Underwater navigation: A guide to find your way without a guide

 Finding your way
When I was just certified as an open water diver I was always amazed at how well my experienced buddies, most of them having 200 or more dives, knew where to go, to find some special object. Where I was just watching the scenery, my buddies navigated on natural features and compass and showed me the best places of the dive spot. Even more impressive, they found the way back and we surfaced almost at the same spot as where we started. Of course, in the open water course we learned some basic navigation skills (swim straight at one course and straight back), but that is not in the same league as the routes we swam underwater.

To get those navigation skills as these buddies of mine have there are a couple of things I did three things:

• Learning
• Practising
• Doing it

Learning to navigate
When I started to get familiar with some of the dive spots, it became easier for me to see where they were going and I knew the way back, but still I didn't know exactly where I was, which was becoming a bit frustrating I must admit.
Doing the advanced open water course with one navigation dive improved the sense of positioning. Learning to measure distances by counting my kicks or by measuring time helped a lot. Getting more comfortable using the compass helped a lot too. And finally, learning to watch for "underwater landmarks" was like seeing the underwater world with a set of new glasses.

The exercise that stuck with me the most (and built my confidence on my navigating skills) during the underwater navigator specialty course was that my instructor sent me in all different kinds of directions for all different kinds of distance trying to get me disorientated. We did this in very dark water where I couldn't see the bottom nor see the surface. After that she asked me to navigate to the point where we started the dive. When we surfaced just a few meters away form where we started, I knew I could do it...

Practising and doing it
While I got more familiar with the dive spots we were diving at, first I tried to watch my compass and my depth gauge to find out what our route was. That worked for a bit, but not to my satisfaction... When I was not "in charge" of the navigating, I soon was looking at the scenery and not watching where we were going. So at a point I asked my buddies if I could do the navigating and that they should correct me if we were going the wrong way, or swam past our entry point. I think that this was the best way for me to learn, together with the navigation specialty. I found out that if you get to know the dive spot very well, you hardly need the compass anymore, you can just navigate on the landmarks. In the beginning I was corrected, mostly for swimming too far back, but after a while I found my way back completely. And I must say, knowing where I am and knowing I can find my way back has made me a lot more comfortable underwater.

How to be comfortable navigating underwater
So far I have been talking about my own experiences in divespots I was already familiar with. But how to get comfortable in diving and finding your way at a new spot? In my humble opinion it comes down to two points, skills and preparation. We already discussed the skill part, learn, practice and do it so I'll skip that here.


To prepare for a new divespot you could do the following:

1. Check for underwater maps and other info.
2. Set a route with your buddy
3. Write down the course, depth length
4. Divide the tasks

Before I go to a new dive spot I start with a google search to see if there are any underwater maps of the spot we are going to. For (almost) all divespots in The Netherlands I go to a divemap website and check all the maps available. Most of the times I print the most recent map, at least when there is enough detailed. I take this map with me to the dive spot en discuss a route with my buddy. Which parts of the site do we want to see and in what order will we go to them? If your not sure you can remember all the courses and depths and lengths, you can always write it down on your dive slate and check it if you have done that part of the route. Last we agree on who checks the course and who checks the depth and distance of our route.

I hope that this is helpfull for helping you, and otherwise, just follow the traffic signs....

Dive safe and have fun,

Starting the rescue diver course

First dive of 2011
 
It's been a while since I posted an entry here and I'm sorry for that. But for a "wet" diver, the winter period isn't the time to go diving frequently. With water temperatures of 0-5 degrees Celcius I, at least, don't dive very relaxed for very long.. So here is a small update.
However, last Saturday I made my first dive of the year with my open water and advanced open water instructor, Willem. It was freezing outside and the water was only 3 degrees, but we stayed under for half an hour. After a hot cup of coffee I got back the warmth in my fingers and toes and we started talking about our plans in diving.

Rescue Diver
Willem told me that he loved the intro to cave diving course he had done in Spain and is planning to go further in learning to cave dive. I, on the other hand was talking about my diving goals for this year. My first dives abroad are booked and also the tickets for a week of diving in the Red Sea are booked (I hope they get Mubarak out of office soon and it will get peaceful again).
And with Willem and I already agreed that I'll be doing the Rescue Diver course in spring with him. Willem already had the course pak already for me. So I've already started studying and watching the DVD. And, of course, I'll be reviewing the EFR manual again to refresh my memory....

As I go along the course I will keep you informed on my progress and my vies on the stuff and skills I'll be learning......

And of course, after my dives in Portugal I'll tell you about it too.

Dive safe and have fun,

Deep diver specialty

Lot's of beautiful wrecks and reefs are located deeper than the 18 meters you're allowed to dive when having an open water diver certification or even deeper than the 30 meters with the advanced open water diver certification (padi). So if you ever want to dive those wrecks or reefs, extra training is required. The last two weeks I've taken the deep diver specialty course so I can dive those spots in a safe and responsible way.  I want to share with you what I've learned during this course.

When doing a specialty course, you learn in two ways, from the textbook and from the dives. And I must say, I've learned the most from the last dive. Because for that dive, I had to make the dive plan, do the briefing and go through the safety procedures.

From the textbook

Before the dive
Before you even put on your gear set a goal that is realistic for you and your buddy. Take into account the expected circumstances underwater and both your experiences with them. Making a 35 meter dive in tropical water just isn't the same as making a dive to that depth in cold, dark water.

A goal and a plan
First of all you need a goal for your dive and a decently set up plan. Don't just go in and see what happens. It will put you and your buddy at great risk. Make a decent and conservative plan to visit that great wreck and stick to it. Because of the short bottom times at depth (no deco time), make sure you can descend and descend very close to the goal of your dive.

Buddy check

Well, of course, you should check your gear before each dive, but before a deep dive you should do this even more carefully. Gear failure at depth can cause a lot more problems than at 10 meters, and it's a long way to the surface. So, do a very thorough buddy check...

While diving
Check your air regularly. At 30 meters your air consumption is twice as much as at 10 meters. So check it regularly and that of your buddy as well. And for that matter, maintain contact with your buddy very often, so you'll notice the signs of nitrogen narcosis. Turn back well before you're low on air. You still need to do a safety stop, so make sure you both have enough air for that.

Ascending
When you're at the spot where you want to ascend, release your safety sausage. The safety sausage makes people on the surface aware that there are divers below. It will reduce the chance of being run over by a boat. Then ascend slowly and maintain (almost) neutral buoyancy. At 5 meters, do at least 3 minute safety stop. And then continue to ascend.

The dives

From the four dives we made in the course doing different kinds of exercises like answering diving theory questions and doing math. Also we looked at colour changes underwater and the effect of pressure on object filled with air. And for the first time, I had to use a safety sausage.
But the most educating dive was the final one. I had to prepare the dive, determining bottom time, descending and ascending procedures, agree on hand and light signals. And of course, navigate the whole dive.

Also I had to prepare emergency procedures and had to do the briefing.


The dive itself was cold (5 degrees at the bottom) and dark. But with our lamps, visibility was very good. And everything went as planned.
This course has made me look at a dive in a more serious way and taught me a lot, especially when I have to lead a dive.