5 Underwater Navigation Lessons You Could Be Missing Out On

by Brooke Morton - PADI BLOG

Divers who haven’t gotten their gear wet in ages don’t always understand the importance of taking a refresher course. Although the PADI ReActivate program touches upon navigation basics, a trend among divers returning to the water is actually to retake the Underwater Navigator course because they believe it includes some of the most important skills they have ever learned.

Like many other dive skills, practice will make you a competent navigator, which will open you up to a wider variety of diving possibilities. But whether you learn these skills in a classroom or from time-consuming, potentially risky mistakes is up to you.

5. Don’t rely solely on a compass.

A compass is a great tool, but it relies on the user to set it properly, making it prone to error.

It’s not unlike blindly following a smart phone; although the phone’s GPS doesn’t rely on user input, it’s still able to take us off course if we don’t visually compare our surroundings to what the device tells us.

In the same regard, we must stay alert to our underwater environments.

4. Remember: Digital compasses need to be recalibrated now and again.

Just as our computers rely on us to install regular updates, so, too, does the digital compass need recalibration. It’s needed, obviously, when the compass feature is frozen. The less obvious tell requires checking the compass settings.

3. When choosing natural-navigation markers, it’s OK to be picky.

Don’t pick one big feature, like a huge brain coral or a sand chute. Use that large feature as a starting point, then find something a little more inconspicuous—such as the huge brain coral with a two tube sponges on one side and a barrel sponge on the other.

 “Take your time choosing a marker. You may think you’ve found a really unique feature, but then you start seeing that feature everywhere.”

2. Set your compass before your descent.

“You don’t want to reach the bottom and be turned around,”  “To avoid this, set the compass heading to point toward shore before starting the dive and, when you start to descend, descend in the direction you intend to travel.”

1. Consider tracking air consumption, not kick cycles.

“Air consumption is the most important thing to watch,”

Tracking kick cycles becomes much more difficult when a current is added to the mix. If a portion of the dive occurred against a current and lasted 100 kick cycles, it could take 300 kick cycles to cover that same distance swimming with the current. So instead, try tracking air.

Granted, it’s not an exact science, making practice all the more vital—but with classroom time, the time it takes to acquire the skills is drastically reduced.

Cabo Verde Diving - Cave Dive Excursions

Introducing the New PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Program

The revised PADI Advanced Open Water Diver program launched past September, and while the changes are significant, the essence of the course remains untouched. Think of it as a shiny new car, but one that’s the same model as your old familiar vehicle. Three goals drove the revision.

First, PADI updated the content. Dive equipment and techniques have changed since the release of the last version of the course and content is updated to reflect this. Now, for example, there are references to electronic compasses in navigation and no references to film in digital underwater imaging. Also, the first dive
 of all standardized PADI Specialty Diver courses, Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris™, and Shark Conservation Specialty courses and the PADI Rebreather Diver course credit as Adventure Dives. This means more dive opportunities no matter what or where you’re teaching.

Second, PADI modernized the instructional products. The instructional tools are now as state-of-the-art as the devices student divers access them from. While a paper manual will still be available, the revised program introduces a new, mobile-friendly PADI Advanced Open Water Diver digital product. All new images and video make these instructional products pop.

Third, PADI accelerated development of the hinking skills divers acquire through experience to build confident and conservative divers. There’s a new Thinking Like a Diver section that focuses on principles such as gas management, situational awareness and buddy communication. This encourages divers to think about what they’re doing before, during and after every Adventure Dive in the same way more experienced divers do. Consequently, they better understand how to improve their dives and manage risks.

There’s a lot that didn’t change, too. Philosophically, the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course still gives new (and experienced) PADI Open Water Divers the world over continued training and skill development under professional guidance. It’s still focused on introducing specialty diving. The Deep and Underwater Navigation Adventure Dives, plus three other Adventure Dives, are still required for Advanced Open Water Diver certification, and any three Adventure Dives qualify a diver for Adventure Diver.

The revised PADI Advanced Open Water Diver improves on an already great program, is easy and familiar to teach, and offers even more of the exploration, excitement and experiences that divers look for. Take a look at the third quarter 2016 The Undersea Journal, which has several relevant and detailed articles, and make a point of implementing the new program as soon as the materials are available.