How often do you use your compass?

[Steve_C]

I have a compass on my console.

Some dives I use it not at all. Follow line down to wreck which is a big hunk of metal so compass is not reliable. Then follow line back up to boat.

However, for all other dives it is used some. In others it is used a lot. Especially if there are areas of reduced viz or lack of landmarks like mud flats.

Just because you start with a guide does not mean that you are 100% sure to finish with a guide. Especially if there are more than one buddy pair with the guide and vis is not great. As noted above it is good to try to have at least a rough idea of where you have been and where you are going even if you have a guide.

On shallow reefs usually I am pretty good at getting back with natural/compass navigations but once in a while it is time for the go to the surface, and spot the boat, take a bearing, signal ok, and go back down gambit. Without a compass it would not be very easy to make sure you are heading toward the boat unless you want to surface swim which I don't. In this scenario the natural navigation only helps you keep on the desired bearing and not to find your way back.

 

[SDiverJim]

I dive at Dutch Springs PA in the summer and most of the wrecks and platforms have lines leading to them we generally use a map and navigate with the compass heading to each location. I enjoy it. Great feeling to hit the wreck dead on while navigating.

 

[milbournosphere]

I use mine on nearly every dive. I likely don't have to, but I find that with a good surface fix and a proper heading, I can hit the deeper sites that require decent-to-good navigation every time. My buddy and I trade off leading so that we both keep our compass skills up to snuff. Compass navigation is a valuable skill, and not only underwater. In my humble option, everybody should know how to use their compass and use it at least occasionally, whether it be underwater or for surface orienteering.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Great question and post, and from the responses above, you would think that most divers are competent with and use a compass on every dive. I wish that was true but it isn't. I use a compass on every dive, and sometimes make notes on a slate if we are in a new site. I think everyone, divers included, should know how to use a compass. I think all divers should carry and practice with a compass, and use it on all dives. If you want to leave the "trail ride" dives at some point, you need to know where you are. Also, compass competence will make you a more comfortable diver, not stressing over where the bot is, where the shore is, or where you tied off your flag (if you did). So I join the chorus of " buy a compass, learn to use a compass, carry a compass on every dive, and use it." I think navigation is the second most important skill for divers, surpassed only by buoyancy control.
DivemasterDeennis

 

[dbulmer]

While a compass can be very handy, I personally don't use it much so I very rarely carry one with me - a couple of times I wish I had had one with me but I don't agree that it is the second most important skill but I cannot think of an alternative right now.

I don't worry too much about the depth, where the shore is or where a flag is because most of my local diving is live boating. If I'm abroad I do take a compass with me but I never worry too much about getting lost - being lost is part of diving for me at least.

It's a good idea to have and use a compass but I seem to get by without one.

 

[bbarnett51]

I know many on here are against the idea of taking specialty courses but my SSI underwater navigation course was great. We did basic compass skills but also had to complete various courses and search grids. We combined these skills with night and limited vis in a muddy Lake.

If u aren't completely confident with navigation then look into a course. Hell they are fun too

 

[freewillie]

I guess part of the answer is what is your typical visibility. I dive in Southern California and anything over 20 feet is very good viz. For the most part I normall expect about 10-15 feet viz. You can't keep track of where you are on the reef without a compass. Even if it is a simple straight out 90 to the beach and back you need to know your bearings since you will have a hard time keeping track underwater especially over the sand. For boat dives it is the usual that you are on your own during a dive and it is probable that you will NOT have a DM or a guide. If you are depending upon a guide to get you to and from the dive and back to the boat you might find yourself surfacing multiple times to get your bearings and get back to the boat.

With vacation dives in tropical places I normally don't take my compass. Some operators don't like vacation divers going out on their own and insist that I stay with the group. I will usually be "buddied" up in group of 4-6 divers. But, viz in normally 80-100 feet, and unless you are seriously lacking in skills it is nearly impossible to get separated (for non-drift dives). I was actually told by one operator in the Caribbean that I was not allowed to dive with a compass and needed to follow the guide.

While many SB'ers denigrate of PADI and its modular systems, I must say that the underwater navigation specialty as part of my AOW dive cert was one course I'm glad I did.

 

[SandPhantom]

Every dive.

 

[Quero]

I carry my compass on every dive, but I don't actually use it on every dive. Most of my dives are drifts along a reef structure, so as long as I'm within sight of the reef, regardless of which way the current is running, I'm not in danger of getting "lost". But when in a bay or if I have to find a specific place, I do use it, and I like having it handy regardless of the dive, "just because." Here're some examples. We have a dive site here that's a series of pinnacles with sand between them. I generally go all or most of the way around the first pinnacle (current permitting) and then head over to the second one. I use a natural feature to know just where I need to head away from the first pinnacle, but I also know the bearing from that natural feature, and I check the compass to know how close I am to getting to it. Another dive site has a small wreck in deeper water off a sloping reef. Again, I've got a compass bearing I follow to get to the wreck, but I need the natural feature to know which point of the reef to start out from. When I start from the right place, I follow my bearing and get right to the wreck. In a big bay where the bottom all looks pretty similar, even in clear water I use a compass to get back to the mooring line and avoid a long surface swim; in this case I need to keep a pretty decent eye on the compass throughout the dive and to have a plan in mind for the route before splashing in.

 

[tdtaylor]

I dive at Dutch Springs PA in the summer and most of the wrecks and platforms have lines leading to them we generally use a map and navigate with the compass heading to each location. I enjoy it. Great feeling to hit the wreck dead on while navigating.

Use the lines, but always check the compass. I know from memory the bearing from the Cessna to the Helicopter, which is basically a low viz heading without ropes.

When diving with others, I always get bearings on the surface, noting major elements and directions. And even when diving with others leading, I always take headings. Maybe just the old Eagle Scout in me! or just a curiosity to have a good idea where I am at any given time.

Terry