Navigation tips?

[The Chairman]

If you're diving from a boat, head into the current at the beginning of the dive. Turn your dive when you've used half of your bottom gas. Bottom gas is determined by subtracting your ascent gas (greater of 10x your projected depth or 600psi). Trying to find the boat as you're being swept back to it is far, far easier than trying to battle current to get back.

As for commando peeks, I've done them from 60' if I haven't incurred any deco. Just make sure the whole gang doesn't follow you up.

If I'm diving a wreck with multiple buoys, I'll tie a an arrow or a deflated sausage to the correct up line. Nothing is more embarrassing to me than getting on the wrong boat. It happened once on the Vandenberg, but it was because they had to get off the buoy and rescue someone and another boat grabbed that buoy. Fortunately, it was an easy float to get on the right boat, but until I learned what had happened I felt pretty embarrassed.

 

[Foothills]

I highly endorse the previously mentioned "nav board". Tracking bearings & swim times to make a map as you go, or working off a pre-existing map really helps prevent getting lost. I also find the getting the compass off your wrist of console and out in front of you also helps hold a bearing.

Also, trust your compass, especially in low vis.

Lastly, practice makes you better (but no matter how much I practice, I still blow the occassional nav....). Like all scuba skills, nav should be practiced regularly.

 

[0321tony]

If you don't know how to use a compass get someone to show you. Trust your compass is a big one it may feel like you are going the wrong direction but trust your compass. If you want to check it then just spin it 360 degrees and make sure its still pointing the same way. Next is practice practice practice, if you do a discover dive then don't just blindly follow but try and keep track of your location with your own compass. When I am diving with divers that are new to navigation I will let them lead the dive but keep track of where they are so that they don't get too far off track, This can help with confidence because when they find their own way they feel good about it but also gives them confidence that someone is there that wont let them get lost. Another thing that can really help you to keep track of your distance is a set of Ranger beads (just google it) very simple to use doesn't take up any room and makes it really easy to keep track of distance.
When navigating depending on visibility look ahead and take a direction reading then pick out something, a rock or some other easily recognizable feature in that direction and swim to it that way you are not staring at your compass all the time once you get there take another compass heading and pick out another feature ahead to move to. It also serves a purpose that if you see something to the side you can go and check it out then when you have your look you can go to the feature you picked out and continue from there rather than trying to keep track of how far left and right you have traveled.

Practice on dry land too, first make sure there is nothing you're going to run into then pull your hat down over your eyes so you can see nothing but the ground and your compass then practice making out and back trips across your yard. count your steps out then make a return trip counting your steps and see how close you are to your starting point, start small. Once you master that then practice making different shapes like a box or triangle, T etc. Counting steps will get you used to counting fin strokes. Once you get good at that its no different under water.

And last bit of advice is practice practice practice.

 

[NaCl H2O]

Being lost is less awful if you're both lost ;-)

THIS, haaa!! We dove our plan.

I typically dive in current so going up for a peek can be disadvantageous with higher currents at the surface. If you don't all go up it is way easy to get separated.
Set a bearing, be conscious of the flow, use your compass and keep at it. You should start to get a feel for it.

All else fails, blame it on your buddy!!!

 

[Steve_C]

A few observations
-if you are diving in or near a large wreck or pile of metal your compass can be off
-if you are in shallower water like 30ft the boat will cast a shadow that is visible from much further away than you can actually see the boat. Head for where it appears darker. That will be the boat unless a cloud is passing over,
-At depth, say 80ft during the day, if you are off a ways from the wreck again the wreck direction can appear darker even if you cannot see the wreck.
-If it really matters, like I want to get back to the anchor line and it is essentially a debri field, or i am going out across some sand, I will run a line from my reel especially in lower viz.
-if you have run a line since you went out to look for some teeth and are to the point the wreck is invisible, and you are heading back, look up once in a while as you reel in the line, otherwise you can run headfirst into the side of a 9ft sand tiger shark that is resting on the line. Not sure who it startled more her or me.

 

[Esprise Me]

@The Chairman : Do a 'Navy Seal Peek' out of the water to get a bearing.

Forgive the stupid question, but how does this work? Do you treat it as a normal ascent (safety stop and all), look around, then descend again, swim to the boat, and do the same thing? Does this not screw up the calculations versus if you'd just stayed down?

 

[BlueTrin]

Forgive the stupid question, but how does this work? Do you treat it as a normal ascent (safety stop and all), look around, then descend again, swim to the boat, and do the same thing? Does this not screw up the calculations versus if you'd just stayed down?

So he said he would do this only at no deco, the important thing to remember is that when you are in your NDL, your 3 min stop is optional.

You can ascend (slowly), peek and come back.

 

[Aviyes]

Forgive the stupid question, but how does this work? Do you treat it as a normal ascent (safety stop and all), look around, then descend again, swim to the boat, and do the same thing? Does this not screw up the calculations versus if you'd just stayed down?

Assuming you are talking about dive tables, don't overthink it, just include it as part of your actual bottom time. Which is why a dive computer is so highly recommended as the first piece of gear to buy, as this is an example of one benefit of a dive computer in that it will account for it automatically. Safety stop is considered optional for NDL diving, so you would just skip it, seal peek and dive back down to the group.

 

[BlueTrin]

On another topic I found out it makes a huge difference for me to NOT put the compass on my wrist. Either of these works for me:

• Clip the compass without bracelet to your right shoulder ring with a pull out cable
• Just clip the compass to your BCD, then when you use it, unclip it then hold it in front of you by just joining your hands in front of you and leaving the compass bracelet around your hands

I find that both of these make me hold my compass more steadily and more horizontal.

 

[happy-diver]

on all boat dives when following a down line whether it be anchor or mooring always follow it to the end, look at where you are then find some terrain or a hull to follow and set your compass on the reciprocal heading and go

Visibility can disappear and take the line with it, sure helps to know where the end is

Give orienteering a quick go and meet some people and learn some compass
and meet some more people

On my locally dive sunk destroyer the EX HMAS Brisbane built in Michigan in the Mighty USA at 133metres long in 27metres of ocean the bow faces east, and with my favourite dive op the two mooring lines are amidships at 15M on the mag deck with the northern line on the port side and the southern mooring on the starboard side of the ship. With my second favourite dive op on that wreck their lines are at the bow, at about 16M on the main deck in amongst the anchor chains near where Rose and Jack engaged, with once again the northern line on the left side and the southern line on the right, with the stern facing west towards land.


Left Right Port Starboard North South East West

Long way to go when you're looking for the forward mooring from the rear with 100bar
and everything looks the same

forwards backwards up left right 50bar

and then there's penetrating inverted or sideways wrecks be they scuttled or sunk

Tell your buddy “We're both doing navigation today!” or find a compliant one
you don't have to go far, just keep coming back to the anchor and start again
going further progressively

I find the most relaxing navigation dives are when the captain and crew make it very very clear
they are perfectly happy to come and pick you up from over there bobbing around somewhere