WHY TAKE THIS COURSE?
Extending experience is a natural progression with enthusiastic divers, and for GUE trained diving teams, environmental awareness is one of the most important aspects of their capabilities. Knowing where you are and how to navigate underwater will increase your comfort and confidence to perform safe dives with your team.
GUE’s Navigation Primer is a course designed to teach divers the basics of underwater compass use and natural navigation techniques.
WHO IS IT FOR?
All divers who are autonomous should have the skills to navigate on dive sites. This course is recommended to be taken before the Documentation Diver, Scientific Diver, and especially Rescue Primer, as the latter requires competence in navigational skills.
This primer will also prepare you to dive in reduced light conditions (i.e. night dive).
WHAT WILL I LEARN?
Course outcomes include, but are not limited to: compass use and navigation (simple and complex), natural navigation, basic navigational strategies, and managing a spool as a guideline underwater.
WHAT WILL I LEARN?
Course outcomes include, but are not limited to: compass use and navigation (simple and complex), natural navigation, basic navigational strategies, and managing a spool as a guideline underwater.
Applicants for a GUE Navigation Primer must:
- Be a minimum of 16 years of age.
- Be physically and mentally fit.
- Be a non-smoker.
- Be able to swim.
- Obtain a physician’s prior written authorization for use of prescription drugs, except for birth control, or for any medical condition that may pose a risk while diving.
- Have passed the GUE Recreational Diver 1 course or a GUE Fundamentals course at the “recreational” level.
- Have completed at least 25 non-training dives.
- For a full list of course prerequisites, click here.
The Navigation Primer is normally conducted over two days. It requires a minimum of three dives (including a dive in reduced ambient light conditions) and at least 12 hours of instruction, encompassing classroom lectures, land drills, and in-water work.
This course can be conducted as part of GUE Recreational Diver Level 2 program.
Dive Alaska is excited to offer a resident instructor in Ron Fancher! Having an instructor in-house means that we can offer more flexible training that fits your schedule, while eliminating the need to fly in instructors from out-of-state. It also means that any additional training that takes place is offered with regular frequency.
Instruction tuition for a GUE Navigation Primer is $550. Cost for any pool rental, gas fills, tank rentals, classroom, and other course-related expenses is $125. Gear rental outside of tanks, food, lodging, transportation and dive site access fees are the responsibility of the individual diver.
Tuition is due at time of booking, and is non-refundable 45 days out. Full course payment is due 30 days prior to class, and is non-refundable upon payment. In the event there is a cancellation or you are unable to attend a course, all efforts will be made to fill the vacant spot, but this is not a guarantee that the spot will be filled.