UTD and Navigation

[dive900]

Hi guys

I was looking at the UTD website and the different courses and i cant seem to find any mention of underwater navigation. There is no specialty like PADI so i went through the course curriculum for essentials, rec1 rec2 and rec3 and i cant seem to find it (either that or i missed it big time).

When does UTD teach proper underwater navigation, is it part of essentials but just isnt shown on the website?

im very very new and i would like to get to a level where i can dive a so-so familiar dive site without having to use a local guide or DM....right now i just follow like a little puppy hehehe....

and although i know site knowledge will pretty much get me where i want to be, well if i dive the same spot like 100 times id prolly know the location and not need a DM, i would like to learn proper navigation skills.

 

[Mayor]

That's funny because GUE does not as well..... We just go around in circles till the air runs out...lol. They are expecting you to have these skill and might be taught in the OW program. My navigation class was from an agency international training director and he could have you hit a targeted way points in blue water.

 

[dive900]

Hi Mayor, actually....GUE does have it, if you download the latest standards and practice document they have on their website version 6.2, their REC1 and REC2 courses have it listed as part of their required dive skills and drills.

i ask because navigation was barely touched in my OW certification from PADI (i guess thats why they have navigation as one of their specialty courses). I was hoping to shift to UTD or GUE for my rec progression and since i have a UTD instructor much nearer to where i am at versus a GUE instructor i was hoping someone from UTD can shed some light regarding which part of the rec progression navigation is thoroughly discussed. If it's in Rec1 then BLEH! that might mean i have to take PADI's specialty course since i dont really wanna redo my ow cert, if it's rec2 then its great because its the natural progression from my padi ow cert + upcoming utd essentials.

 

[randytay]

Slightly off topic: you don't need to do Rec 1 because OW+essentials = Rec 1.

 

[Jeff_S]

In every UTD class, whether it's a personal skills class like Essentials of Tech or Essentials of Rec, or a critical skills class like Rec 3 or Tech 1, we teach environmental awareness. This goes far beyond simple navigation.

In the UTD Open Water and Rec 1 programs we teach basic compass use, but the more important element is situational awareness...awareness of team, equipment, and environment. We strive to create a balance between all three, so the students understand that at any given point in a dive primary focus may need to be on the team, or the equipment, or the environment, but at no point is 100% of a diver's focus on any one aspect...there is always some attention given to all three.

Environmental awareness can be as simple as knowing which direction is the shore, or as complex as following natural navigation features or running line. But in every case, the students are charged with knowing how and where to make a safe exit, i.e. "Where is the boat?" "Where is the exit?" "Where is the upline?" "How long have we been swimming in this direction?" "How much gas do we have?" etc.

At no time in any UTD class is the training based solely on a drill that ends with two random kicks in any direction. Every scenario goes to its natural conclusion. For example, a practice airshare continues until the students demonstrate an exit strategy – either by shooting a bag and beginning an ascent, or swimming toward the upline, or the shore, or the boat, etc. This is the case in both personal skills classes and critical skills classes.

Awareness is key, and it leads to our goal as educators: to create "thinking divers."

 

[dive900]

Thanks so much Jeff. I think i understand the principle and the beauty of that system but how about for us people who have not had any training on compass use much more situational awareness that UTD can build on? Does that mean i have to resort to getting PADI's specialized underwater navigation course just to catch up?

 

[Jeff_S]

We work on the 'building block' theory of education, so if you take a UTD class and you are missing some fundamental skill (like operating and following a compass) that is needed for the next skill (environmental awareness), we will fill in the gaps and be sure you are properly trained.

This goes across the board in UTD classes, and it is why we have the Essentials classes (Tech, Rec, Side Mount, Overhead, Rebreather). These are personal skills classes that are for teaching, not just demonstrating. We teach you the skills, we teach you how to practice those skills properly, then you can come back and take a critical skills class like Tech 1, Cave 1, Rec 3, etc. and put the skills to use during critical skills training, when we start running surprise [simulated] failures.

So for your specific situation, if we ask you to navigate off a line and back to a line in open water, but no one has shown you the basics of how to use the compass for that, we'll start there. We will also apply that training to real life situations, so with compass use, for example, rather than just sending you out one way and back on the reciprical, we may ask you to pay attention to your direction of travel while running line in open water, as if you are heading from an anchor line to a wreck, or something like that, and than ask that you also pay attention to the compass while reeling in that line, so now you are navigating by guideline, compass, and natural features, each backing up the other.

This applies to all the skills we teach – learn the personal skills, practice them correctly, then use them as we move through more advanced classes.

Jeff

Thanks so much Jeff. I think i understand the principle and the beauty of that system but how about for us people who have not had any training on compass use much more situational awareness that UTD can build on? Does that mean i have to resort to getting PADI's specialized underwater navigation course just to catch up?

 

[dive900]

i see thanks Jeff!!