Underwater navigation is something that you start to learn, but only through a lot of practice can you become really good at it. Good question came up during class - "What makes a good underwater navigator?" In my opinion, there are a few things:
- Always knows roughly where they are at (even if they aren't leading the dive)
- Uses both natural navigation, estimation and compass to find his/her position in the water
- Knows the bottom topography
- Has a mental picture of the dive site in their head at all times
- Can estimate how far they will move in 5 minutes of dive time
- Knows which way the ordinal directions are (N, E, S & W)
- If they feel lost, they stop, take time, move in a safe direction if needed to locate themselves
- They are comfortable with their compass
So, finding yourself isn't that hard, it is really about practice and starting out with a solid foundation of the basics. let me know if you have any questions, or comments. I'm sure a few of you will have something to add to my list above! Greg
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