Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak Visibility

 Therefore, radar flags or reflectors are nice to have, but they may give an
artificial feeling of safety. 
 
I ordered one of those radar flags, not so
much because I thought it would be the security of being seen with radar,
being on a tralwer list, I am well aware of how limited radar is on most
pleasure boats, and not necessarily by the electronics, most pleasure boat
operators have no idea how to use it, if it is even turned on.
 
I bought it
because it looked like it would increase visibility for both my kayak and my
row boat in the confines of Richardson Bay, among all the anchor outs, and if
it happens to light up a radar screen, so much the better. Except in perfect
conditions, we are pretty invisible, like a bike on a country road.
 
Seems
like most everywhere I paddle is shallow, and getting back into the Loch
Lomond Marina near my home, a kayak has to use the same dredged channel as the
biggest sailboat at lower tides, so I don't always have the option to stay
near the edges, as was posted recently on this thread.
 
I have always
navigated the water with the notion that the gross tonnage rule, or "might
makes right" on the top of my list, but I also add "don't mess with another's
income" which means stay clear of working vessels, such as the small boat
setting crab pots, or maybe it was something to do with clams on my last trip
out to Tomales Bay. He was working in the same sheltered conditions I was
looking for.
Mike
San Rafael, CA
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