We were back at Dog’s Point for our final day and
assessment. Getting there and down to 8 meters was routine and textbook. Then
it was straight to business. The focus was on navigation. Visibility was poor, so
conditions were ideal for the task.
Our instructor pointed to our heading. Mine was 5
degrees off West. I set my compass, aligned the lubber and headed out from the anchor point.
When I reached 50 metres out from where I started, there was a tap on my shoulder
to turn around.
When I did, I could see absolutely nothing ahead of me but my
compass strapped to my wrist. With visibility so poor and trusting nothing but
the theory, I set a reciprocal bearing and headed back. I felt as though I was
alone but knew that my instructor was there as always. The theory turned out to be right.
Now why did that not surprise me? The anchor rope loomed out of the fog and I
touched the exact point that I had left on the journey outward.
As always there was that familiar
hand-shake from my instructor; another task assessed; navigation passed. Time
to surface.
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