Little nervous - should we take a navigation course?

[littleguppie]

My husband and I are taking th 5 day coral sea/ribbon reef trip with Spirit of Freedom in Sept 2008. I had been reading on some forums that people were getting lost on their dives and they were disappointed some of the dives were not offered guided. We have only dived about 25 dives, many of which were guided. We are wondering if we should take any special courses prior to the trip? I'm not even sure what kinds of courses are offered. Can you take a navigation course? We do not own dive computers but will be renting dive computers on the trip. We have never used on before, should we take a course on diving with computers or is it pretty self-explanitory once we get the instructions on the boat?

Any information about courses or gear needed or anything we should know for a 5 day live aboard would be so greatly appreciated. this is a dream trip for us and it's so incredibly expensive. We really want to enjoy it and not feel unprepared or nervous.

 

[stiebs]

Hi littleguppie,

You won't need to worry about any of that; especially not on SoF. They take really good care of you. If you want, you can go off on your own, but every single dive they will have a DM or instructor in the water. All you have to do is put your hand up at the briefing before each dive, and they will dive with you the whole way.

As for the computers, they will also tell you what you need to know about them. But the general idea about a dive computer is to just wear it. Look at it to check your depth, and how much time you have left before your no-deco limit is up, and then watch the countdown to zero on your safety stop.

The SoF is a dream trip, and there's a reason its so expensive. It's a great vessel and a great crew that will look after you well.

 

[almitywife]

are you american? for some reason, we only leave the americans behind sorry - i was JOKING! in fact, i hope you will find they are very stringent on checking you in and out of the water

ok, relax and enjoy.... like above poster said, put your hand up and you WILL be looked after

you will find the dive equipment pretty basic and easy to understand plus boat crew know their job is to make sure you have the best time possible - and again, ask questions/for help as you have paid alot of money for this trip so you are entitled to feel safe and secure

it is in the BEST interest of the queensland dive industry that you have a great time and return home safely

enjoy.. sounds like an exciting trip!

 

[mig_diver]

As froop and almity have already said, you will definitely be looked after well on the SOF. There will be DMs or instructors with you all the time so you don't need to worry about getting lost if your planning on sticking with them. However, if you want to go off and do your own thing, then its best to know how to get back to the boat. I'd recommend doing the nav course anyway, because its a good skill to have, but if you don't have the spare time then don't worry cause SOF is a liveaboard that you wont need it on.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN

 

[littleguppie]

Thank you all so much for putting my mind at ease and really making me happy I choose SOF. I was a little nervous b/c I called and spoke with a rep from SOF and they said it would be $20/pp/per day EXTRA for guided dives. I found that to be completely crazy considering we are spending $3,500USD for 2 people for 4 day trip. For that price I would expect them to offer a guide if we need one. I don't forsee needing one every dive, but probably the first one and the night dives.

And yes...I am American!

 

[PCBCaptChris]

I have found if I don't know where I am relative to the exit location I am a little stress. I want to be at ease, so I inturn I need to know where I am. It sounds like you have the same anxiety. I'd recommend learning some navigation skills. It would probably make you more conformatble while diving. It probably won't be to killer expensive and will most likely make you diving much more fun!

 

[sarita75]

I would agree with PCB, you would probably benefit from learning good navigation. Never hurts!

Also, depending on condition, if you are feeling a little stressed about your navigation, try doing some dives where you stay in visual contact with the anchor line. Most boats in the US put the line down right at or along side the dive site, so if the viz is good enough, you can just keep that line in sight, thus reducing the amount of stress.

You might even wish to do some simple navigation exercises on some of your dives during the trip. Compass heading to something, reverse the compass heading back from it. Navigate in quadrents, etc. It doesn't necessarily require a class, just do some reading. I think it would help you feel less stress, more competent (not to insinuate that you aren't), etc.

As well, always remember to have a safety sausage (surface marker buoy) and whistle on EACH DIVER all the time. Regardless of whether you have a guide or not. Its peace of mind, at least for me.

Have a great trip, and don't forget to give us a report when home again.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would not worry about a nav course. That is provided you take me along as your personal DM. I have very reasonable rates!

 

[almitywife]

...........As well, always remember to have a safety sausage (surface marker buoy) and whistle on EACH DIVER all the time. ......

i believe by law you are required to carry a smb & snorkel in sunny queensland

cheers

 

[sarita75]

That's great that the law requires that .......... I think more places should (personally).