RE: [Paddlewise] GPS accuracy

From: Allan and Joyce Singleton <alsjfs_at_voyager.co.nz>
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 20:08:23 +1200
Richard Smith wrote:
>
>  It is very rare for visibility to get below a 1/4 mile and I
>  have never seen
>  less then 1/8 mile.  1/8 mile is about 625 feet

That may be true for the sea, but on local inland lakes here we can get
rather thick fog. The worst I have experienced was at work when trying to
find a buoy at a water quality sampling site. It was about 200 metres
offshore, we had a good bearing, but a hand held compass only, and did not
find it. Visibility was less than 25 metres.

On our double kayak we have a Silva 75 compass permanently mounted ahead of
the rear cockpit. If fog is threatening I set the compass course on the
outer ring (I have poor memory), then Joyce can concentrate on the limited
view ahead while I concentrate on maintaining the correct course. As there
is no wind during these conditions, and no current, it is possible to keep
to within plus or minus 2 degrees of the course. It is probably easier to
maintain a course with the long stable double in fog than it would be with
two singles.

We do have a GPS, but it has yet to appear on deck. Now that accuracy has
improved, that could happen once I get a suitable waterproof enclosure for
it.

Allan Singleton
Hamilton NZ




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Received on Tue May 16 2000 - 01:08:04 PDT

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