Underwater Navigation. Where to start.
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A very basic point, if you hold your compass with both hands, it will usually be centered to your body.........and more accurate.
like most people have said, ifyou want to be good at UW nav, get good at topside nav. Figure out a point you want to walk to in your yard, get a bearing, set your lubber line and walk to it without looking at anything but your compass. Once you are good with that, set up a dive plan based off a map of your yard. Start at your front door, walk so many paces on way, then so many another, etc, and see if you end up where you wanted to, all without looking at anything but the compass. If you are really good at it topside, that alone will help you underwater.
I don't know of any books (other than my collection of all the NAUI recreational cert books), but my little tidbit would be: Look behind you!
On more than one occasion, I've seen the wide-eyed confused looks of divers as they realize they have no idea how to get back to the anchor line. The relief they show when I give an big emphatic "Thataway!" signal to them is palpable. If they had been checking their six every so often, they wouldn't be nearly so lost.
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course was quite nice when it came to navigation, but even in that, there isn't *too* much depth to the material. There are compass courses (reciprocal, square, triangle, etc), procedures for getting surface fixes (always use pairs of landmarks in a row so that you can be sure you're lined up), and the usual underwater fare (sand waves are usually smaller as you go shallower; they're usually parallel to the shore; if there's a slope, depth is a reliable coordinate). You could probably cover navigation in an evening. Applying it from there is just a lot of practice.
On more than one occasion, I've seen the wide-eyed confused looks of divers as they realize they have no idea how to get back to the anchor line. The relief they show when I give an big emphatic "Thataway!" signal to them is palpable. If they had been checking their six every so often, they wouldn't be nearly so lost.
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course was quite nice when it came to navigation, but even in that, there isn't *too* much depth to the material. There are compass courses (reciprocal, square, triangle, etc), procedures for getting surface fixes (always use pairs of landmarks in a row so that you can be sure you're lined up), and the usual underwater fare (sand waves are usually smaller as you go shallower; they're usually parallel to the shore; if there's a slope, depth is a reliable coordinate). You could probably cover navigation in an evening. Applying it from there is just a lot of practice.
Not sure if you have read this basic article at scubadiving.com but here's the link:
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/basic_skills/compass_navigation_made_easy/
Hope this helps.
-J.-
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/basic_skills/compass_navigation_made_easy/
Hope this helps.
-J.-
Totally agree with Charlie and Catherine on this one.
Plus it's good to see some PADI supporters
They do cover U/W navigation in the AOW(Advanced meaning advancing your dive skills folks)...Where's Walter...
Plus it's good to see some PADI supporters
They do cover U/W navigation in the AOW(Advanced meaning advancing your dive skills folks)...Where's Walter...johnny_bravo:
Yes, I have. I have this link as well as many others. I'm trying to read anything I can get on this subject. I heard of the very "Funny" story of two divers in NY who got lost off the Rockaway. They swam in circles until they got OOA. Then, they bobbled on surfice 600 feet to shore (pathetic). I do not want to be like that.
ChrisEdwards
Guest
The other thing when using a compass is timing your progress. This can be either counting your kick cycles or noting the elapsed time, minutes, for each leg of your course. To end up where you planned you will have to be fairly consistent with you movement through the water, i.e. not stopping for a couple of minutes to examine something without compensating one on of the other legs for this stop.
Of course currents make the navigation a little harder unless you know the speed and can adjust for this.
Of course currents make the navigation a little harder unless you know the speed and can adjust for this.
JanR
Contributor
Everyone's put great tips and advise into this thread.
However, I began to notice my nav skills increased due to not necessarily what I was doing, but where I was doing them.
For my part, when I began diving in our local quarry in 5-15 feet of visibility my navigation skills began to really improve.
Both my BOW and AOW were in tropical locations with 100+ visibility. Although the instructor taught us the right lessons and we conducted the right drills...when you can see your instructor and that big reef that he's hovering by for the entire 100 foot box you are swimming, it's pretty hard to screw up.
However, shooting a 20 degree azimuth from the swim platforms, fin cycling for 400 feet and seeing the outline of that "old bus" emerge from the murk when you've done it right is priceless. Especially if you follow it up with navigating your way back to within 20 feet of your entry point.
Low visibility dives simply force you to pay attention to your skills.
For what's worth,
Jan
However, I began to notice my nav skills increased due to not necessarily what I was doing, but where I was doing them.
For my part, when I began diving in our local quarry in 5-15 feet of visibility my navigation skills began to really improve.
Both my BOW and AOW were in tropical locations with 100+ visibility. Although the instructor taught us the right lessons and we conducted the right drills...when you can see your instructor and that big reef that he's hovering by for the entire 100 foot box you are swimming, it's pretty hard to screw up.
However, shooting a 20 degree azimuth from the swim platforms, fin cycling for 400 feet and seeing the outline of that "old bus" emerge from the murk when you've done it right is priceless. Especially if you follow it up with navigating your way back to within 20 feet of your entry point.
Low visibility dives simply force you to pay attention to your skills.
For what's worth,
Jan
TrickyRicky
Registered
Hi there,
The first thing I would do would be to get a very good compass. During my OW and AOW there was a very high failure rate that was blamed on the compass. Mine worked great, however I could get my dive buddies to point north in any direction.
Cheers!
The first thing I would do would be to get a very good compass. During my OW and AOW there was a very high failure rate that was blamed on the compass. Mine worked great, however I could get my dive buddies to point north in any direction.
Cheers!
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