How are you at Navigation?

[NorthernShrinkage]

Learned in about grade 6 how to use a compass and did a lot of orienteering courses in school. Then proceeded to learn much more in the Military so i am very much at home with one.

That being said I definetly prefer a regular compass to anything digital I have switched to my compass mode on the Vyper maybe twice and dont care for it at all. I generaly just set a heading as a guide and as checking it just remeber I am way left or right of where I want to be and correct upon my return. It seems to work for me well enough that nobody I dive with is willing to do the driving and follow behind .

 

[merxlin]

I found this poll but was looking for the classifieds...........

 

[300bar]

I found this poll but was looking for the classifieds...........

 

[NorthernShrinkage]

I found this poll but was looking for the classifieds...........

Well thanks for letting us know you stopped by:mooner:

 

[ssidiv3r]

I took a Nav course shortly after my OW and after a bit of practice I started getting comfortable with it and was able to maintain depth a lot better than when I started. In local quarries I almost always know where I am even though I still try to use my compass at least every other dive. For new sites (i.e. NC wrecks) I haven't had any trouble getting back to the anchor line, however, I might have inherited a small sense of Nav from my father who is a merchant marine

 

[Teamcasa]

I found this poll but was looking for the classifieds...........

Keep going 25 kick cycles on a 120 heading, turn right to 190 and then 15 kick cycles, it's on your left.

 

[300bar]

:lol:

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Allway's willing to learn more,so I would be interested to see.

PM sent. Should have made it clear that it is available for SEI instructors via SEI HQ. I do occaisionally make the student guide available on a very limited basis myself.

 

[charlesg3]

I am able to follow a compass heading well but that imo isn't very difficult. For me what helps navigation is trying to keep a mental picture of an overhead view map of the site. I dive a lot of shore sites and coves and I try to remember at all times what direction the cove is and then check the compass to make sure I'm right. Every time I surface I try to point at the direction of shore and check once I can see.

Adding in the natural navigation cues is what helped my navigation get a lot better... to the point where I'm not checking the compass as often. When going for lobsters, when you find a rock or the like you swim to it and then search all around (under) it. Knowing which direction you were originally swimming in is a good test of nav skills.

It's funny when other people are leading who are not great at navigation. We discuss where we're trying to go at the surface and they start out in the right direction but get turned and don't notice. Sometimes I let them swim and figure it out, but sometimes I'll go flag them down give them the signal for the direction they should be swimming.

 

[RJP]

Navigation is easy if you're a wreck diver...

There's a line.
There's a boat on either end.
Follow the line to the boat on the bottom.
Follow the line back to the boat on the top.

If both boats are on the bottom, it's a bad day.