RE: [Paddlewise] GPS Units

>I bought a GPS in 96 or early 97 and find that I very rarely use it.
>Since I always have a map and compass, that suffices until
>exceptional circumstances arise.  Only once have I used the GPS for
>establishing my position - the map I had was too poor a scale for
>locating us on a long, straight shoreline and I wanted to be sure.

Ack, that's quite hard core.  I agree one should always head out with the
dead tree version of the map, and a compass, but pre-planned (and input)
waypoints can more than make up for lack on onscreen map detail.  In fact
it's those paper maps that give me the waypoints, that I input.  Then on
the trip, it's much more convenient than pulling out the map and
interpreting yet again for a fix.  With the GPS, is very easy to maintain
situational awareness at a glance with reference to your waypoints, and
one doesn't have to stop paddling or use hands if it's lashed to the deck
in front of you.  But whichever of the two (or other methods) you choose
as primary, it's seldom a good idea to rely on just one primary
navigation tool anyway.  Something, eventually goes wrong or unexpected.
Electronics fail, or nature deprives you either of your map, or of the
ability to see the landmarks required to make use of the map.

Paper references are always valuable, be they maps, or reference books.
I just find that they get used more frequently when in a more convenient
electronic form (be that a GPS, or an electronic reference carried in a
PDA).  I certainly know just for one example that I make FAR more use of
tide tables, and current charts now that I have all of North America on
my Palm PDA in the form of TideTools, than I ever did in paper form.
It's cheaper, less tedious, faster to use, less prone to
reading/interpretation errors, and more convenient to carry.

>Use the GPS to establish your course in the fog and then turn it off.
>Use your deck compass while paddling.  If you get nervous, turn on
>the GPS and confirm your new position and any corrections to the
>course, if required.

A couple points on that however.  Especially in FOG, the issue is that
one is traveling in a fluid medium, the same as when I'm behind the
control yoke in the air.  Heading does not equal course.  You need to be
able to verify via reference to fixed references that your magnetic set
heading is keeping you on the intended course.  In fog (or in clouds when
flying) you're generally denied this ability.  Even on a clear day,
you're limited in this manner by the proximity to the references.  At a
great distance they can fail to alert you to cross-drift.  The objective
I think should be to maintain situational awareness so that you don't
*get* nervous.  When the anxiety goes up, mistakes happen.  One's sense
of the time is skewed, one tends to second guess otherwise obvious facts
and decisions, and tends to get sloppy with procedures.

Here, a tool like a GPS excels in displaying not only heading, but track
made good, and rate of progress towards fixed references which may not
even be visible.  Further it provides a bread crumb trail, should you
need to abort and return from whence you came.  Be that because it's a
known safe route retreating from worsening conditions, or because someone
or something has fallen behind.  While it can succeed at getting you out
of trouble, it excels better at keeping you out of trouble in the first
place if used more frequently.

But in order to perform those functions well, the GPS needs to remain on.
Sporadic position fixes with GPS (or map and compass) is fine if
conditions allow your Mark I eyeballs to be your primary navigation aid,
but fog, or even intermittent or partial fog (sometimes even worse) tends
to preclude that.

</rambling off>

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