Re: Home made outrigger
Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:27 pm
Good question John. In populated areas where most of us paddle I think it's important to have a chart, a compass and a whistle or horn. Radar is quite handy but not too practical on the kayak, well maybe an AII. Ha.
Whether you have a chart or not it's really important to get a good bearing on where you are and where you need to go when you see the fog forming or rolling in. Get a compass reading, consider how wind and current can affect your course and get going. The compass bearing is obviously most important because it's all you may have if you get socked in. Knowing your boat and paddling skills come in handy now as you'll want to keep a close eye on how your boat is behaving while you follow that compass. If you're constantly having to correct one way or the other you may be getting pushed by current or wind and might want to adjust your course in a best guesstimate accordingly.
As a kayaker I sometimes get a little lazy in doing my homework before I go out. I don't necessarily watch the tide and I don't always have a chart for the local area. Of course listening to the weather is really important before any trip but I've been known to skip that as well. Aids to Navigation (ATONs); buoys, cans, towers lighthouses and such are all listed on charts with a color, number, and if they are lit; the flashing pattern of the light, and if they make a sound, the length and frequency (in timing of that sound). Not too many make sounds though. A buoy can tell you a lot, not only where you are if you have a chart, but it can tell you which way the current is going and how strong it is. Any stationary object in the water can show you the current - this a handy tool to remember. Handy for fishing, docking and sometimes getting home a little easier - but it will definitely give you an idea of how your course on the compass can be affected if you're traveling strictly by compass.
All traffic should slow way down in fog but in an area with traffic you would probably want to slow down yourself and keep a sharp ear for any vessel traffic around you. Blow your whistle for at least three seconds at least once a minute.
I can't remember using my GPS in the fog but I have some great memories of dead-reckoning some pretty long distances in a moderate fog from buoy to buoy on Long Island Sound with my Whaler.
I guess that modern day GPS units are pretty great. But when I drove a ferry, the first thing that went out when the weather got real snotty or foggy was the GPS. The mighty compass never died! Ha. Fortunately neither did the radar.
John, you probably don't have charts, ATONs or current. I'd say that if weather looks like it might be changing keep an eye on the direction home and get ready to head that way if you see fog shaping up. I love being out on the water in fog if the circumstances are right. Drop anchor, relax, and maybe catch a fish.
d
Whether you have a chart or not it's really important to get a good bearing on where you are and where you need to go when you see the fog forming or rolling in. Get a compass reading, consider how wind and current can affect your course and get going. The compass bearing is obviously most important because it's all you may have if you get socked in. Knowing your boat and paddling skills come in handy now as you'll want to keep a close eye on how your boat is behaving while you follow that compass. If you're constantly having to correct one way or the other you may be getting pushed by current or wind and might want to adjust your course in a best guesstimate accordingly.
As a kayaker I sometimes get a little lazy in doing my homework before I go out. I don't necessarily watch the tide and I don't always have a chart for the local area. Of course listening to the weather is really important before any trip but I've been known to skip that as well. Aids to Navigation (ATONs); buoys, cans, towers lighthouses and such are all listed on charts with a color, number, and if they are lit; the flashing pattern of the light, and if they make a sound, the length and frequency (in timing of that sound). Not too many make sounds though. A buoy can tell you a lot, not only where you are if you have a chart, but it can tell you which way the current is going and how strong it is. Any stationary object in the water can show you the current - this a handy tool to remember. Handy for fishing, docking and sometimes getting home a little easier - but it will definitely give you an idea of how your course on the compass can be affected if you're traveling strictly by compass.
All traffic should slow way down in fog but in an area with traffic you would probably want to slow down yourself and keep a sharp ear for any vessel traffic around you. Blow your whistle for at least three seconds at least once a minute.
I can't remember using my GPS in the fog but I have some great memories of dead-reckoning some pretty long distances in a moderate fog from buoy to buoy on Long Island Sound with my Whaler.
I guess that modern day GPS units are pretty great. But when I drove a ferry, the first thing that went out when the weather got real snotty or foggy was the GPS. The mighty compass never died! Ha. Fortunately neither did the radar.
John, you probably don't have charts, ATONs or current. I'd say that if weather looks like it might be changing keep an eye on the direction home and get ready to head that way if you see fog shaping up. I love being out on the water in fog if the circumstances are right. Drop anchor, relax, and maybe catch a fish.
d