Need to know where you have been, to know where you need to go...
The San Diego Kayak Club hosted it's monthly meeting at Aqua Adventures. This month's topic was Learning to Navigate presented by Robin Kedward. The turn out was full of the usual suspects. Robin began his talk by framing the history of navigation. In short needs drove technology (astrolabe, charts, compass) were cited as examples. For a great example of this I would recommend reading Longitude by Dava Sobel.
On the subject of compass, he reminded folks that there is the concept of True North and Magnetic North. For us in San Diego it is about 13 degrees different, but if you go wandering around the globe, it is something to note as you read your charts. With that we discussed the variety of charts that are available and where you can get them.
With the basics covered, Robin lead us through a sample exercise of properly planning a trip from Mission Bay to San Diego bay. He stressed the planning the first critical step. What are the tides, currents, and possible landing zones along the trip. He mentioned tidelands.com as a resource. For San Diego, we do not have any major concerns with tides and currents, but you could make the trip a bit nicer with some timing.
The next step is to identify points of reference along the trip: OB pier, sewage treatment plane, Pt. Loma Lighthouse, Ballast Point) and what your expect time of arrival. This will along to gauge your pace. He logs everything into a simple one sheet map with the time log on the back. He carries a grease pencil in his kit to mark off each item.
Robin's general rule is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). A good compass, a watch and your charts. GPS is also a helpful tool.
Jay asked about their last paddle out to Yukon and issues trying to reach a point in open water. This lead into a discussion on plotting against current and winds. The take away was to over navigate toward the upwind side since it is easier to paddle downwind to the target.
Robin concluded by reminding us that navigation is an art, its seat of the pants.
The evening was end with a song and a cake is since it was Jen's Birthday!
On the subject of compass, he reminded folks that there is the concept of True North and Magnetic North. For us in San Diego it is about 13 degrees different, but if you go wandering around the globe, it is something to note as you read your charts. With that we discussed the variety of charts that are available and where you can get them.
With the basics covered, Robin lead us through a sample exercise of properly planning a trip from Mission Bay to San Diego bay. He stressed the planning the first critical step. What are the tides, currents, and possible landing zones along the trip. He mentioned tidelands.com as a resource. For San Diego, we do not have any major concerns with tides and currents, but you could make the trip a bit nicer with some timing.
The next step is to identify points of reference along the trip: OB pier, sewage treatment plane, Pt. Loma Lighthouse, Ballast Point) and what your expect time of arrival. This will along to gauge your pace. He logs everything into a simple one sheet map with the time log on the back. He carries a grease pencil in his kit to mark off each item.
Robin's general rule is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). A good compass, a watch and your charts. GPS is also a helpful tool.
Jay asked about their last paddle out to Yukon and issues trying to reach a point in open water. This lead into a discussion on plotting against current and winds. The take away was to over navigate toward the upwind side since it is easier to paddle downwind to the target.
Robin concluded by reminding us that navigation is an art, its seat of the pants.
The evening was end with a song and a cake is since it was Jen's Birthday!
posted by Chris Griffith at
3:55 PM
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