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From: Blaauw, Niels <nblaauw_at_foxboro.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] Lost on GPS
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 05:37:56 -0400
Last week I paddled the river the Linge with my local kayak club. Since the
Linge always flows in the same direction, there was no real need to use my
GPS on the water. Still, I payed a lot of money for the toy, I try to use it
in every possible and impossible situation to impress myself and my fellow
kayakkers, so I used it to store the places of put-in and take-out, and the
road in between, so that I didn't have to look at the road when it was time
to retrieve the cars, I could just follow the line on the GPS.

Well, my passengers were definitely impressed, until I came upon a
one-way-street. I had to drive around that, took a random turn and got
completely lost. 

By now a week has passed, but still I can not meet my fellow kayakkers
without hearing hoots of laughter. The story has travelled fast: All club
members have heard it by now, all friends and all collegues of all members
of the club also, and still the story is spreading by email and websites.

I preferred PaddleWise to hear the story from me rather then from my
not-so-fellow-kayakkers-any-more. 

The lesson is clear: If you are navigating a car on GPS, do NOT look at the
road, however tempting it may be, and NEVER EVER look at traffic signs.
Shouldn't be too hard with a bit of practice.

Niels.
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From: Jochen Grikschat <grikschat_at_surfeu.de>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Lost on GPS
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 12:25:42 +0200
Hi folks,

Niels "little" problem is what I call "typical human".
But no problem at all. We have to train these things in situation where it
wouldnīt cause big problems.

I also remember a paddle friend from Hamburg, who joined the 98 Arctic Sea
Kayak Race also. thomas, he was the only guy using a GPS on the Race. You
donīt need it Norway, so long you got enough sight on the mountains. But
Thomas was quite a little bit like a child, playiong with is GPS. And on the
Race he took the wrong way, trusting his GPS Infos, GoTo function. He was
sure going the right way, until he saw the bight ended to the rocks...

Great story, without GPs this wouldnīt had happened.

Another problem was the tide, I was going on an outer side of a rock and
Eric (?) overtake me on the inner side, he then turns to a direction we came
out severeal hours before. But water was out at the end of this way, because
of tide. So he have to turn and go back, I was lucky because I was behind
him and could go the right way. I activate the last power and finish before
him. It was the longest day on Race and we all were shot down. Afterwards
Eric gave up, because of blisters. Without these tidal problem he would had
been up and away.

No GPS could help if you forget the tide.

safe padling
Jochen

PS: Some time ago, I mentioned my extreme boat "Umiak" from TM. Now I got
some pics from it, Matt and Gerald want them and a 3rd person, but I donīt
remember him.
WHO WAS IT? Please say hello!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Blaauw, Niels" <nblaauw_at_foxboro.com>
To: "paddlewise (E-mail)" <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 11:37 AM
Subject: [Paddlewise] Lost on GPS


> Last week I paddled the river the Linge with my local kayak club. Since
the
> Linge always flows in the same direction, there was no real need to use my
> GPS on the water. Still, I payed a lot of money for the toy, I try to use
it
> in every possible and impossible situation to impress myself and my fellow
> kayakkers, so I used it to store the places of put-in and take-out, and
the
> road in between, so that I didn't have to look at the road when it was
time
> to retrieve the cars, I could just follow the line on the GPS.
>
> Well, my passengers were definitely impressed, until I came upon a
> one-way-street. I had to drive around that, took a random turn and got
> completely lost.
>
> By now a week has passed, but still I can not meet my fellow kayakkers
> without hearing hoots of laughter. The story has travelled fast: All club
> members have heard it by now, all friends and all collegues of all members
> of the club also, and still the story is spreading by email and websites.
>
> I preferred PaddleWise to hear the story from me rather then from my
> not-so-fellow-kayakkers-any-more.
>
> The lesson is clear: If you are navigating a car on GPS, do NOT look at
the
> road, however tempting it may be, and NEVER EVER look at traffic signs.
> Shouldn't be too hard with a bit of practice.
>
> Niels.
>
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> here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
> responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
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>
***************************************************************************
>

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From: Joe Pylka <pylka_at_castle.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Lost on GPS
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 10:10:36 -0400
> The lesson is clear: If you are navigating a car on GPS, do NOT look at
the
> road, however tempting it may be, and NEVER EVER look at traffic signs.
> Shouldn't be too hard with a bit of practice.
>
        That explains it!!!  I didn't know that so many New Jersey drivers
were using GPS!

--But you and Jochen have mentioned a few things that beginners using gps
forget about.  If you've entered a waypoint for, say, a campsite on the
other side of an island then be sure to add a few waypoints to get you
Around that island!!
    I do take mine on the river and I've marked in such things as good lunch
stops, emergency access, rapids or obstructions, that sort of thing.  It's a
good resource for on-the-fly trip planning.  It unit calculates estimated
time of arrival to these (and it's really an estimate) and can tell me how
long to sunset.  I have also marked pollution sources and reported them.....

        Tidal factors never occurred to me so far as time and route is
concerned.  Thanks for bringing that out..

Joe P.


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From: <RBHoltKayak_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Lost on GPS
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 11:39:55 EDT
In a message dated 4/26/2001 5:41:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
nblaauw_at_foxboro.com writes:


> If you are navigating a car on GPS, do NOT look at the
> road, however tempting it may be, and NEVER EVER look at traffic signs.
> 

That explains all the poor drivers in Washington, DC.  It never occurred to 
me that they are all navigating by GPS!

                                                 Robb Holt
                     (tired of the traffic congestion and itching to get on 
the water)

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