GPS tracking at the surface

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mangoconchile

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Location
Long Beach, CA
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If I have some GPS coordinates to lets say go check out a wreck, is there any way I can use some kind of device at the surface to help me navigate to it assuming its accessible from a beach type entry? For example lets say I find some GPS coordinates for a wreck and its close enough to swim to it from shore, is there some kind of device I can use to help me swim out to the exact spot so I can basically descend once I hit the spot?
 
Not really. Work out the direction from the beach using your GPS and then use your compass to swim that direction. You could of course take your GPS on the surface swim (most are waterproof to a metre or so) and then put in a waterproof container.
 
I do know that the natulis(? Spelling) lifeline can give u a gps coordinate of your location. It's meant for telling boats nearby is u are lost or in danger.
 
This always comes to mind when i read this post.

•Go to the highlighted route.
•Swim and make a right turn at the barrel
sponge.
•swim, swim, swim.
• Swim some more.
• At the coral head make a right.
• You have arrived!

:)
 
When my buddy and I are exploring a new part of the reef at depth with our DPVs, we tow a torpedo buoy with a GPS tracker. At the start of the dive, one of us syncs our watch with the GPS exactly. When we see something cool, we tighten up the line so the buoy is pretty much overhead and note the time. Later we can download all the information off the GPS and see exactly on Google maps where the spot was! An easy way to navigate back to the spot would be to plug in your GPS coordinate (where you want to go) on a map (we use Google Maps). Usually you can find some sort of visual reference near your entry (like a buoy, or distinct landmark feature). On the computer you can line up a compass bearing to the GPS location. It's a good idea to estimate the distance from your reference to GPS location. Later when you actually want to go diving, go to that distinct visual reference and set your compass bearing. Happy hunting! :)
 
The Nautilus LifeLine stores up to 30 way points
-Buried Treasure -> Mark secret dive sites by sending your LifeLine to the surface

You can upload your GPS coordinates to your computer and Map it out from there.
 
I've thought about trying this. Basically, I would just get a waterproof container big enough for my Garmin Legend. Then I would turn on my GPS and let it sync to the satellites before the dive. Also, you would have to turn on the tracking feature so it would take a breadcrumb trail of where you are. Then during the dive I could clip the container to a reel and send it up whenever I wanted a coordinate. Leave it up there for about a minute or so (long enough to resync to the satellites) and then bring it back down. At the end, the only breadcrumbs on the trail should be from when you sent it up. Never actually tried it yet though.
 
I'm playing around with a technique at the moment where I am towing a GPS on a float with my A flag, and the GPS time has been synched to my camera time. I have some software (expensive professional mapping program I'm afraid) that will automatically link the GPS track points to the photographs which lets you then plot the photo's onto a map or google or whatever you want so you can see where they are located spatially on your site. I am using it surveying shallow water sites where we have a lot of sunken pottery, amphorae, stone anchors and so on.

But for what you want when you have wreck co-ordinates you can do it in reverse. Program your wreck co-ordinates into the GPS, use the GoTo function to navigate you on a surface swim overhead the wreck. Then you can descend to the wreck. Either fix the GPS to a float with your Dive Flag on it so it stays with your towed SMB, or put it into a waterproof container before you defend and clip it off or put it in a drysuit pocket whatever you have available. For shallow dives I would just leave it on the SMB, no problem with pressure water-proofness etc.

It will work quite well in shallow water with a towed SMB, I have used this technique to swim back to marked sites a couple of times and it was fine.

P.
 
A boat comes to mind. Just pull it along with a string instead of riding in it. :wink:
 
Thank you guys. Someone at the Sports Chalet recommended I could use an underwater housing for my Iphone and use it at the surface but I'm not sure how accurate that would be. Seems like a good idea but I dont want to spend the $$$ just for that.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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