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Carry your compass
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. |
Carry your compass
On Jan 4, 11:57*am, 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. Sounds like a lot of fun.. I really hope to build a couple of these this summer for me and the family: http://smallboats.com/boats_warcanoe.htm Paddling is a lot of fun... Good on you and your family... |
Carry your compass
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. A compass is a good thing but even better is a handheld GPS that creates an electronic trail of breadcrumbs that you can follow back. I have a Garmin Geko that I carry in the dinghy when we are exploring wilderness areas. It has saved my butt a couple of times in the Everglades where everything begins to look alike after a while. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=220#geko201 |
Carry your compass
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. Better yet, carry a portable GPS. |
Carry your compass
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. |
Carry your compass
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. BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does. |
Carry your compass
On Jan 4, 10:06*pm, 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. BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - It's a little off topic but have you ever tried the Microsoft Flight simulator we have noted here lately. All the nav beacons work and you can plot and navigate with them, it's pretty cool... You might find it interesting if you like "navigating with a compass" is cool. When I was young I was a Scout and specialized in helping the younger scouts get their woods badges. We used a compass and a topo map to get around the open hiking areas, it was pretty cool too... |
Carry your compass
"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. |
Carry your compass
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 |
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