I use a simple Nav-Finder. Much less expensive than a homing device; but the down side is you got to keep track of your direction and distances. When you're ready to return to the start point. Reorient the Nav-Finder and read the direction and distance to your ascent line.
Navigation....
- Thread starter Blue Space
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metaldector
Contributor
While diving take a bag of fish food. Drop some every so often. Then when you want to return, just follow the fish food back. Where it stops is where you started. It worked for Hansle & Gretel!
I've gotten the impression lately that most divers just follow the divemaster. Well, unless their in a quarry and then they just surface when their out of air and swim back on the surface. I see lots of divers just keep surfacing. Either their navigating or just checking to see if the sun is still out.
Other than that, yes, what the others said.
Other than that, yes, what the others said.
When I am somewhere new (which unfortunately isn't often anymore...)
I take note of the depth and location I am at. Basically using land marks. I usually try to find those same landmarks and depths when I am supposed to be returning.....most often it works. I don't do much drift diving...damn currentless quarries....but I would suspect it works much the same.
Most of the quarries we dive around here.....I have gotten used to. I just dead-rekon my way around, probably a little like some of the old folks you dive iwth....unless they have just lost it and don't mind surface swimming a little.
I take note of the depth and location I am at. Basically using land marks. I usually try to find those same landmarks and depths when I am supposed to be returning.....most often it works. I don't do much drift diving...damn currentless quarries....but I would suspect it works much the same.
Most of the quarries we dive around here.....I have gotten used to. I just dead-rekon my way around, probably a little like some of the old folks you dive iwth....unless they have just lost it and don't mind surface swimming a little.
OP
Blue Space
Contributor
with keeping track of where I'm going.. I follow my compass very well. it's on the return that gets me...I don't count fin kicks so this time I'm going to pay special attention to the time from start to turn around time....I see one problem with this... If I see something cool I may spend a little more time investigating what I've seen...I'll just have to take that into consideration....I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem...
thanks a bunch guys:
Brandon
I need to take a good navigation course to lean more about a compass....I have the basics but I need more...I like perfection
thanks a bunch guys:
Brandon
I need to take a good navigation course to lean more about a compass....I have the basics but I need more...I like perfection
People. You don't have to count fin kicks to navigate on a normal dive. Never. Like in Never Ever Ever. Counting fin kicks is for search patterns where you need to be accurate to within a couple of metres.
Let's give a concrete example:
To learn to navigate start with a simple out-and-back pattern. To make it easy do this:
- descend to the bottom and get your bearings. Once you know which way you want to go, just go. It's nice if you know the bottom contour a bit but even that's not really a pre as long as you stay within your limits and your profile doesn't get to dodgy.
- swim in a more or less constant speed (slow) in the direction you want to go. At first you might like to use the compass to verify your direction. Don't stare at it or you won't see anthing. Just check it every few minutes and look ahead not down. After a while you'll see that looking ahead and swimming from object to object keeps you going in a straight line too.
- watch for a couple (and just a couple) of easy to identify land marks
- when you get to 120 bar (what's that...like 1800 psi or so), turn around and follow the same line back. A nice sign for that for your buddy is to stick up your finger like you're balancing a basket ball on it and make a circle.
- swim at the same speed. (slow)
- watch for your land marks and line up with them as you go.
- when you get to 50 bar (about 700psi) you should be back at where you started. More or less. (the difference of 10 bar is your descent) You might be a little off depending on how much attention you paid to your compass but it will be metres not miles.
Once you can do that with a lot of confidence then do it on time instead of pressure. For this you need to plan your air supply a little before hand which means you need to know your SAC.
Then go like (for example) 10 min out, 10 minutes back. Brandon is on to the right idea here. He does it on the fly but I think you should plan your legs ahead of time so you know you have enough gas.
THEN, if you want to spend 5 min watching something you can work out how far to go back easily. For example, if you go 7 min out and spend some time looking at something, how long to get back? 7 min. HOw long can you hang around looking? 6 min. It just needs to add up to 20 (7+7+6) Just like your original planning. Easy as counting.
If you plan two legs of 10 min and you see an interesting object aftre 4 min how long can you stay? .... 12 min. HOw long back? 4 min. Easy as counting. JUst adds up to 20.
It gets a little more complicated too but you can still do it in your head:
If you swim for 2 min and see an object. You hang around the object for 5 min and want to go further, how much further can you go? Anyone? Answer is 5 min. It just adds up to 20 but round down: (2out + 5still + 2back) means you've used up 9 of your 20 min. the differece is 11 and you can still split that in 2 rounding down.
Anyone can do this. With enough practice it gets as easy as reading your computer. And if you're DM-ing you don't need to wait to work it out. If your out leg doesn't add up to 10 yet you can just keep going and add it up as you go. Nobody will suspect a thing
Along the way learn to pick up on the signals I mentioned in my previous post and your accuracy will improve. And practice makes perfect. Don't expect to nail it the first time you try.
R..
Most of my diving is in limited visibility from zero to 30 ft. I don't have much to add to what's already been said except I agree navigating by time or air pressure is much more practical than navigating by fin kicks.
Also note the depth the anchor is at at the start of the dive. This reduces the navigational problem to one or two dimensions instead of three depending on the bottom contours involved. If you are doing a simple out and back course with a compass and are not great at holding a heading, you can offset a few degrees and then when you arrive back at the right depth, you will know which way to turn to find the anchor instead of wondering if it is port or starboard when you don't hit it exactly.
One of the errors I see even experienced divers do with a compass at depth is not hold the thing level. I have watched divers to full circles before they realize the compass is locked up. In my opinion of the most important features of a compass is how tolerant it is of being tilted and still being free to rotate. In any case you need to check your compass frequently for free and proper movement to prevent swimming in a big circle.
Also at depth figuring a simple reciprocal heading can be a challenge. At 150 ft., 265 minus 180 is not always a simple math problem to solve. You are far better off to set the course indicator at the anchor on the beginning of the dive and then follow the other indicator on the way back. On my compass there is one carrot on one side and two carrots 180 degrees opposite. I normally point in the direction I want to go and align the single carrot with the North end of the needle for the first leg and then align the north end of the needle between the two carrots for the second leg. Even when rather deep and narced, there is no math to screw up and no doubt about what direction I need to go to get back to the ascent line.
I have a freind and frequent dive buddy who is also an instructor and with silty bottoms he will swim close to the mottom to stir up a silt trail that he then follows back. It's an out of the box solution, but not one I recommend. For one, it really offends the wreck diver in me to stir up silt when you don't have to and I think potentially causes more problems than it prevents. Also on long dives, the "trail" dissapates before you return and more often than not he ends up following me and my compass back to the ascent line.
Sand/silt ripples on the bottom, as pointed out eariler, run parallel to shore and I find they are present even in really deep lakes with relatively little wave action. I have no clue why. they are a great navigational tool.
Also note the depth the anchor is at at the start of the dive. This reduces the navigational problem to one or two dimensions instead of three depending on the bottom contours involved. If you are doing a simple out and back course with a compass and are not great at holding a heading, you can offset a few degrees and then when you arrive back at the right depth, you will know which way to turn to find the anchor instead of wondering if it is port or starboard when you don't hit it exactly.
One of the errors I see even experienced divers do with a compass at depth is not hold the thing level. I have watched divers to full circles before they realize the compass is locked up. In my opinion of the most important features of a compass is how tolerant it is of being tilted and still being free to rotate. In any case you need to check your compass frequently for free and proper movement to prevent swimming in a big circle.
Also at depth figuring a simple reciprocal heading can be a challenge. At 150 ft., 265 minus 180 is not always a simple math problem to solve. You are far better off to set the course indicator at the anchor on the beginning of the dive and then follow the other indicator on the way back. On my compass there is one carrot on one side and two carrots 180 degrees opposite. I normally point in the direction I want to go and align the single carrot with the North end of the needle for the first leg and then align the north end of the needle between the two carrots for the second leg. Even when rather deep and narced, there is no math to screw up and no doubt about what direction I need to go to get back to the ascent line.
I have a freind and frequent dive buddy who is also an instructor and with silty bottoms he will swim close to the mottom to stir up a silt trail that he then follows back. It's an out of the box solution, but not one I recommend. For one, it really offends the wreck diver in me to stir up silt when you don't have to and I think potentially causes more problems than it prevents. Also on long dives, the "trail" dissapates before you return and more often than not he ends up following me and my compass back to the ascent line.
Sand/silt ripples on the bottom, as pointed out eariler, run parallel to shore and I find they are present even in really deep lakes with relatively little wave action. I have no clue why. they are a great navigational tool.
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