We all learn navigation skills during basic scuba courses, but over time, it’s possible to lose those skills, particularly if we go on guided dives most of the time. If you wonder whether you’d be able to find your way back to the boat or back to shore if your guide disappeared during a dive, it’s quite likely that your navigation skills could use some fine-tuning. Here, we’ll take an in-depth look at some basic navigation methods, with an eye toward improving your skills for use in real-world scenarios.
Navigation Basics for Divers
When navigating underwater, we normally have a specific destination or goal in mind. Some navigation basics include:
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Finding your way back to your target site. Simply put, it’s vital that you be able to make your way back to the dive boat, a shore diving exit point, or some pre-decided meeting place. This skill is particularly important in turbulent or choppy water or when currents are present; when conditions are less than ideal, even a firmly anchored boat can change position.
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Steering underwater. You need good navigation skills if you want to be able to find your way from one place to another while diving. Not only should you be able to locate the dive boat when it’s time, but you should also be able to retrace your “steps,” determine where you are going and figure out where you have been.
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Map dive sites. Once you have the basics down, you may want to map out underwater terrain. Underwater cartography is a highly specialized activity that calls for keen observation instincts and the ability to document details without error.
When concentrating on basic navigation skills, it’s vital that you call on your own common sense, and it’s vital that you foster the ability to observe your surroundings. Further, it’s important that you work on your ability to recall minute details about what you see around you. Even a certain patch of anemones filled with clownfish can serve as a navigation device, so don’t think that focusing on navigation will deprive you of the enjoyment you get from diving.
Finally, it’s important to consider situational awareness, particularly as pertains to ascent schedules, gas management, and other technical factors.
Spatial Awareness
Good spatial awareness can help to prevent see-saw profiles that can lead to decompression sickness, and it can help you to conserve air, too. There are several ways you can improve spatial awareness to make navigating underwater easier.
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Notice the gradient. One of the simplest and most effective ways for managing navigation is to keep an eye on the way the bottom terrain slopes. If you notice which way the slope runs when you first get to the bottom, you’ll find it is much easier to backtrack if you need to. So, if the seabed to your right is sloping away as you begin your dive, you should see that same slop on your left side as you return to the dive boat.
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Pay attention to features and landmarks. If you’re diving at a site that has plenty of landmarks and other visual features, you’ll find these to be useful in navigating. If wreck diving, the wreck itself can be used as a landmark, as can various aspects of the wreck if it’s a large one. Some other landmarks to consider include groups of rocks, large boulders, coral formations, or even territorial fish that stay close to their nests.
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Look back now and then. Simply looking back over your shoulder can give you a feel for how things should appear as you are making your way back to your starting point. For example, rock formations can look different on one side than the other; in fact, it’s fairly unusual to find landmarks that look exactly alike from all sides.
Though these are very simple points, they are all important ways to keep yourself properly oriented while diving. There are some situations in which you’ll be able to use all of them, and there are other situations in which you may not be able to use any of them. All situations call for a different approach, but keeping spatial awareness at the forefront can help you to navigate with ease, even in cases where the seabed is relatively nondescript. Remember that when currents are present and you’re diving at a site with a sandy bottom, the patterns in the sand on the ocean floor can change rapidly; this necessitates more advanced navigation skills – and it illustrates just why it is so important to gain and maintain proficiency in using a compass!
Needless to say, you are not going to gain the navigational skills you need just by reading an article or two, and you’re certainly not going to gain them during classroom sessions. The best way to gain proficiency at navigating underwater is to spend plenty of time working on your skills. You can do this even at sites where navigating using underwater landmarks is simple; instead of just relying on the landmarks, do some compass work. You can use the landmarks to check your accuracy, and besides serving as a good method for practicing navigation, this can be a fun way to build confidence in your ability to get from one place to another.
Last, but not least, remember that there may be some additional reasons you feel lost while diving. For example, your dive boat may have strayed from its original position. Keep your wits about you and consider your environment. Are there drag marks in the sand where the anchor was originally positioned? Perhaps you can follow them for a short distance and see if you can make your way back to the dive boat that way. And if all else fails, remind yourself that this is why we carry signaling devices while diving. After making a safe ascent, deploy your SMB if you need to, and feel free to activate your strobe. Look around for visual clues and start making a plan for self-rescue. Finally, take comfort in knowing that while divers are sometimes left behind, it happens only rarely.