SDI Underwater
Navigation Course
“We have always been taught
that navigation is the result of civilization, but modern
archaeology has demonstrated very clearly that this is not so.” Thor
Heyerdahl
It could be argued that navigation
has held a special fascination for our species since we first walked
upright. Certainly, the history of exploration and discovery – the
sisters to navigation – would have been a different cloth were it
not woven with early attempts at accurate navigation. Long before
the arrival of the magnetic compass to Europe, the Vikings guided by
nothing more than bravado, a mighty sense of adventure and a
rudimentary navigational aid akin to a sundial, sailed across the
top of the Atlantic Ocean and made landfall in present-day
Newfoundland, Canada. Thor Heyerdahl (a Viking of a different
vintage) sailed his balsa-wood raft “Kon-Tiki” from Peru to
Polynesia in 1949 using only the stars to guide him. And modern-day
adventurers use the network of Global Positioning Satellites and
dashboard-mounted receivers to find the nearest Chinese restaurant
without moving from the front seat of their Lexus. All instances of
navigation’s appeal and usefulness.
Experienced divers are intensely
fascinated by navigation. It allows them to make their way back to a
special spot discovered on an earlier dive. They use the tricks and
techniques of navigation to find a safe exit point at the end of a
dive without the need for an uncomfortable surface swim. And they
draw comfort and reassurance from a reel and continuous line
anchored near their ascent line when wandering around on a new and
unfamiliar wreck.
Your SDI Underwater Navigation
Specialty course will help you overcome the obstacles inherent in
finding your way underwater. We will show you how easy simple
navigation is and how it will help you both above and below the
surface. We will discuss natural aids such as sand ripples or reef
formations, which can accurately predict your route. Tools such as
mechanical compasses are a surprising challenge to the novice but we
will help you unravel the challenge and teach the practical skills
and techniques you'll need to use them effectively.
These days, electronic aids such as
a digital compasses and hand-held GPS units can make any of us an
accurate navigator. Our travels may never make the history books as
Erik the Red's or Thor Heyerdahl's did, but at least we will be able
to find our way around a dive site with less stress and challenge!
When you are done with the
academics of this course, you will meet with an Epic Scuba Diving
SDI instructor at your local dive site. You will take part in a
short review of your work here online and then begin the exciting
part of any dive course... diving! You will get hands-on lessons in
how to prepare yourself and your gear for your first dives into a
whole new world of possibilities. What are you waiting for?
To get started TODAY, please e-mail
us at
class_info@epicscubadiving.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The Epic Scuba Diving Team |
