I didn't really learn until I was designated a team lead, and then had the responsibility of getting everybody back. I had the square-profile navigation training, knew how to use my compass, etc., but it really didn't mean very much until I was in a situation where everyone depended on me to lead the team out and back in. Your awareness (and anxiety) goes way up when that happens, and it's great training/practice.
How did you learn to navigate underwater?
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I too look at contours and notice things at a particular depth and double check against the compass. Looking back to see what the return journey will look like helps, too.
If it's my boat, I'll anchor on top of a pinnacle. It makes it easier when all you need to do is swim to the top of the highest spot, and you get to see stuff while you're doing your safety stop.
I was diving in the Channel Islands once and thought for sure I navigated correctly back to the boat. All I saw was a hole in the sand and drag marks that looked awfully similar to an anchor. Turns out the boat pulled up anchor and motored a hundred yards away to seek some shelter from the wind. As long as they don't change the rules in the middle of the game, I'm usually good. But then again, sometimes I don't really care and wander aimlessly while under the guise of "exploring."
If it's my boat, I'll anchor on top of a pinnacle. It makes it easier when all you need to do is swim to the top of the highest spot, and you get to see stuff while you're doing your safety stop.
I was diving in the Channel Islands once and thought for sure I navigated correctly back to the boat. All I saw was a hole in the sand and drag marks that looked awfully similar to an anchor. Turns out the boat pulled up anchor and motored a hundred yards away to seek some shelter from the wind. As long as they don't change the rules in the middle of the game, I'm usually good. But then again, sometimes I don't really care and wander aimlessly while under the guise of "exploring."
I have to admit ... I WAS terrible. I tried all the tricks .... but still I was getting lost 
But being analytical, mathematical, an engineer and an entrepreneur ..... I told myself that there has to be a better way to learn how to navigate underwater .... so I ended up building extremely high resolution maps of dive sites and then we designed a very realistic dive simulator ... so .. voila'.
Now, before I go diving for real, I spend few hours "practicing" on the simulator so I can build a "mental picture" of how the real dive site looks like. Didn't get lost since then.
Regards,
Alberto
But being analytical, mathematical, an engineer and an entrepreneur ..... I told myself that there has to be a better way to learn how to navigate underwater .... so I ended up building extremely high resolution maps of dive sites and then we designed a very realistic dive simulator ... so .. voila'.
Now, before I go diving for real, I spend few hours "practicing" on the simulator so I can build a "mental picture" of how the real dive site looks like. Didn't get lost since then.
Regards,
Alberto
Scott M
Contributor
Navigation is easy......................you had out on a heading make your turns count your kicks turn some more, kick and count, turn, kick and count look up if the boat is not there you reach down and turn on one of these http://www.desertstar.com/newsite/sport/sportscout.html now just follow the signal back.So I've been diving quite a bit in the last six weeks, going through a bunch of classes and trying to become more comfortable diving in general. The thing that is now my biggest struggle is learning to navigate well. We had a dive during my past AOW class on some simple navigation techniques... but honestly, it felt so strict. (going a certain number of kick cycles, going in a square, etc...). I'd like to be able to dive freely without so many restrictions and still not get completely lost in the current or something.
Is that possible? Am I hoping for something that is not possible underwater? I'm clearly not very experienced so excuse me if I sound silly.
I guess I watch my instructor who seem to just go freely when guiding me and I marvel at how well we end up at the anchor line or the float even in the dark and murky water.
Thanks for your advice!
JoyfulNoise
Contributor
Navigation is hard for me. It might be because I'm a fairly new diver with under 100 dives. But one thing does help me: 1. Being aware of landscape: I pay attention when I descend (I'm a bit of an airhead at times so I do have to concentrate), I looks for things I can remember like features of a wreck or reef. I also take a hair band (elastic with two plastic balls used for pony tails)...I place this on any descent lines I use.
I think Navigation is usually the LAST skill a diver is able to master. In the Caribbean, most real-world navigation is "natural" navigation which is dependent upon recognition & interpretation of natural features underwater. IMHO, it takes several hundred dives as a dive leader to master this skill. Simulations don't really work - you need the pressure of leadership to force this information into your brain. It is simply impossible to learn natural navigation while following someone else.
Of course, a dive leader should also have a compass and know how to use it, but that skill is trivial and can be learned in a course in a couple of hours. Moreover, as someone said, if you are constantly setting compass headings you may not have time to enjoy the dive. A lot of natural navigation knowledge is local, meaning a competent dive leader in 1 region of the world may be lost (figuratively & literally) in another.
Natural navigation becomes harder at night, for obvious reasons. Leaders of night dives "cheat" by ensuring that they have a good mental picture of the site derived from day dives there. However, a truly competent navigator should be able to dive a site at night without having dived it in daytime.
At one time, I would have commented that being skilled in wilderness navigation (on land) gives you a leg up in learning underwater navigation. I doubt that is true now - GPS has changed everything on land.
How did I learn to navigate? Essentially, by leading a lot of dives.
Of course, a dive leader should also have a compass and know how to use it, but that skill is trivial and can be learned in a course in a couple of hours. Moreover, as someone said, if you are constantly setting compass headings you may not have time to enjoy the dive. A lot of natural navigation knowledge is local, meaning a competent dive leader in 1 region of the world may be lost (figuratively & literally) in another.
Natural navigation becomes harder at night, for obvious reasons. Leaders of night dives "cheat" by ensuring that they have a good mental picture of the site derived from day dives there. However, a truly competent navigator should be able to dive a site at night without having dived it in daytime.
At one time, I would have commented that being skilled in wilderness navigation (on land) gives you a leg up in learning underwater navigation. I doubt that is true now - GPS has changed everything on land.
How did I learn to navigate? Essentially, by leading a lot of dives.
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Use everything you've got. All your senses and all your gauges. On the surface take a quick fix on the heading you'll use and then turn that way once you start down, looking for the first markers to find your way home. We navigate in three dimentions so check depth, light conditions etc. A sloping bottom can be a great feature to help you, even when you're off, you can use a depth contour to find your way back. To those dimensions add current, time and air handling, and you can see just how great it feels when you get it all just right. Read the sand too, the animals and the features in/on it vary as you move away from the reef (sorry, I'm in Thailand). Once you find a point to remember at the start of the dive, swim off then look back to see how it looks for your return. When there's a current running and you have to go across it to get back (common in shore diving), set your compass the heading you want to go and watch the sand beneath your compass travel in the direction of your needle as you swim across the current. I got my experience with a lot of night diving. Practice, practice, practice.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
In my opinion, I think this is sometimes the toughest part of navigating by compass once you know how to. Most people have that internal compass (faulty at times) and voice that says "It must be wrong....we should be headed that way...just drop it and let's go". As long as it is not stuck (pretty easy to tell), always put faith in your compass.....tough but true.
I think anybody that says they have never had to do this would poke you in the eye with their growing nose if you were face to face. It is just part of the learning experience....having to explain to the people that you are leading that "I was just going up to make sure that we would be able to make a safe ascent." (or some other BS excuse if you so choose). All to save face. Some do not need to save face, but I believe all have been "misplaced" at least once in our diving lives....even if you were in the right spot but just did not know it because it looked different.
This is great advice and the best "very basic" advice. With this, you will feel a lot more comfortable in sites you dive often. For sites you do not dive often, you will need to master the other skills such as navigating by bottom contour or unique objects (or these in conjunction with what you already know.....kick count etc.).
Bottom line is, until you are fluent and have mastered navigation, take every dive very slow and make sure you are where you should be, even if it means a shorter distance dive. If you can dive an area with someone who knows the site well and who can monitor your navigation, you can gain great confidence over time while knowing you are safe. And if you ever have to do the "peek of shame", for pete's sake (sorry Pete) do it safely.
Navigation takes a lot of bandwidth, and new divers don't have much to play with, so navigation, in the beginning, is challenging. It really is a matter of acquiring data -- You have a lot to work with in many sites. Depth contours, headings, prominent features, current, wave markings on the bottom, can all be helpful. Familiarity with commonly dived sites helps a LOT -- I remember being amazed at my mentor, who could apparently swim all around one of our sites without EVER referring to his compass. I can do that, too, now that I have a couple hundred dives on the site.
Unless you are doing some kind of search work, I doubt you'll ever count kick cycles again. At least, in 600 dives, I never have. Navigation underwater becomes a lot like navigation on land -- it's a matter of gathering and making notes of information that will allow you to retrace your path.
Unless you are doing some kind of search work, I doubt you'll ever count kick cycles again. At least, in 600 dives, I never have. Navigation underwater becomes a lot like navigation on land -- it's a matter of gathering and making notes of information that will allow you to retrace your path.
I would get a land compass and run several patterns and courses on land similar to the courses you will run underwater. This will get you comfortable with the different headings you will need to use for the different shapes and patterns. Then get into a pool and really work on your kick cycles. Count how many kick cycles it takes for you to go from one end of the pool to the other comfortably and then try to make every length of the pool equal the same amount of kick cycles. Eventually you'll have that down. Kick cycles are important because even if you know the correct headings to take, you can get lost by going too far or not far enough in one direction. Practice those kick cycles underwater too because you don't kick as efficiently on the surface as you do underneath. Practice a lot and good luck!
