Question Do you take detailed notes on your dives?

[caveandreas]

I think a lot of tactics intended to boost situational awareness end up being more distracting than helpful. For example, noting an accurate compass direction or the classic "thumbs up, index finger pointing to the exit" at every decision point on the way out, while still relying on team markers on the way in. Techniques like these can turn into distractions instead of genuine aids.

Instead, get your head out of your wetnotes, look around, and commit the cave to memory. Having a sense of direction (N, E, S, W—or even eight directions if you're up for it) is valuable, but only if you can mentally anchor that to actual cave features.

My best tip for building awareness? Focus on the cave itself instead of fixating on the line. Yes, always know where the line is, but it’s not going to disappear if you take time to observe the cave around you.

A solid navigation system is straightforward: always place your own markers on the exit side of every decision point—no exceptions. You don’t need a cave navigation book for this; just make it a habit to mark the exit side, every time. It’s that simple.

Awareness goes beyond just markers and rough direction. Pay attention to things like arrow orientations; they can change, even in popular caves in Mexico. And remember, explorers aren’t infallible. Mistakes happen, and sometimes navigation gets harder than it should be, with blind T’s or missing directional markers on jumps. In some places, navigation is even intentionally challenging, with hidden jumps and no markers (which I think borders on insane but is sometimes just part of diving in Mexico).

Ultimately, awareness as a safety tool only comes into play after your navigation system fails. Developing the kind of awareness that lets you think, “I wasn’t here before,” “I should be heading in X direction,” or “Let’s go back and figure out where we messed up” is the most critical skill you can build.

 

[lermontov]

My personal opinion is you should pretty much be able to memorize all your navigation choices and times (yeah its nice to write them down) if you can't remember them then you should not be that far in a cave. At any given point in the dive you should be able to recall the time and navigation choices to exit.

are you telling me that you can recall say, 4-5 jumps and 8 T's on a dive ? even under stress?

 

[flymolo]

are you telling me that you can recall say, 4-5 jumps and 8 T's on a dive ? even under stress?

That’s why you mark your navigation? If you’re making 4-5 jumps and 8 T’s I would imagine it’s not your first time there.

 

[Manatee Diver]

are you telling me that you can recall say, 4-5 jumps and 8 T's on a dive ? even under stress?

How do you remember to drive around town that often has many more intersections?

I personally only like to have one or two new navigation decisions on a dive.

 

[lermontov]

How do you remember to drive around town that often has many more intersections?

I think thats a poor analogy -if you miss a turn and get lost you can pull over and use a map ( big clue there) - getting lost underwater and running out of air and getting lost in a city and running out of petrol aren't the same

I personally only like to have one or two new navigation decisions on a dive.

so do you keep repeating the same dive until you have it memorised? and then add another section/ tunnel? Tank cave in Australia will take you years to explore like that

 

[Manatee Diver]

I think thats a poor analogy -if you miss a turn and get lost you can pull over and use a map ( big clue there) - getting lost underwater and running out of air and getting lost in a city and running out of petrol aren't the same

Yet it is much much complex and you don't have an issue day to day.

so do you keep repeating the same dive until you have it memorised? and then add another section/ tunnel?

Yes, typically it only take a couple dives until I am comfortable, but yes.

Tank cave in Australia will take you years to explore like that

I'm ok with that.

 

[caveandreas]

are you telling me that you can recall say, 4-5 jumps and 8 T's on a dive ? even under stress?

I think it’s important to define what exactly you mean by "recall" for this conversation. If you’re referring to remembering each specific jump as "Jump NE" or "Jump S," or using relative directions like "left" and "right," I don’t think that level of detail is necessarily needed.

If you know which direction leads out when you reach each navigation point—even before looking at your markers—then yes, that’s exactly what building cave awareness can achieve for you.

That said, it’s crucial to emphasize that only proper navigation protocols will reliably save you in a ****** up situation. While it’s beneficial to develop secondary navigation skills over time, the most important tool remains correctly marking all navigational decisions. Building awareness takes time and effort, but it’s no substitute for clear markers.

I often see arrows pointing back along the path the original explorer traveled rather than marking the shortest and easiest way out. This likely happens because the explorers didn’t fully realize where they were or which line they connected into. So while solid awareness is helpful, relying on it alone is unwise, especially when even highly experienced cave divers and explorers with decades of experience can still make these kinds of mistakes. In essence, awareness should never be relied on over better tools when available.

 

[lermontov]

That said, it’s crucial to emphasize that only proper navigation protocols will reliably save you in a ****** up situation. While it’s beneficial to develop secondary navigation skills over time, the most important tool remains correctly marking all navigational decisions. Building awareness takes time and effort, but it’s no substitute for clear markers.

Thank you for your comments and clarifying context - i completely agree here -

correctly marking all navigational decisions is foundational - it has been demonstrated ad infinitum that human memory recall is flawed and even more so under stress situations

 

[rjack321]

are you telling me that you can recall say, 4-5 jumps and 8 T's on a dive ? even under stress?

The markers are secondary to your understanding of the actual cave. The line and marker are not "the cave" - they are aids to enhance your navigation and help orient you, especially when stressed. They are not there to replace a basic conceptual understanding of where you are, how long it will take to exit, and what turns you'll need to get out.

 

[rjack321]

so do you keep repeating the same dive until you have it memorised? and then add another section/ tunnel? Tank cave in Australia will take you years to explore like that

Yes although if you pull your head out of your wetnotes and have decent spatial awareness, most exploration level divers can learn the salient navigational features for a significant cave segment in 1 or 2 dives. Tank cave was explored over decades and expecting to tourist dive it in one go is foolhardy. So yes it takes years to get genuinely savvy in a system like that.