SDI Underwater Navigation Course

There is no skill that transforms a diver's confidence and independence underwater quite like navigation.

When you know where you are, where you're going, and how to find your way back, your entire world as a diver opens up. You're no longer dependent on a guide, a descent line, or simply following the group. You can explore with purpose, find your way between points of interest, and return confidently to your starting point.

Underwater navigation fundamentally changes the way you dive. It turns familiar sites into places to explore rather than routes to follow, and gives you the freedom to plan and execute your own dives.

In this course, you'll develop the observation, planning, and navigation skills to move confidently underwater using natural references, compass headings, distance estimation, and effective buddy-team techniques.

You'll learn to:

• Navigate using a compass, including multiple headings and reciprocal courses.

• Estimate distances traveled underwater.

• Use natural navigation and environmental references to maintain your orientation.

• Navigate to multiple underwater locations and return accurately to your starting point.

• Mark and relocate underwater objects or positions from the surface.

• Plan and execute navigation strategies effectively as a buddy team.