I`d been certified years ago but hadn`t dived since. Finally I joined a scuba club. One of their dives was to participate in the Great Annual Fish Count. I rented the gear I needed but already had a mask, fins and snorkel. Our group headed up to Cathedral Rocks in Gloucester. The weather was lovely and perhaps a dozen people were around gearing up for the Count. I buddied up with an old hand from our club. All was well - until we got into the water. My mask leaked. Now this was no ordinary little leak; the mask was of an old style that had a purge valve in the faceplate, and the rubber in the valve had gone bad. Water was flowing in as through a faucet. Rather than aborting the dive, my buddy swapped masks with me. It can`t have been his best dive ever, but it did allow me to move from the reaction of "Gah! This is not fun at all - I don`t want to dive" to one of beginning to get my skills back and enjoy the sport after all. Hats off to a good-hearted veteran!