Is basic navigation taught in OW?

[oly5050user]

I require ow students to own a compass for their training dives. Yes in PADI world it is gone over during the ow dives as Peter Guy stated. Some instructors do not, as they do not feel comfortable with it ??..and if they fail to do so they are in violation of standards.

 

[dmoore19]

The dive shop had a compass for those who didn't have one. The compass did not come with the standard rental kit. I had one because I purchased my own stuff during OW.

As these discussions come up I am more and more impressed with the training I received. I think I will email my OW instructor and thank him......again!

 

[bbarnett51]

There was also a girl on my trip that had only 20 dives and was very good. So I don't want to come across as high and mighty.

I also understand many dives don't require a compass. I take headings out of habit but don't always need them.

I just know that some situations require a knowledge of location to end up at the boat and not Cuba.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It is alaso dependent on agency as to what is required in the OW course. Since I do not do checkout dives with students stationary to evaluate skills as we do them while swimming I spend more time on compass use in the classroom and the pool than was done in my OW class. Even though the pool is small it can still be used to teach how to hold the compass properly, changing headings while hovering, and swimming a heading. And since the checkout dives are an evaluation to insure the students can dive without an instructor dive four or five is done entirely by the student with me observing and making sure nothing happens. So they plan the dive, plan the course, and then they lead the dive so they are responsible for navigating.

I have always considered the ability to navigate under water a core skill and mark of a competent diver. It's why I wrote a course to teach it in a way that fosters success and a desire to actually work at it. Some UW Nav courses and intros to it like are in the AOW courses of some agencies are fine if you have 30 feet of vis or more. But around here we do not so going by the book does more to create frustration and unrealistic expectations.

UW Nav takes practice, patience, and small steps as well as teamwork to really learn effectively. I have had several private students for it one on one and I make it clear to them that because they are not part of a regular buddy team they are going to have spend more time and move slower to get good at it.

It is the class I most recommend divers take after Open Water along with Rescue. If divers have not had rescue skills in their OW class they should do that and then UW Nav. If they have had those skills such as are taught by SEI or NAUI in their OW classes, then UW Nav is what I want to see them do before any other advanced classes. Including AOW.

 

[boulderjohn]

Yes, basic compass navigation is taught in the PADI OW class. It is just one direction and a reciprocal, but that one skill will serve a wide variety of navigation needs. I take the time to show them how that one skill used creatively can get them through a lot of navigation situations.

Here's the problem. After getting certified, a lot of divers--probably most--then go to resort areas where they follow a DM around for a while until they are back at the boat. Some will do nothing but this for all of their diving and not realize any other style of diving exists. If they did not know how to use a compass before their OW class, and they don't use one for years afterward, they will certainly not remember what to do when they are later called upon to use one.

 

[doctorwhodiver]

Just finished my OW class a few weekends ago. The manuel teaches you about the compass but is very confusing. I went over it with my instructor in the classroom. We also did it in the certification dives but all that happened was my instructor swam out past where the visibility was and we had to swim straight to him using our compasses and then use the reciprocal heading to come back. I could have done this without a compass...swimming straight toward something you just saw vanish and then turning around isn't rocket science.

Above water we also did a heading toward the platforms where we performed our under water skills...still we had a buoy to aim our headings at and if we got lost we could just look up and get back on course.

I've been diving with some experienced divers lately and even they had a hard time underwater trying to navigate us in the quarry...
I think compass training needs to be taught better in the OW course with higher expectations.

 

[billt4sf]

As stated, yes students are taught "basic" navigation. /QUOTE]

 

[Hawkwood]

As stated, yes students are taught "basic" navigation. /QUOTE]

Umm....what's so funny?

 

[Selchie in LB]

No compass skills. Boo I can get turned around pretty easily underwater. I try to watch for items to site, current as someone suggested, and the direction of the sun. These things are helpful in good viz. At depth and/or bad viz compass rules. It's easy enough to think you're swimming straight out turn around and straight back but in poor viz not so much. Nothing doing a long surface swim to make sure you have your bearings.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Badge353]

It is very basic. This is a compass this is how it works and how you hold it. In AOW you go more in depth. One of the reasons I am a believer in AOW shortly after OW. You learn more basic skills to better prepare you to be on your own.