kayak navigation Franco Ferrero

a Practical manual 2nd edition eSSeNTIAL kNOWLeDGe FOR finding your way at sea

Sea kayak navigation Franco Ferrero

a Practical manual First published 1999 Second edition 2007

Published in Great Britain 2007 by Pesda Press Unit 22, Galeri Doc Victoria Caernarfon Gwynedd LL55 1SQ

Reprinted with minor corrections 2009

© Copyright 2007 Franco Ferrero

ISBN: 978−1−906095−03−1

The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

Printed and bound in Poland. www.polskabook.pl

the author Franco Ferrero

Franco began sea kayaking at the age of fifteen, and was lucky enough to be brought up in the Channel Islands. The small scattered islands, fast tidal streams and summer fogs ensured that navigation was a key skill learnt at an early age.

In 1978 he was one of a team of three Jerseymen who completed the first circumnavigation of Ireland by sea kayak. In 1989, with Kevin Danforth, he made a record breaking unsupported crossing of the North Sea. Since then he has paddled in many parts of the world including Nepal, Scandinavia, the coast of Brittany in France, the European Alps, Peru and Western Canada.

He is the managing director of Pesda Press and still occasionally manages to fit in some freelance coaching (as a BCU Level 5 Coach). He lives in Wales, escaping the office to go sea and whitewater kayaking, rock and ice climbing, and ski-mountaineering. His current passion is a twenty- nine foot yacht called ‘Firebird’.

4 introduction

The aim of this book is to provide a concise manual of navigation aimed specifically at sea kayakers. In this respect this second edition is no different from the first.

There is no glossary of terms The devil is in the detail. Feedback from readers of the first edition as things are explained as I go has changed my views on ‘what sea kayakers need to know and along. To compensate there are likely to use’. I have added to several topics, but have taken is a comprehensive index. care to keep it short and simple.

Using the book

Each chapter ends with a number of suggested exercises. Make use of them – they will help to ensure that what you have read is understood and remembered. exerciSeS The ultimate test of whether or not the lessons have been ab- Check your answers to sorbed is the first time you plan and execute a trip relying on your each of the exercises at: own navigation. Be cautious; plan simple trips and aim for big pesdapress.com/answers targets to start with.

Ask someone more experienced to check your calculations the first few times. Get someone else on the trip to make independ- The illustrations and ent plans and compare your results. If they are a near match, carry diagrams throughout the on – if they disagree, start again! book are available to download as a teaching Always take into account the weather forecast, and base your resource for use in your planning on the abilities of the weakest members of your group. slideshow presentations at pesdapress.com/ Build up slowly. presentations Enjoy the book and enjoy your paddling.

5 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Danny Finton, Danny Jones, Joan Ferrero, Trys Morris, Nigel Robinson, Olly Sanders and Bob Timms for their help with the first edition.

For their help with the second edition, I would like to thank: Nigel Robinson for suggesting and giving examples of the exercises that are now to be found at the end of each chapter; Andy Stamp, with his impressive knowledge of both the theory and practice of navigating using GPS, who suggested numerous improvements to that chapter; Kevin Mansell, whose practical experience of GPS led to a number of improvements; Gordon Brown who, drawing on his vast experience, suggested numerous improvements throughout the book; Mike Mclure and Oisin Hallissey whose work on developing a BCU Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning modules pointed out a couple of omissions. Peter Wood for help with the photography and the new design of this edition.

Finally, a special thanks is due to Bill Ayles who introduced me to the delights of navigation theory and Dave Thelland who first helped me to use it for sea kayaking.

Photographic Acknowledgements

A special thank you is due to the people who allowed me to use their photographs. I’d also like to thank those people who sent photos that I didn’t end up using. Unless indicated below, all photos were taken by Franco Ferrero or Peter Wood.

Jeff Allen p14; Doug Cooper, p51, p96 (title); Joan Ferrero p42; Derek Hairon p13; Laurie Bell iStockphoto.com p15; Howard Jeffs p96 (inset); Kevin Mansell p77; Mark Rainsley p36, Douglas Wilcox p29, p67, p90.

6 Contents

1 Keeping it Simple 9 8 Position 51

Handrails 9 Latitude & longitude 52 Eyeball navigation 10 Bearing & distance 53

2 Decktop Navigation 11 9 Predicting 55

Passage planning 11 tables 56 Equipment 12 Tidal streams on charts 58 Tidal stream atlases 59 3 Tides 15 Pilot books 61 High & low water 15 Sea kayaking guides 65 Flood & ebb 18 Eyeball MK1 65 Tidal movement 18 10 Allowing for Wind & Tide 67 19 Tidal stream behaviour 20 Allowing for tide 67 Correcting for tide 71 4 Maps & Charts 22 Allowing for wind 72 Charts 22 Correcting for wind 75 Maps 23 11 Handheld GPS 77 Scale 23 Symbols & abbreviations 26 Settings 78 Position 79 5 Basic Navigation 29 Direction 82 Direction 29 Distance 82 Distance, speed, time taken 30 Speed 82 Keeping track of progress 31 Putting waypoints into your GPS 83 On the water 84 6 Buoyage & Lights 36 Routes 86

Lateral buoys 38 Chart plotting GPS receivers 88 Cardinal marks 39 12 Open Crossings 90 Other marks 39 Lights 40 Simple strategies 90 Correcting for tide over more than an hour 91 7 The Compass 42 13 Poor Visibility 96 Magnetic variation 43 No chart work approach 46 Preparation 96 Types of compass 46 Night vision 98 Chart work 48 Useful Tactics 98 GPS & poor visibility 100 Organisation & leadership 100

14 Planning a Trip 102 Following the coast and using obvious features to keep track of your position on the chart.

8 1 Keeping it Simple

Ask yourself if you need to do any chart work. If you are paddling across to a small island that is out of sight, your chart work will need to be precise. On the other hand if you are 10 nautical miles out to sea off the west coast of the United States, it may be quite accurate enough to head due east (090°) until you sight land; and then work out precisely where you are when you get there.

Map & chart Handrails symbols Maps and charts aimed at Let’s not forget that “turn left and follow the coastline until you get leisure users have a ‘legend’ there” is often quite appropriate! The coastline itself provides the or ‘key’ that shows you ‘handrail’ for you to follow. Keeping track of your position is done what symbols are used to by simply ‘ticking off’ prominent features as you pass them by. indicate various features. These features are anything that is easy to recognise on the chart We will look at maps and and in the real world. They could be natural features such as sea charts in detail in Chapter 4. stacks, isolated rocks, inlets and prominent points, or man made features such as buoys, radio masts and prominent buildings.

judging A simple way to estimate distance is to gauge how much Distance detail you can make out. Below is the resolvable detail method from Sea Kayak by Gordon Brown.

Can identify people by facial recognition. 100 m

Can make out faces and colours of clothing. 200 m Can identify people by movement and mannerisms, 500 m small buoys are visible, paddle blades visible. People are dots, can count individual windows on houses, 1 km large buoys can be seen.

Can count individual trees, can see ‘paddle flash’. 1.5 km Can count individual houses, identify cars from bigger vehi- 2 km cles, almost at limit of kayak to kayak visibility. Limit of kayak-to-kayak visibility, may see ‘paddle flash’, 3 km can separate trees from other greenery. 9 4 Maps & Charts

An Ordnance Survey Landranger In order to navigate in strange places and over large distances (1:50,000) map in use at sea; we need to use some form of map. The two choices are nautical note that I’ve added tidal charts or land maps. information in pencil.

Charts

Nautical charts only show the land detail that is visible from the sea. This is great when you are on the water, but useless when you have to make an unforeseen landing because of changing weather and are trying to find the quickest way back to your vehicle. They do, however, have several definite advantages:

1. They show the shape and depth of the , which may enable you to make educated guesses about sea conditions or tides where there is not much information available.

2. They show the position of buoys and details of any lights (useful on night paddles, planned or accidental).

3. They give tidal information.

22 British Admiralty and US National Service charts are simi- larly colour coded which makes things easy. Yellow areas are dry land, green bits are covered in water at high tide and dry (or very shallow) at low tide. White and blue bits are always underwater.

Yachtsmen’s charts produced Standard charts for shipping are large and unfolded but there are by firms such as Imray may also more convenient ‘Leisure Series’ charts designed for use differ in colour coding, but the by yachtsmen. These are often in useful scales, so that you only principles are the same. need one chart instead of three or four overlapping charts, and they come in folded and unfolded versions.

Maps

The main advantage of land Land maps have the advantage of showing all land details, in- maps is that many people are cluding such essentials as pubs, public toilets, access roads and already familiar with them. paths. They show all coastal features, including anything that shows at low water. On the other hand, they don’t show buoys, lights (except lighthouses) or any features of the seabed (below the low water mark).

Scale

UNITS Small Scale (1:1,000 where 1cm on the map = 1,000cm or 10m A nautical mile (NM) is slightly on the ground). A small ratio means lots of detail but you’ll need greater than one land mile an awful lot of maps. These are usually used to provide detail of (1.15 to be precise), and is harbours and are seldom of use to kayakers. roughly equivalent to 2km. 1 knot (kn) = 1 nautical mile Large Scale (1:1,000,000 where 1cm on the map = 1,000,000cm per hour. It is easier to work or 10km on the ground). A map of this scale would cover the in nautical miles, rather whole west coast of Ireland (great for planning, but no use for than miles or kilometres, day-to-day navigation). because all tidal information is given in knots. I find the most useful scales to be between these two extremes 1:50,000 or 1:100,000 for both charts and land maps.

23 Comparison of Ordnance Survey Landranger map and Admiralty Leisure Series chart styles (both 1:50,000 scale). OS maps also have a latitude scale along the outer edge of the sheet.

04´

4 5 03´ Blood & 1 S Sludge Bay 2 12 Blood & Sludge Bay 99 00 01 02 03 04

18 02´

Port Gunge Port Gunge M 01´ Port Gunge

8 43° YBY 00´ 8

19

S Sh Port Epic 59´ Port Epic

4

lighthouse Well Settlements Mouse Point ∙128 58´

00 01 02 03 26´ 27´ 28´

24 Measuring distance To measure a distance on a map or chart, I suggest either a pair of dividers (looks professional, especially the expensive brass ones, preserves mystique, are slightly more accurate and are easier to use on the kitchen table), or a piece of string (cheaper and easier to use when afloat). Simply open the dividers to the required distance and then measure off against the latitude scale which you will find at either edge of the chart.

1 minute (1’) of latitude = 1 nautical mile (NM) 1° = 60 minutes or 60NM A pair of dividers or a piece of string will be useful for taking measurements from Consequently, on the example chart opposite, the distance from the diagrams in this book. Blood and Sludge Bay to Port Epic is 4NM (or 4’ of latitude).

LatItUde aNd LoNgItUde

The earth is a sphere. (It’s actually slightly squashed at the poles but for the purposes of navigation we can ignore that). Lines of Latitude begin at 0°, bisecting the globe around the Equator and slice the globe into rings at regular intervals toward each of the poles. Degrees of latitude are measured from the centre of the Earth, north and south of the Equator.

Lines of Longitude are drawn bisecting the globe from pole to pole at angles east or west of what is known as the Prime Meridian, or 0° of longitude (this could be anywhere but historically the line runs through the Greenwich Observatory, Great Britain). Lines of longitude converge at the poles (think of the segments of an orange). Thus a minute of longitude becomes progressively smaller in terms of distance as you go towards the poles. For this reason we do not use longitude for measuring distance.

25 Map projeCtIoNs

In order to make a map, a 3D shape has to be projected onto a flat surface. Most maps and charts use one of the variants of the Mercator projection. The advantage of this map projection is that it preserves angles. A constant course heading is shown as a straight line. To keep the proportions needed to achieve this, minutes of latitude have to be drawn proportionally bigger as we move towards the poles. This is only really obvious on charts that cover large areas. The way we cope with this is to measure distances on the latitude scale as close to the latitude of the location we are measuring as possible.

With problems towards the poles in the Mercator projection, map makers turn to one or other form of polar projection, which you may encounter when planning trips within the high arctic.

For ocean crossing voyages, large scale gnomonic projection charts are used (find out more about this if you plan such a voyage!) You may encounter the gnomonic projection on some detailed charts of harbours but at such scales the differences between projections are negligible for the kayaker.

Symbols & abbreviations

Maps and charts aimed at leisure users usually have a key (or legend) which show the symbols and abbreviations used.

Booklets describing in detail all the symbols used on nautical charts are available. Admiralty charts are covered by the publica- tion ‘Symbols and Abbreviations used on Admiralty Charts 5011’. US charts are covered by the pamphlet ‘Chart No 1, Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations’. Any yacht chandlers will have these and publications listing all the charts that these agencies produce.

Chart No 1 (above right) is now out of print and available as a download only.

26 04´

4 5 03´ Blood & 1 S Sludge Bay 2 04´ 12 Blood & Sludge Bay 99 00 01 02 03 04

18 02´

4 5 04´ 03´ Blood & 1 S Sludge Bay 2 12 For this sectionBlood & 04´ Sludge Bay it is vital that you Commonly used chart symbols and abbreviations 99 00 01 02 03 04 constantly refer to Blood and Sludge Bay is marked with the abbreviation S. This Port Gunge Port Gunge the chart on page 24.M means that the01´ bottom consists of sand. Port Gunge, however, is 4 18 Port Gunge 5 marked03´ with an M which02´ stands for mud so, although a useful Blood & 1 S Sludge Bay 2 4 5 Blood & escape route, Port Gunge is not a desirable landing place. Port Epic 12 SMS Sh 03´ Blood & SludgeS Bay 1 2 has the abbreviation S Sh, sand and shells, nice place for a picnic. Sludge Bay 12 Blood & 99 00 01 02 03 04 Sludge Bay 99 00 01 02 03 04 8 The shore between Blood and Sludge Bay and Port Gunge is 43° Port Gunge YBY Port Gunge18 M marked by a 00´ symbol that indicates a rocky foreshore, whereas 02´ 01´ 8 Port Gunge 18 between Port Gunge and Port Epic the symbols indicate cliffs. 02´

19 Port Gunge is to the south of a rock islet that is always uncov- ered. The two crosses further out to sea represent rocks which S Sh Port Epic 59´ Port Gunge 8 are always (but at low water only just) covered by water. These Port Gunge M Port Epic 01´ 43° YBY Port Gunge Port Gungerepresent a danger to00´ shipping, though not normally to kayakers, Port Gunge M 4 8 01´ Port Gunge so they are marked by a buoy which is distinguished by its top lighthouse Well mark, in this case two cones pointing inwards and coloured yel- Settlements 19 low, black, yellow. Buoyage is covered in detail in Chapter 6. For Mouse Point ∙128 8 Weekly ‘Notices to Mariners’ navigational purposes,58´ in a kayak, all we need is to make sure we S Sh Port Epic 43° 59´ YBY appear on the Hydrographic have identified the right one. Buoys are distinguished from one 8 Port Epic 00´ Office26´ 8website and should 27´be 43° another by 28´their colour, shape, or top mark. Important ones will YBY 00 01 02 03 4 00´ 8 used to update your chart. For also have a name or number painted on them. All this information lighthouse 19 example a light may change is on the chart. Well

Settlements19 or a buoy may be moved. ∙128 Mouse Point S Sh Port Epic These59´ rocks could be58´ a danger (or fun depending on your skill Port Epic S Sh Port Epic 59´ level) if a big is running, as the waves may build up and Port Epic 4 00 01 02 03 26´ break27´ over the submerged28´ rocks (reef breaks). The point south of lighthouse 4 Port Epic has a light at its end; the structure on which the light is Well Settlements lighthouse raised is usually painted04´ white so you can see it in daylight. Well Mouse Point ∙128 Settlements 58´ Mouse Point ∙128 The figure ·128 tells us that the hill above Port Epic is 128 metres 58´ above , (MHWS). 00 01 02 03 26´ 27´ 28´ 00 01 02 03 26´ 27´ 28´ 4 5 The rock off Blood03´ and Sludge Bay is coloured green and marked Blood & 1 S Sludge Bay 2 with a drying height. We are told that it is a drying height by the 12 Blood & Sludge Bay fact that the 4 is underlined. For a detailed explanation of the 99 00 01 02 03 04

18 02´ 27

Port Gunge Port Gunge M 01´ Port Gunge

8 43° YBY 00´ 8

19

S Sh Port Epic 59´ Port Epic

4

lighthouse Well Settlements Mouse Point ∙128 58´

00 01 02 03 26´ 27´ 28´ difference between heights, drying heights and depths study the illustration below. The larger figure indicates metres and the

smaller one by its side tenths of metres. So 4 5 indicates a drying height of 4.5 metres. This means it would be covered at high water 3 8 Sbut,M asS theSh tide went out, it would dry out, in this case when the Heights and depths. tide was 4.5 metres above chart datum. A mark like an asterisk Profile of the sea bed with indicates a small isolated drying rock. The figures offshore tell us inset of chart symbols. the depths below chart datum (the lowest possible tide).

5 2·1 15 7 1 2 4 5 •

MHWS 2.1m 4.5m CHART DATUM 1m

5m COUNTOUR 7m

15m

SEABED

Exercises

1 Find on a land map an example of as many of the symbols shown on the key (legend) as you can find.

2 Do the same for a chart that has a key.

28

Index

50/90 Rule 63, 64, 68 distance shaping a course 85 daily average 30 speed 82 A estimating 9 using a computer 84, 88 measuring 25 waypoints 83, 86 aiming off 98 units of 23 GPS induced accidents 85 allowing for wind & tide 67 drying height 28 Greenwich Mean Time 56 atmospheric pressure 21 E Greenwich Meridian see Prime attack point 99 Meridian ebb 18, 59, 61 B grid reference 53 63, 102 ground speed 68 basic navigation Equator 25, 52 distance, speed & time 30 ground track 67 orientating the map 29 equinox 20 bearings equipment 12, 97 H giving a position 53 adapting 11 handheld GPS 77 laying-off 48 – 49 charts & maps 12 handrail navigation 8, 9, 80, 98 magnetic 50 compasses 46, 47 true 50 dividers or string 25 headwinds 73, 75 plotting instruments 13 Beaufort scale 74 heat haze 96 estimated position 67 bezel 47, 50 high water 15, 19, 55, 57, 62, 63 extended line recall 99 boat speed 68 ‘eyeball’ navigation 10, 65, 66, 77 I British Admiralty 23, 61 IALA 37 British Summer Time 56 F region A 37, 38, 40 BST 56 fairway marks see safe water marks region B 37, 38 buoyage & lights 27, 36, 37 ferry glide 71, 88, 90 International Association of Lighthouse Authorities see IALA buoys 37 – 39 fix 33, 34, 51, 67, 80 interpolate 68 flood 18, 59, 61 C isolated danger marks 37, 39 fog 46, 96 cable 31 following sea 73 K cardinal marks 37, 39 chart datum 19, 28, 56 G keeping it simple 9 knot 23 charts 22 Global Positioning System 77 colour coding 23, 27, 28 depth 19, 28 GMT 56 L symbols 26 – 28, 37, 40, 41, 58, 59 gnomonic projection 26 Landranger 24 compass 42 – 50 GPS 77 lateral marks 37 counter current 63 boat speed & tidal rate 83 chart grid 52 latitude 25, 52 course to steer 46, 47, 50 chart plotting receivers 88 laying-off 48, 49 cross tides 69 direction 82 leeway 73 distance 82 Cross Track Error see XTE errors 81 leisure series 23, 44 crosswinds 73, 75 Galileo 89 lights homing in 85, 90 flashing 40 D mapping software 84 isophase 41 dead reckoning 31 – 33, 67 misuse 85 occulting 41 Navstar 89 very quick 40 decktop navigation 11 on the water 84 local time 56 degrees 25 operator error 81 plotting symbols 80 longitude 25, 52 depth 19, 27, 28 position 79 lowest astronomical tide 19 deviation 45 position format 78 low water 15, 19, 62, 63 direction of buoyage 37, 38, 40 routes 86 settings 78

M plotting 48, 49 tidal diamond 68, 69 less than one hour 70 tidal drift 67, 68 magnetic deviation see deviation more than one hour 72, 91, 92, 93 tidal movement 18 magnetic variation see variation plotting symbols 33, 80 tidal patterns 16 map datum 78 poor visibility 80, 96 maps & charts 22 equipment 97 tidal range 19 projections 26 GPS 100 tidal set 59, 62 scale 23 group control 100 tidal streams 18, 20, 55, 58 – 61, 66 symbols 9, 26, 27, 28 preparation 96 calculating speed 63 units 23 useful tactics 98 interpolation of 60 mean neap range 57 port 38 set & rate 59, 60, 62 mean spring range 57 port marks 38 tide races 59 Mercator projection 26 position 51 tides 15 minutes 25 predicting tides 21 allowing for 67 anomalous 17, 65 Prime Meridian 25, 52 N average 58 correcting for 71, 91 National Ocean Survey 23 R diurnal 16 nautical almanacs 55, 57 ready reckoner 32 equinoctial 20 high & low water 15 nautical charts 22, 55, 58 rescue services 53 interpolation of 68 nautical mile 23, 25, 31 resolvable detail method 9 mixed 16 neap tides 19, 20, 55, 57 Rule of Thirds 68 oscillation 16, 18 predicting 55, 64 night-time navigation 96 Rule of Twelfths 64, 65 semi-diurnal 16, 17 night vision 98 weather conditions 21 S north tide tables 56, 57 safe water marks 37, 39 compass 45 topmark 36, 37, 39 converting 44, 45 secondary port 57 grid 43 transit 33, 34, 35, 71, 75 set 59, 62 magnetic 43, 44, 45 true bearing 42 true 42, 43, 44, 45 shape a course 69, 71 Notices to Mariners 27, 81 shape a course for GPS 85 U shipping channel 61 US National Ocean Service 23 O Silva 48 V open crossings 90 63 GPS 90, 91, 92, 93, 94 variation 43, 44, 50 simple strategies 90 spars see perches timing 91 special mark 37, 39 W Ordnance Survey 24, 43, 53 speed 68 wake 73 overfalls 59 average boat speed 82 boat speed 68 water track 33, 67, 104 P ground speed 68 waypoint 80, 83, 84 knots 23 passage planning 11, 31, 48 WGS 84 78, 79 spiders web 80 perches 36 wind spring tides 19, 20, 55, 57 allowing for 67, 72 pilot 55, 60 standard port 57, 60 correcting for 75 pilotage 10 starboard 38 wind over tide 59 pilots 61 starboard marks 38 working the tide 93 planning a trip 102 planning sheet 102, 103 T X plotter 48, 49 tail winds 73, 75 XTE 78, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94 tidal atlases 55, 57, 59 – 61, 68 Sea KayaK NavigaTioN a PracTical maNual

A short and simple explanation of how to find your PlaNNiNg a TriP way at sea, with practical tips for the kayaker. charT work This edition includes up to date information on the use of handheld GPS receivers – as well The comPass as other improvements throughout, such as exercises at the end of each chapter to help you Buoys & lighTs test your knowledge. TiDes & curreNTs Recommended by the British Canoe Union as supporting material for their navigation courses PracTical gPs – this book will be useful to everyone paddling on the sea, with a kayak or sit-on-top. oPeN crossiNgs

The Black arT DemysTifieD ISBN 978-1-906095-03-1 10000

9781906 095031