Re: [Paddlewise] Charts

On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 2:44 PM, PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_energysustained.com>wrote:

>
>
> Unfortunately Google Earth 5 doesn't label beacons and lighthouses - I
> wonder if that's a legal constraint?
>

I don't think it's a legal constraint... at least not in the USA where even
the charts are not copyrighted. It would be relatively easy to pick off the
navigational aids and put them onto Google Earth. I think it might be a
"clutter" thing. But it wouldn't surprise me of Google didn't come up with
something in the near future.

It looks like the Android ('Droid) celll phone operating systems may well
take the lead in hand-held navigational devices if Google does begin to plot
nav aids.

For what it's worth, it pays to be cautious about place names in areas and
locations where you have no local knowledge. I found that it is not unknown
to have islands mixed up as far as names go. At least, with modern mapping
techniques, the locations are getting better; where the charts are updated.

One issue with Google Earth that I'm discovering as a person actively
searching out desert trails to ride with my mountain bike is that there may
be no indication of how long ago the photographs were taken. Trails which
were perfectly clear on Google Earth were so overgrown that we lost them (or
missed them) completely at times. Still fun though. Riding a bicycle in the
desert is a lot like kayaking... it helps to have a good compass for both.

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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