Natural navigation: The most common natural navigation aid is the bottom. Rock formations and the like are great, but the best navigation are the ripples in the sand! They run parallel to the beach, and get further apart and flatter as distance increases from shore. Obviously this aid is only useful on shore dives, but it is one every diver eventually learns to use. The next most common natural navigation aids are coral and rock formations, and man-made. Old pilings, pipes, wrecks, coral heads, unusual rock formations, and the like. After a diver gets to know an area, he or she can find their around quite easily. Compass navigation: Compasses are available in several different configurations for divers. There are even electronic compasses - plus computer based navigation aids are also available. The compass can be worn on the wrist, as part of the diver's instrument console, or mounted to a slate or board. The key to successful compass navigation is keeping the compass level and in front of the diver's eyes. Diver's doing serious navigation work, such as surveying or plotting, mount the compass on a large board or slate. Casual navigation, such as finding your way to and from a dive site, requires only basic compass skills. All divers eventually use a combination on the two. When swimming in midwater a compass is used, but as the diver nears the shore, natural navigation is used. There are even special techniques for searching, underwater archaeology, wreck and cave diving, and other special diving areas. Many dive facilities even offer courses on underwater navigation! Richard C. Drew started diving in 1973 and has been teaching diving since 1978. |
One of the most useful skills a diver learns is underwater navigation.
Some basic navigation takes place in the initial scuba course, but most divers learn by
experience and from other divers. There are two types of navigation: natural and compass.
Natural navigation relies on nature's cues - light, the bottom, currents, color, and the
like. Even some man-made objects are part of natural navigation - piers, wrecks, cables,
pipes, etc. Compass navigation relies strictly on the use of a submersible compass, and
sometimes a compass slate as well.
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