Re: [Paddlewise] best pitch for owning a GPS ( was Garmin GPSMAP 76CSX Vs 60CSX)

mike dziobak <mdziobak_at_mtu.edu> wrote:

>> But, maybe others out there can give me their best sales pitch on why
>> I should own one?

Mike, I resisted using a GPS, past any left-brain reasonableness, until I
was given a bottom of the line eTrex.  It sat on the deck of my boat, and 
did its thing.  Sometimes I looked at it to find out what my speed made 
good was.  I have a charting program that allows uploading and downloading 
waypoints, so I did some of that.  My home paddling area (lower Columbia 
River) has highly variable currents, not susceptible to good prediction, so 
I started using it on crossings to hold a course. Worked some places where 
I did not have decent ranges.

I also used it to track paddle routes and plot them up later, allowing me
to find out how far (and where) I _really_ went.  However, it was not
really serving some highly useful purpose.  It was more of a toy.

Then, because a buddy bought one for use while hunting, and the display was
a million times more useful that the eTrex, I got a Map60C, and a set of
BlueCharts for my area.  Played with it, and found that, even on waters I
know very well, the thing was really handy to have on deck.  By positioning
it where my close-focus bifocal lenses could pick it out, I was able to
anticipate locations of features, particularly navaids, well ahead of time,
and locate them in the distance in vague viewing conditions, for better
navigation across currents, and for an easier time picking out the 
locations of vague, small channel entrances.

No, you do not get a "big picture" of your overall area.  And, no, you can
_not_ dispense with charts, for that purpose, and for redundancy.

Then, I began taking it to Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound, both on
waters I have paddled frequently (Brokens, Deers), and on new waters
(Clayoquot).  Waypointing potential campsites, and points of entry to bays
and channels, for use in poor visibility was useful, somewhat.

But, the most useful aspect is ... anticipating and avoiding boomers,
boomers, boomers.  Several times, outside in the Brokens, and likewise,
several locations outside Vargas Island, I passed through areas studded
with boomers, glancing now and then at the screen, where I could see the
location of subsurface rocks, well in advance, and tell whether my true
course was taking me near one.  And, it would give me guidance on where to
look to pick up that subtle change in swell which occurs over a boomer,
when swell is not quite big enough to make one go off, so I could avoid the
sucker and/or keep an eye on it.

It is better than a set of eyes for this;  it is  better than a _second_ 
set of eyes in another boat.  It allowed me to paddle some passages
I would have avoided before, or perhaps tackled very tentatively.  Mind,
someday my reliance on it will bite me in the ass:  I have found a few
rocks in the Brokens, particularly off Gibraltor, which are mischarted by a
hundred feet or more ... but even there the unit alerted me there was a
rock _somewhere_ in the vicinity, and my old neck was swiveling like an
ostrich's to find it.  And, find it I did, before it boomed me.  One of
those babies boomed under my buddy Greg, back in 1999, tossed him upside
down and out of the boat.  He never even knew it was there -- no swell
signal ahead of time.  Luckily, he had two female companions who whipped
him back in the boat and had him pumped out in minutes, or he would have
missed out on the burritos I was making, back in camp.

I'd guess this use of a GPS might be an important one, in new areas.

But, you still need the charts.  For sure.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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