Looking back through my collection of emails I discovered this one; an email to which I did not respond. And, Peter, you are exactly correct on all your definitions (heading, bearing, course, etc.). As far as ferry-gliding (a term I've never thought was very descriptive but we seem to be stuck with it) goes, "heading" is still the direction your bow is pointed but "course" is the route the boat follows as it is moving along the ground and affected by wind, currents, etc. The compass heading for a kayak is often very approximate due to yaw, heave (acceleration affects a magnetic compass in ways many people are not aware of) and magnetic anomalies. It is pretty approximate even for fairly large boats. Ships like gyro compasses because the acceleration and magnetic deviation problems are eliminated plus they generally read in true north rather than magnetic north. Gyros are also not affected by the earth's magnetic forces so the compass card remains level all the time. As GPS units get smaller and use less power we are likely to see their use replace the compass in all but the most luddite of adventurers. I suspect that the majority of Paddlewise readers use a GPS on every paddle and a fair number of those make virtual diaries of their trips in the "cloud". With expected advances in solar power we might see all sorts of changes on the horizon. Regards, Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net www.bigboxbikes.com On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 12:49 AM, PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_energysustained.com>wrote: > G'day Craig, > > Glad you enjoyed the report. Our seasons do change the paddling activity > slightly but it's usually good paddling weather all year round, which I > suspect means that kayaks here may not be as well maintained on average as > in the northern parts of the US, and Canada! > > Summertime tends to bring warm northerly winds and the occasional cold > fierce southerly buster, meaning there's more focus on in water skills, > rescues and protracted rolling sessions. Autumn is perfect for trips in New > South Wales with the water at its warmest. Winter more consistently brings > cold southerlies and endurance training with rolls for those that can > endure > the harsh 16 degree Celsius water! (OK so we can't imagine what harsh > really > is:~) Some head north to Queensland though pity them this year as it's done > nothing but rain up there. At the start of spring the 110km Hawkesbury > Classic makes an ideal endurance training goal, after which some of us go > crazy again for in-water training. > > And when it rains we might repair the boats and their gear. We had a > drought > for about ten years and now we're experiencing floods everywhere and my > boats and gear are starting to look quite respectable again! > > The trip last week took us into unexplored territory and some significant > open crossings so we decided to learn how to use GPS to supplement our > meagre knowledge. It led me to a question concerning the marine definitions > and usage of the terms 'heading' and 'course'. > > The following summarises my understanding of the definitions > > Heading - the direction the boat is pointing to > Bearing - direction from the boat to a landmark, but GPS > manufacturers often use bearing to mean the direction to a waypoint > Course - the direction to a destination > Track - the path taken to a destination > > Heading, bearing and course can each be qualified as either a > compass (magnetic) or true heading, bearing or course. > > To deal with currents or tacking one can refer to either course > through the water (doesn't compensate for current or tacking) or > course over ground (the average direction in which the boat moves after > allowing for currents and tacking) > > However, I've started to wonder whether my understanding of heading is > correct particularly in the case of ferry gliding. In this case is the > heading the direction in which the kayak is pointing or the direction in > which it is moving? > > I'd be very glad of any corrections and explanations. > > All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Just a heads-up for gear junkies & expedition paddlers. I don't think this offends any forum rules... and I'm not shilling for DeLorme ;-) This device - coming in October supposedly - looks like it combines the features of the Spot with a poor-man's Sat Phone. It's a smallish add-on device that lets a mobile phone (of the right sort) send & receive messages via an Iridium satellite. As these messages could include emails, updates to blogs as well as Yells for Help, it has potential for use as a tool for kayak adventurers who want to post bulletins from remote areas. Things I like the look of: - pole-to-pole coverage - allows 2-way comms with SAR or medical (a big advance on Spot & PLB) - waterproof to IPx7 - battery life of about a week (AAs of all types) - cost $250 with $10 / month connection fee Negatives: - needs two electronic devices to be working (double the chance for snafus) Google inReach DeLorme for more. Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig wrote >Looking back through my collection of emails I discovered this one; an email >to which I did not respond. And, Peter, you are exactly correct on all your >definitions (heading, bearing, course, etc.). Thanks for that Craig, Appreciate the confirmation and clarification as there was a bit of confusion in some of the references I'd read, or at least in my head:~) That article on the saucepan phone charger was really interesting I'd often wondered if thermocouples would be useful; should be some interesting physics in those ceramic versions! Sounds easier than using a hand generator but still a lot of fuel to find on a camping trip. I've just sent a couple of bottles of metho' in a supply drop to a friend on a longish expedition because they can't store enough in the kayak. Still there's plenty of wood to be had most places I guess Another expedition supply issue in our neck of the woods is potable water - wonder what the most inventive desalinator might be for kayaking! All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 1:50 AM, PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_energysustained.com>wrote: > > Another expedition supply issue in our neck of the woods is potable water - > wonder what the most inventive desalinator might be for kayaking! > > We were still cruising on our sailboat when affordable small desalinators began to make an appearance on the market. I had one but didn't install it before we returned to the USA. A cruising buddy of ours had one and loved it but had to be careful about where he was when he used it. Inside a harbor was almost never the right place but anchored somewhere out in clear water in a nice cove was fine. It gave him much better water than the water he could typically get in most tropical marinas and also got him out of the marina twice a week. They had hand-operated reverse-osmosis (pump type) desalinators but it took a LOT of strokes to get only a little bit of water. And finding a good, clean, supply of salt water to pump when you're kayaking might make for a lot of standing about in hip-deep water for an hour or two. :P But perhaps they've improved that technology a bit. Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Please remove all old content that is not pertinent to your reply including old headers and footers. It's list policy.... this post was modified to meet policy] I think it is also worthwhile to mention here that a GPS cannot measure "heading" since it does not know which way the boat is pointing (leaving aside GPS units with magnetic compasses included). On the other hand, since the GPS can measure "course" it will automatically calculate the standard ferry glide angle for you. When you angle the kayak so that the arrow on the GPS pointing to the next waypoint is aligned with the fore/aft axis of the kayak, you will be applying the ferry glide angle that, given the instantaneous wind and current conditions, takes you to your destination in a straight line over the ground. This may or may not be the optimal path on a crossing with varying current speeds, but it is an alternative when transit markers are not available. Thanks, Mark On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 2:05 PM, Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com> wrote: > Looking back through my collection of emails I discovered this one; an > email > to which I did not respond. And, Peter, you are exactly correct on all your > definitions (heading, bearing, course, etc.). *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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