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


--

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that
a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes
that it will also make better soup."

H.L. Mencken