navigation back to the boat

[fisheater]

Take a very long piece of string ......

Not as sarcastic as it may appear. On really bad vis days, many divers tie off their reel or spool to the anchor and pay out their line as they dive. That way, they can find their way back by reeling in the line.


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[DennisS]

If you want to substitute hardware for skills, the "sport" works well

Desert Star Systems, LLC - DiveTracker Sport for Diver Navigation


Check and see if they have a scubaboard discount

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Consider reducing the amount of distance you cover on your dives and focus on one small area. Many divers (including myself sometimes) try to cover a huge area on each dive. This burns a lot of gas swimming too fast, you miss hidden critters and increase you chances of become disoriented since the navigation issues becomes much more complex compared to a small area exploration.

 

[Jaydubya]

Hard to give advice without knowing your dive conditions.

Where I dive a compass is fairly useless and the boat often cannot be seen from the bottom. Returning to the anchor is always important and even critical in some currents and sea conditions. Going up and looking for the boat is not a good option and would only be done if low on air or to avoid unplanned decompression. To find my way back to the anchor line I use a combination of natural navigation and reel navigation depending on the circumstances (visibility, identifiable structures, features, etc.). If I use a reel I tie in near, but not on the anchor line.

Someone above suggested using someone else to navigate for you. I wouldn't rely too much on that. It's great to dive with someone who knows the dive site, but even they can make mistakes. It's a bad feeling being lost and having no idea where you are because you were relying on someone else to navigate.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I agree with other posts that there is no substitution for practice. Also, ALWAYS BELIEVE YOUR COMPASS. Supplement compass navigation by being awar of landmarks- coeral heads, other large things, so you can navigate in steps for accuracy. Example- take a spefici heading from the boat to an easily sible landmark, then dive around that area, in site of the landmark. At the end of the dive, return to the landmark and have a simple course to the boat.
DivemasterDennsi
Divemaster

 

[fnfalman]

hi guys,

ive been diving for a while now and still have problems being able to navigate back to the boat / ascent line when diving.... im able to take a general heading on my compass but find once i start swimming around i get disorientated fairly easily and find it very difficult to track just how far off my return point i am.

any tips or advice for improving and being able to find my way home more often?

thanks a million

There are lots of books about navigation that you can read up in the library. Once you get the technique and theory down, then apply it during the dive. Land navigation is not all that different from underwater navigation. The tools I use for underwater navigation are the same ones I use for land navigation.

You say "well, on land you can see where you're going." Not necessarily. Not when Uncle Sam drops your ass off in the tropical jungle of Panama.

Shooting azimuths, terrain association, contour lines association, intersection, resection, and pace counts. Learn these basic techniques and you'll do just fine.

 

[Peter Guy]

And sometimes things just don't work out! Case in point -- several of us, all pretty experienced divers (I probably had the least experience at 800+ dives) dropped off the boat to a dive site that was new to most of us. What we knew was that there was no significant current, there were rock piles scattered here and there and there was other rip-rap that had been dumped.

We went down the anchor line and found the anchor on a featureless (silty) bottom with the nearest thing maybe 20 feet away.

My buddy and I take a compass reading and head off.

We wandered around heading north, south, east and west and realized the depth never changed more than about 4 feet! By the time we decide we needed to get back to the boat, I had absolutely no idea where the anchor was -- and it turned out neither did my buddy! We headed towards where we thought was right, shot an SMB and did our ascent.

As it turned out we weren't that far from the boat but far enough that other divers, who had scooters, picked us up and towed us back.

Moral of the story? Always take a scooter?

 

[fnfalman]

Or use an underwater beacon.

I've seen people done this before. Set the beacon, go dive and then follow the signal back via the receiver thingy that they brought with them.

 

[pedo]

Another good idea is to tie off a strobe light to the anchor line. You can see it from a good ways off. Handy if you don't want to use a reel or feel comfortable navigating. The light also lets other divers and the boat know that your still down there.

 

[azwarian]

lots of good ideas and methods thanks heaps guy all the feedback is muchly appreciated