Re: [Paddlewise] Staying with the kayak

On 11/10/07, Mike Euritt <sixteenfeet_at_sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>   Is there a time one would abandon their boat when all else has failed?
> You are wearing your wet/dry suit, PFD, properly dressed for water temp, but
> for some reason you cannot get back in.


I can think of one possible instance in which abandoning your kayak might be
safer:

You are on a rough river bar in relatively shallow water with the current
carrying you out to sea but a stiff onshore wind is blowing the kayak you
are holding onto back to the beach. You can't re-enter because conditions
are too rough. If rescue is available outside the bar (but unable to come
close because of conditions) you have the option of letting go of the kayak
and allowing the wind to push it ashore while the current carries you out to
the rescuers. This works because your body, immersed in the water is more
affected by the water than the wind while the kayak is more affected by the
wind than the current.


>   I think I'd use the line I carry with me to tie myself to the boat if I
> felt there was a chance of separation. What is the error in this thinking?


If the boat sinks.....

Others have indicated none but the newest radar can see us kayakers, and all
> agree that radar use has to be regularly practiced, otherwise is is
> practically useless. How many boaters with radar might practice regularly?
> I'm not holding my breath. The power boat crowd seems to think in terms of
> avoiding big ships with radar use, not small things in the water.


To understand why kayaks (and most "small things" in the water) are
invisible to radar you have to understand that radar works by bouncing a
microwave radio signal from the surface of the "target" (merchant marine
officers don't like using that term, by the way). If the target is metallic
and especially has hard edges and corners, it will show up better. If it's
big it will show up better.

Radar antennas are designed to carefully focus the radio beam tightly so the
maximum effective power is aimed directly in front of the antenna. Since
radio waves (and radar waves are the same) travel in a straight line, if you
are below the height of the radar mast there is an increasing chance of not
being seen the closer you get to the vessel. This is because the waves are
passing over you. This is the same reason the Golden Gate Bridge appears to
be a solid line; due to the curvature of the earth the radar sees the most
massive part of the entrance - the bridge - until your vessel gets close
enough for it to see under. At that time the "solid" bridge will begin to
disappear and you'll get returns from outside the entrance.

Further acting against your being seen on radar is the fact that kayaks have
precious few big metallic parts and the same goes for the people sitting in
or on them so the microwaves simply pass through (more-or-less harmlessly)
and do not get reflected back to the radar unit and are not presented on the
screen.

And then, of course, the final problem: the operator has to be looking at
the screen and able to understand what he (or she) is seeing.


>   So what is the concern/point about a radar reflector on a kayak?


It depends on where you are and the conditions. If you are in San Francisco
Bay on a calm day then a hat with crumpled up tinfoil in it might be seen on
a properly adjusted marine radar system at the right distance. But if there
are any waves and if the radar operator has reduced the "clutter" (which is
really a sensitivity control) you will be lost in the noise.

If you could get a big enough radar reflector high enough you might get
enough of a reflection to paint a point on a radar screen. In my experience,
however, there is not much point to it. Years of tramping up and down coasts
in everything from salmon trollers to Chevron tankers taught me that even
sailboats with radar reflectors are generally invisible in the sea returns.

Now a "radar transponder", on the other hand, would work much better. A
transponder is an electronic device that, when it detects a radar signal,
emits a transmitted pulse on the same frequency. This greatly enhances the
signal and the result is a much clearer position point on the radar screen.

Paddlling in areas where powerboats and ships fear to tread (shallower water
or just outside marked channels, for instance, works much better than
depending upon someone seeing you on the radar screen. At least in my
opinion.


>   Having read a lot of sea kayaker back issues and taken several classes,
> I always go out in SF Bay with my farmer john, PFD, pump, paddle float, and
> if leaving the protected waters of the Marina or canal, take the VHF and
> GPS. My wife is given a float plan that includes return time and I call when
> I am out of the water. I practice my solo reentries, and have done so in
> about 2' chop, so far.


Makes sense to me. Although I take the GPS with me as much as I can because
it keeps track of how many miles I've paddled (146 on its trip meter this
season and I know there are about 20 more when I either didn't carry it or
its batteries died). I carry a VHF on Puget Sound or the Columbia River.
Sometimes I even turn it on.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA


  Mike
>   now closing in on 100 hours experience paddling, so the worst in nearly
> over.
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