A lot of good info in this thread. All of which I teach in my UW Nav course. One of the things that is mentioned yet I never saw it in a course locally, and why I put it in mine, is use of lines and reels. If I am just diving to chill or look at whatever comes along and the vis is poor, I 'm pulling out my 400 ft reel and using it. In the UW Nav course students are taught to use the reel and whenever a tie off is made to stop and note the heading back to the last point. They are also taught to note any prominent reference points along the line. The reason for this is it lets them practice all of the navigation disciplines at the same time.
The biggest obstacle I have seen to divers getting comfortable with navigation is they try to do too much too fast. I've seen AOW students told to swim out 20 kick cycles, turn around and come back. They were told if they were within 20 ft of the start point that was ok. I say that is why people fail. Too low of expectations. And too much too soon. My students go out 5 kc and turn, then 10, then 15, then 20. Along the way they note landmarks, SWIM VERY SLOWLY, and do precise turns. Start small and build up. And very important as well is to have a good buddy and work as a team.
The biggest obstacle I have seen to divers getting comfortable with navigation is they try to do too much too fast. I've seen AOW students told to swim out 20 kick cycles, turn around and come back. They were told if they were within 20 ft of the start point that was ok. I say that is why people fail. Too low of expectations. And too much too soon. My students go out 5 kc and turn, then 10, then 15, then 20. Along the way they note landmarks, SWIM VERY SLOWLY, and do precise turns. Start small and build up. And very important as well is to have a good buddy and work as a team.
