More on the weaather: Local knowledge and the weather... Local knowledge is also frequently craft-specific. The locals my be accustomed to Sea of Cortez pangas or out-islands Bahamian Carolina skiffs or the inflatable high speed craft used to transport kayakers in the Queen Charlottes. All will understandably have quite different views of "good" and "bad" conditions, what is a "significant" change in rate and intensity of wind, waves etc. Ask about the weather but make considered judgments based upon you own experience. When "local knowledge" is insufficient... We have just returned from kayaking in the Jumentos Cays, 65 miles north of Cuba at the eastern edge of the Bahamas Bank. Population of 30 within 600 square miles. No VHF, NOAA, or other ready made weather broadcasts. In these circumstances we pieced together a patchwork of AM, FM and SSB broadcasts from radio stations in Florida, Cuba and the offshore SSB data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard. The trick was to identify all the relevant frequencies and times in advance and have them handy (pre-programmed into your radio if possible). Most broadcasts are not continuous but less frequent -- every 6 hours typically, and then only if one identifies one's latitude/longitude segment or area. SSB broadcasts used to be the purview of big boat folk but now there is an alternative. The SONY World Band Receiver ICF-SW100 comes with its own tiny active antenna and will receive all frequencies in the AM, FM and SSB bands with excellent quality. It also weighs a whopping 7.8 ounces, is 4.25" x 2.25" x 1" size, and runs on 2 AA batteries. Christmas evening, after our afternoon snorkel, we shooed the scorpions away settled on the sand and prepared a festive meal, then propped this little beauty on a rock and listened to Bahamian regee-Christmas broadcasts from Nassau, BBC carols from London, the news from Radio Havana and danced in our undershorts on the beach as the sun set. Don't ask about the price, but it is is an amazing, compact and high quality radio that is fun as well as functional. Happy paddling and happy New Year to all. -- Richard G. Mitchell, Jr. Department of Sociology Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 U.S.A. (541) 752-1323 phone/fax mitchelr_at_ucs.orst.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Jan 03 1999 - 08:28:09 PST
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