I didn’t die. If you were smart you would’ve figured that out already. “How’s that?” You ask. Because it would’ve been on the news of course… (sigh)