PADI Underwater Navigator

Would you like to learn how to navigate underwater and find your way back to the dive boat every time you go diving?

Enroll on our PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course and learn how to find your way around a dive site using a compass, natural navigation and your observation skills.

The PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course is a great way to increase your navigational skills, sense of direction and confidence underwater.

Included in the OTB Diving Underwater Navigator Specialty Course

PADI Underwater Navigator specialty Manual/eLearning

3 training dives

PADI Certification card

Rental of all scuba equipment

FREE use of Dive Computer

Maximum 4 students per PADI Instructor

To enroll on a PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course you must:

• Be an Open Water diver
• Have recent diving experience – we recommend completing a scuba review if you have not dived for 12 months
• 10 years of age or older
• Medically fit to dive

1 Day PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty Course

The course consists of two sections:

• Knowledge Development – read the PADI Underwater Navigator specialty manual and complete the knowledge review
• Open Water training – 3 training dives

Orientation & Knowledge Development

We start the PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course with an Orientation that includes completion of paperwork and the PADI Medical statement.

The PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course consists of 3 training dives that we take at a selection of local dive sites.

There is also an Underwater Navigator specialty manual to read and two open book knowledge reviews to complete that your instructor will guide you through and review if you do not select the eLearning option.

The Instructor led knowledge development is conducted during the morning of day 1. Some of the subjects you will cover include:

• Estimate distance with kick cycles and elapsed time
• Natural references that help navigate during a dive
• How to hold and swim with an underwater compass
• How to navigate a square, rectangle, triangular and U-shaped patterns underwater
• Fixing a dive site for relocation using a compass and a permanent landmark

There are 3 Underwater Navigator training dives to complete to become a certified PADI Underwater Navigator.

Underwater Navigator dive #1

This is a great dive to get you thinking a little outside of your comfort zone.

We will start by asking you to calculate distance underwater. To do this you will count the number of kick cycles and the average time it takes for you to swim a specific distance.

Once you have an approximation of distance, you will navigate a reciprocal heading using natural references and estimated distance before doing this skill again, this time using a compass.

Your Navigation specialty Instructor will be making sure you are handling and positioning the compass correctly.

Finally, to finish this dive off you will navigate a square with each side being around 30 metres in length. Sound challenging? Wait for the next dive.

Underwater Navigator dive #2

Open Water training Dive 2 builds on the navigation skills you learned on Underwater Navigator dive #1 and challenges you to apply those skills.

Your dive instructor will map out a course on an underwater slate with at least 5 compass turns that will return you to the point your started at.

This exercise will test both your navigation skills and your ability to estimate distance underwater.

Estimate Distance Underwater

You will practice this on land prior to the dive to ensure you understand the requirements and to refine the skill.

Your Dive Instructor will give you lots of opportunity to practice during the dive.

You finish Open Water training dive 2 by fixing a specific underwater location using two landmarks. On dive 3 we will ask you to find this location.

Underwater Navigator dive #3

The final dive on your PADI Underwater Navigator course is for you to navigate a course that will have new course headings displayed, underwater on markers.

This is the ultimate challenge for your aspiring underwater navigational skills, as you will not be able to practice on land prior to the dive.

To finish off, your Dive Instructor will ask you to relocate the dive site, using the two landmarks you used during dive 2 to originally fix the dive site location.  

Upon completion of all the Underwater Navigator diving course requirements, you will be certified as a PADI Underwater Navigation Specialty Diver.