Landlocked123
Contributor
Would like some feedback on procedures folks use in low to zero viz diving with respect to touch contact navigation. Please do share. Non overhead environment so not referring to cave diving procedures / wreck procedures.
Touch contact navigation procedures in low-zero viz
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EireDiver606
Contributor
Very bright torch. Reflective tape or bright collours on gear. Small LED flashing light on leg.
Some people use buddy lines but I’m not recommending them as I have no experience with them.
Some people use buddy lines but I’m not recommending them as I have no experience with them.
EireDiver606
Contributor
Most people on this sight don’t know what real no vis is like....
caruso
Banned
Well I can relate from personal experience how NOT to navigate in near zero visibility. This happened several years ago, I took my gear along on a camping trip to "Jellystone Campgrounds", figuring anywhere there's a body of water is a place to dive. Turns out that the lake was manmade, about 6' deep all the way across, and the visibility was less than a foot.
So I gear up at my campsite, take a compass bearing to the otherside of the lake, and swim underwater seeing nothing but murk the entire distance, holding the compass right in front of my face (although did a pretty decent job of keeping it horizontal and pointed straight ahead of me). I did cheat from time to time and stuck my head out of the water to check my progress. Eventually I made it to the other side of the lake and as I pulled myself to my feet there was a man and his son fishing. The son said "Wow a scuba diver!". I gave a nod feeling rather proud of myself for my achievement and the accolades of an 8 year old and after a few more pleasantries I hopped back in the water, and reversed course. Only this time the visibility was zero because of everything I kicked up on the way across the lake. So I figured I'd swim for a bit trying to keep a straight line based on nothing but instinct and after a few dozen fin kicks I stuck my head up out of the water to check my progress- and found myself looking at- you guessed it- the father and his young son, having swam in a complete circle.
I don't recommend you try this at home
So I gear up at my campsite, take a compass bearing to the otherside of the lake, and swim underwater seeing nothing but murk the entire distance, holding the compass right in front of my face (although did a pretty decent job of keeping it horizontal and pointed straight ahead of me). I did cheat from time to time and stuck my head out of the water to check my progress. Eventually I made it to the other side of the lake and as I pulled myself to my feet there was a man and his son fishing. The son said "Wow a scuba diver!". I gave a nod feeling rather proud of myself for my achievement and the accolades of an 8 year old and after a few more pleasantries I hopped back in the water, and reversed course. Only this time the visibility was zero because of everything I kicked up on the way across the lake. So I figured I'd swim for a bit trying to keep a straight line based on nothing but instinct and after a few dozen fin kicks I stuck my head up out of the water to check my progress- and found myself looking at- you guessed it- the father and his young son, having swam in a complete circle.
I don't recommend you try this at home
Why should it be any different than cave/wreck procedures. If you can't see, you can't communicate unless by touch contact, why stray from what's been standardized?
OP
Landlocked123
Contributor
removing duplicate reply
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touch contact. Dive leader on the right, since it's 0-vis he'll have a compass I assume. Diver on the left is the "buddy" and is watching depth/time/whatever else and has a lose c-grip on the dive leaders tricep. We teach this at OW level. Not rocket science
OP
Landlocked123
Contributor
I am not cave certified. I have been diving Low to zero viz for 10 years. Mostly with 2-3 buddies only. My current dive buddy and I are exploring a new quarry that just opened 30 minutes from where I live. its turned into a little bit of an exploration project. There are no maps of this quarry so we are literally discovering topography as we go. Depths are 220 but we are looking for a way to punch through a nasty layer allegedly 10 feet thick of zero viz right around 65-70 feet. We have had 3 failed attempts. We are working on different light configurations and different ways of staying in touch contact to try to mitigate the inherent risks so I was wondering what works for others. Cave training is not in the cards for me right now. I do know some cave divers and they have shared some insights. Its been a challenging but rewarding experience thus far.
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0-viz in a cave is much easier than 0-viz in OW. In a cave you have one direction to go, out. Some teach bump and go which I think is stupid, most teach buddy in pack has a light touch on the knee/thigh of the lead diver and the other on the line. Open water means no line so someone needs to be actively navigating. Sure you can do that single file, but if you are next to each other then the second diver has something to do and can be productive
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Landlocked123
Contributor
Thanks for sharing. We are doing something similar but will try your suggestion. We are not navigating any coordinates per se as we have nothing to head towards. We are following the walls along the edge and doing dives in a counter clockwise fashion along the wall around the quarry looking for deeper water towards the center. We know the rough geography of the bowl but nothing concrete other than that.
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