• SDI Underwater Navigation

SDI Underwater Navigation

Specialty Course · Never Lose the Boat Again · For Certified Divers

Find your way back every time. Underwater navigation is the skill that makes every other dive calmer: when you can return to the boat or your exit without surfacing to look, you use less air and see more. The SDI Underwater Navigation course teaches both natural navigation (reading contours, light, and surge) and precise compass work, then you'll prove it running square and triangle patterns at Lake Pleasant. It counts as a specialty toward your Advanced Diver rating, and it's one of the two required dives in the Advanced Adventure course. You'll need your own mask, fins, boots, and snorkel, and the rest of the rental gear is included.

Veterans can put their GI Bill toward their training, and families can use ESA or ClassWallet funds. See if you qualify.

Starting from
$199.00

Availability: In Stock

SDI Underwater Navigation Diver Course

Specialty Course · Never Lose the Boat Again · For Certified Divers

Good navigation is what separates a relaxed dive from a stressful one. When you can find your way back to the boat, the anchor line, or your exit point without surfacing to look, you dive calmer, use less air, and see more. The SDI Underwater Navigation course teaches you both halves of the skill: reading the environment around you, and running a precise compass. It's one of the most useful specialties a diver can add, and it counts as one specialty toward your SDI Advanced Diver rating.

Why navigation pays off

Better navigation changes how every dive after it feels:

  • Get back to your entry point or the boat without surfacing to check
  • Dive calmer and breathe slower when you always know where you are
  • Lead a dive instead of just following someone else's bubbles
  • Build the foundation skill that almost every other specialty leans on

Natural navigation

Long before you reach for a compass, the water is telling you where you are.

  • Reading bottom contours, depth changes, and slopes
  • Using light, surge, and current as directional cues
  • Following ripples, ridges, and underwater landmarks
  • Keeping your orientation without ever looking at a gauge

Compass navigation

When the visibility drops or the terrain is featureless, the compass takes over.

  • How analog and digital compasses work, and how to read them
  • Setting and holding an accurate heading
  • Running reciprocal courses to get back where you started
  • Estimating distance with kick cycles and timed swims

What you'll do in the water

You'll put it together on real dives at Lake Pleasant, running the patterns that prove you can navigate on purpose.

  • Practice setting and following headings on the surface first
  • Execute a square pattern on the bottom and return to your start
  • Execute a triangle pattern on the bottom in open water
  • Combine natural cues and the compass to navigate a planned route

Who can enroll

Open to certified Open Water divers who want to stop guessing and start navigating.

  • Certified SDI Open Water divers, or equivalent
  • Minimum age 18, or 10 with parental consent (divers 10–14 dive with a parent, guardian, or pro)
  • Anyone who's ever surfaced far from the boat and wondered how

✓ What's included

  • Instruction and your open water navigation dives
  • Rental gear: BCD, regulator, computer, tank, weights, and wetsuit
  • The SDI Underwater Navigation knowledge materials
  • Your SDI Underwater Navigation certification, plus a credit toward your Advanced Diver rating

What to bring

  • Your own mask, fins, boots, and snorkel (required, we don't rent these)
  • Your Open Water certification card
  • A dive compass if you own one (we'll have them if you don't)
  • A swimsuit and a towel

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I actually learn to do?
You'll learn to navigate two ways: by reading the environment (bottom contours, light, surge, and landmarks) and with a compass (setting headings, running reciprocal courses, and estimating distance). Then you'll prove it in the water by running square and triangle patterns and returning to your starting point.
Where and how many dives?
The in-water training is done in open water at Lake Pleasant, usually in a morning session. You'll practice on the surface first, then complete the navigation patterns on the bottom.
What are the prerequisites?
An SDI Open Water certification, or equivalent. Minimum age is 18, or 10 with parental consent. Divers aged 10 to 14 dive with a parent, guardian, or professional.
Do I need my own compass?
No. Bring your own dive compass if you have one, since it's good to train on the gear you'll use, but we can provide one for the course if you don't.
Is navigation really that important?
It's one of the most useful skills you can carry. Divers who navigate well use less air, feel more relaxed, and can lead a dive rather than follow. It's the foundation that most other specialties build on.
What gear do I need to own?
Your own mask, fins, boots, and snorkel. The rest of your rental gear is included with the course.
Does it count toward anything bigger?
Yes. It counts as one specialty toward the SDI Advanced Diver rating, and it's one of the two required specialty dives in the SDI Advanced Adventure Diver course, alongside Deep Diver.

Let's. Go. Diving.

Stop guessing where the boat is. Call the shop and we'll get you scheduled at Lake Pleasant.

📞 Call the shop (480) 881-4013

A specialty course that counts toward the SDI Advanced Diver rating. Prerequisite: an SDI Open Water certification (or equivalent).

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