On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

On Jan 4, 9:08 pm, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:
On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:35:50 -0500, wrote:
On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:59:03 -0500, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:27:49 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 08:57:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Took my daughter kayaking yesterday with my wife and I in the canoe
and Katie in her kayak. Went in the salt marshes on the Gulf coast
here (N. FL). We got out into an area maybe 1/4 mile wide when fog
started coming in and I decided to hug shore justb in case. Sure
enough, very quickly you could barely see 50'. We easily got back by
following the shore but if we had been out in the middle, it would
have been a problem. I did not have my compass that I normally carry
in my sailing bag. From now on, compass goes with me on all trips.

I keep an old boy scout style compass with me wherever I am on the
water. In the boat it is handy for tracking storms. Shoot a real
bearing on the edge of the cloud you are concerned about and check it
again a few minutes later. That will tell you which way it is moving,
relative to your course.
In a "bail out" situation, a compass will help me navigate through the
mangroves so I can walk home.

In a bail out situation, a portable GPS is going to be a hell of a lot
more informative than a compass.

Although I do carry a compass, I also carry a small portable GPS -
Magellan Triton 200.

http://www.magellangps.com/products/....asp?segID=425

Never had a dead battery in my compass ;-)

True enough, but you don't need to keep the GPS up and running the
whole time either.

A good set of batteries and a set of spares can last you a couple of
weeks if you use the GPS properly in an emergency situation.

But your point is well taken - a compass doesn't require a lot of
skill.

Although, just to make a point, a lot of people don't understand the
difference between True and Magnetic North and that can lead to
diaster in and of itself.
--

Happy Holidays and Merry Whatever It Is
That ****es Liberals Off.

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.

True and it's a skill one should keep sharp. I still prefer to have a
GPS to give an exact location to emergency responders should the need
arrive.

A compass isn't gonig to tell you where you are - it's going to give
you a direction and it will certainly give you bearings to nearest
"features" if you will, but it will not tell you exactly where you are
in an emergency. You can form a "box" in which you are in a general
"area" if you will with a compass, it still doesn't pin point your
exact location.

BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

That's something I had not considered - caving.

Then again, that's a different application - we're talking about
bailing out of a boat.

--

"Every normal man must be tempted at times
to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag,
and begin to slit throats."

H. L. Mencken