Introduction to Roadbook Navigation
Understand what a roadbook is, how one instruction is structured, how successive instructions describe a route, and how roadbook information is used together with the terrain to make a navigation decision.
Recovery focus
Foundation rule only: if the roadbook and what you see stop making sense together, stop navigating on an assumption.
Tulips & Junctions
Read a tulip accurately: identify the junction type, the approach, the intended exit and the detail that distinguishes one plausible junction from another.
Recovery focus
Recognise a junction that only partly matches the drawing.
Distance & Tripmeter
Use total and partial distance as working instruments: reset with discipline, recognise drift and correct it at reliable reference points.
Recovery focus
Verify distance before deciding whether to continue.
CAP & Direction
Use heading as an independent confirmation of a decision, and check direction before committing to an instruction that is expensive to undo.
Recovery focus
Verify heading before continuing.
Notes & Dangers
Read notes and danger information early, translate them into an expectation, and change your preparation before the hazard instead of at it.
Recovery focus
Assess danger before starting any correction.
Navigation Rhythm
Hold two mental positions — the instruction you are confirming and the instruction you are preparing — and keep reading, expecting, acting and confirming running as one continuous cycle.
Recovery focus
Keep enough attention free to notice that something is wrong.
Recognising Navigation Errors
Compare expectation against observation signal by signal, read the disagreement between them, name the situation as confirmed, uncertain or not a match, stop advancing when confirmation fails, and identify the last instruction you genuinely confirmed.
Recovery focus
Recognise the error and identify the last confirmed instruction.
Recovery
Stop adding unconfirmed decisions, name the last confirmed instruction as your anchor, reconstruct the break, return to a point you can positively identify where that is safe and permitted, re-establish distance and direction only once the place is confirmed, rebuild the expectation and rejoin until the route is behaving again.
Recovery focus
The complete recovery procedure.
Independent Navigation
Navigate a complete practice route unaided, including at least one recovery, and debrief it accurately.
Recovery focus
Recover unaided and continue.