Underwater Navigation

[njedrn]

I have the same problem at times... I tend to need a reference to maintain my awareness. I make sure I listen to the DM for special instructions regarding current and major features, this in addition to (this below) help stay sane underwater.
\I try will often use as much reference as i can. IE on a dive in ft lauderdale... I know the coast will always be to west. Second I note the depth and general layout of where we moored to (ie on top of a shelf... east of the shelf in the sands etc. Then I'll swim into the current about 2 minutes... turn around and check my heading. Once all that lines up I have a faint idea of my where-abouts. If I get off track or have no idea where I am, I find west and then the heading to go back... gives me a general idea to keep going or start making my way back the boat.

Hope this helps.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Everyone is different; not many are good at everything. Forcing the navigationally challenged to navigate is asking for trouble. Many experienced merchant marines can not navigate the vessels they have worked an entire career on, they smartly let the "navigator" do the navigation.

Back in the Sea Hunt days navigation was a required skill. Now it is only required if you are doing Sea Hunt-ish diving.

 

[TSandM]

Halemano, if you dive in Puget Sound, you have to be able to navigate. 10 foot viz really limits the amount of environmental information you have available to you. We have a very popular dive park where the bottom gradient is so slight that it takes you about 20 minutes to swim from shore to 40 feet, and there is no reef -- just objects like small boats and concrete pipes that have been placed as habitat. It is EXTREMELY easy to get turned around and be swimming away from shore, when you think you are heading home. A compass is a critical piece of information there.

I've also dived rock ridges that fall off on either side; again, if you want to get back to the anchor, you'd better know which side you're on. In Monterey, if you dive Lobos, there are multiple sand channels leading out to the deeper water -- if you want to come up where you are safe (and not in the wash rocks) you need to be able to recognize the one you came out through. This is not only compass navigation, but landmark recognition and time measurement as well.

Our charters don't put a DM in the water -- there is no guide, and once you are down, you are on your own for figuring out where the structure you came to see is located, and how to move along it. In LA, charter boats anchor, so you have to get back to them (which is not the case in Puget Sound).

I would say that, outside of guided dives, or simple dives in very clear water, underwater navigation is an important skill, and one which can be learned. I wasn't very good at it at all when I started, but I've gotten pretty handy as time has gone on, and I've had more practice.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

What exactly did you think I meant by "Sea Hunt-ish diving"

 

[fisheater]

Hmm.

I think I see your point, halemano.

Mike Nelson never went on a tourist DM-led cattle boat, where they set up your gear, hold your hand and wipe your nose.

OK, for THOSE divers, there's no need for navigational skills.

For the rest of us, . . . .

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

What about Key Largo? How many divers who successfully dive Key Largo w/o guides use compasses? How about Hawaii shore dives? If I surveyed all successful non guided divers exiting Ulua, Maui or Shark's Cove, Oahu, how many use a compass on those dives?

Divers who need to use a compass should know how to use and carry a compass. The vast majority of dives made on this planet do not require the diver to use a compass. Many divers dive lots if not all of their many dives without using a compass.

 

[AmRus]

Everyone is different; not many are good at everything. Forcing the navigationally challenged to navigate is asking for trouble. Many experienced merchant marines can not navigate the vessels they have worked an entire career on, they smartly let the "navigator" do the navigation.

Back in the Sea Hunt days navigation was a required skill. Now it is only required if you are doing Sea Hunt-ish diving.

Hi Guys,
This is why I opened this thread: I believe that, especially under water, what you don't know can kill you - or cause you a bad day. Although I have trouble with navigation, I believe it is a skill that I can learn and the advice I've received from this forum has given me the tools to become a better diver. I don't want to be one of the holiday crowd, nor do I want to do or not do something that should be done, because I didn't know any better. It's why I treat diving as a 'continuing ed' program as well as an enjoyable hobby.

Halemano, I agree with your statement that most recreational divers treat their DM's as though they were as important as NASA instructors. In comparison to their own skills, I guess you could make the point that, relatively, they are. This is a fact that I personally am not comfortable with.

Just because I am not now a good underwater navigator doesn't mean that I have to walk away from the subject. I think everyone can get better at doing something they like by applying themselves. So, I have to respectfully disagree with your premise that I am looking for trouble :arrow:

At the end of the day, I guess what I'll take comfort in is that if my dive partner and I get left behind the boat, I'll at least know what direction to start treading water in...

 

[fnfalman]

For the navigationally challenged, just buy a GPS and put it in a waterproof ziploc bag...

 

[Mike Boswell]

I agree with most of the comments here, and will just add my two cents:

Ideally, I want to get back to the anchor and ascend up the rope, but in poor visibility I sometimes screw up. If there is no current it doesn't matter too much if I screw up - it just means a bit of a swim. But in strong currents, I want to be up-current of the boat when I pop to the surface, because there is nobody there but me to rescue me.

This means, first, that I note the current direction and speed before entering the water, second, that I anchor down-current of the intended dive area and swim up-current to it, third, I end the dive with a big air reserve in case I have to descend and swim along the bottom towards the boat, and lastly, I have a contingency "Plan B" if I find myself being swept away from the boat in a strong current.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Forcing the navigationally challenged to navigate is asking for trouble.

There are currently two threads going on compass navigation, and this may have been typed due in part to the sentiments expressed in that thread. I did not quote any of your statements prior to this post, so I was not calling you out. You are not being forced to navigate, you are in the process of learning; good on ya!

So, I have to respectfully disagree with your premise that I am looking for trouble :arrow: