At 08:52 AM 4/11/98 +0000, rww_at_neosoft.com wrote: >> The biggest danger is the one mentioned by Colin Calder - that you will >> assume that a GPS makes fog navigation safe. The GPS may tell you where you >> are but it doesn't tell anyone else where you are. Like Saul I have seen >> many high speed powerboats zipping down channels on a full plane. You know >> they have a GPS and can't see squat. It is difficult not to hope they will >> meet their kindred souls head on. > >A GPS does make *navigation* safe. It doesn't make other >boaters behave safely. Being in a kayak or canoe does give >you an advantage in that you can navigate much more hazard >filled waters than the power driven crowd. Use a good chart, >and minimize the amount of time you spend in the channels. > While the risk of being hit is still fairly small, the near misses in the fog that I have had have been in very rocky areas. I purposely minimize channel time in the fog to avoid being run over (although, bigger crossings like Rosario Strait, Guemes Channel and San Juan Channel, can take 30-50 minutes even when youre scooting. With the advent of cheap reliable GPS systems, I find that many power boaters are now capable of taking high speed shortcuts through areas outside the main shipping channels (even through rocks and reefs) by using waypoints. And some of the larger boats have programable autopilots. In fact a co-worker of mine with a 36 foot TollyCraft, said he understood what we as kayakers must feel like when he was nearly hit by a 50+ foot cruiser in the fog, in Desolation Sound last year. When he caught up to the guy later that day, he was told that the boat was on autopilot, and the owner apologized. If you're hit an apology doesn't do much good. What I now use in an attempt to alert other boaters if I think they are getting too close in a low visibility situation, is an air horn. If it's that foggy, they don't now that it's only a kayak, and they usually slow down. You could probably also use a flare gun shooting a blue or other "non emergency" color. I think a GPS is a great tool, I just get nervous about the possibility of being "Darwined" before the other guys is (his boats bigger). Saul Kinderis saul_at_isomedia.com tel:(425)402-3426 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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