Carry your compass
 

"CalifBill" wrote in message
m...

"D K" wrote in message
...
Don White wrote:
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...
"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
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.
We were kayaking at Point Arena late September. Fog came in and was
hard to see the shore. Couple of friends doing some filming on MLPA's
come across a guy on a sort of pontoon kayak, paddling out to sea. He
thought he was paddling towards the bluffs. Just a fog bluff. No
radio, no GPS, no compass. Next stop Hawaii of lucky, or Asia if not.

I carry a handheld GPS, a compass and a VHF when I boat. Fog is very
common around here from June through July and sometimes September.

In a 25hp rowboat? When is the last time you were out of sight from
shore, dummy?

In my 15 hp tin boat I was out of sight of the shore at 1/4 mile. fog was
nasty.

Ditzy Dan would soil his lace panties if caught out in a Maritime fog.

Carry your compass
 

Don White wrote:
"CalifBill" wrote in message
m...
"D K" wrote in message
...
Don White wrote:
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...
"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
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.
We were kayaking at Point Arena late September. Fog came in and was
hard to see the shore. Couple of friends doing some filming on MLPA's
come across a guy on a sort of pontoon kayak, paddling out to sea. He
thought he was paddling towards the bluffs. Just a fog bluff. No
radio, no GPS, no compass. Next stop Hawaii of lucky, or Asia if not.
I carry a handheld GPS, a compass and a VHF when I boat. Fog is very
common around here from June through July and sometimes September.
In a 25hp rowboat? When is the last time you were out of sight from
shore, dummy?
In my 15 hp tin boat I was out of sight of the shore at 1/4 mile. fog was
nasty.

Ditzy Dan would soil his lace panties if caught out in a Maritime fog.



Sure, dummy. Why the overuse of the word Maritime? You aren't piloting
a 60' vessel.

Carry your compass
 

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:42:26 -0500, D K
wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:58:15 -0500, D K
wrote:

In a 25hp rowboat? When is the last time you were out of sight from
shore, dummy?

Ahem - it's not a rowboat.

I know, Tom. Maybe I'll buy him and EPIRB for his birthday!

ROTFLMAO!!!!

You neer know up there in the Maritimes. :)

Carry your compass
 

"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
On Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:32:40 -0800, "CalifBill"
wrote:

In my 15 hp tin boat I was out of sight of the shore at 1/4 mile. fog was
nasty.

Hey - what do you get when you smoke a cigar in the fog?

SMOG!!!!

BBBBAAWWWAAAHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!

Erm....

On second thought...

Never mind.

--

"Far better it is to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs even though
checkered by failure, than to rank with
those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor
suffer much because they live in the gray
twilight that knows neither victory nor
defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

You get AGore proposing more cigar taxes. Air control board fines you like
you were burning a wood fire during a "Spare the Air" day.
http://www.sparetheair.org/