Maine Guide Training 2021 History of Maine Guides ● First hired guides in Maine were Abenaki people who led European explorers, military officials, traders, priests and lumbermen. ● Guiding industry emerged in late 1900s as people in more urban and industrialized regions sought wilderness for recreation ● Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby was first guide licensed in 1897; 1700 others were licensed that year. Maine’s Legal Definition of “Guide” Any person who receives any form of remuneration for his services in accompanying or assisting any person in the fields, forests or on the waters or ice within the jurisdiction of the State while hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, snowmobiling or camping at a primitive camping area. Sea Kayaking Guide Specialization Guides can lead paddlesports trips on the State's territorial seas and tributaries of the State up to the head of tide and out to the three mile limit. This classification includes overnight camping trips in conjunction with those sea-kayaking and paddlesports. Testing Process 1. Criminal Background Check 2. Oral Examination ■ Chart and compass work ■ Catastrophic scenario 3. Written Examination (minimum score of 70 to pass) What Maine Sea Kayak Guides CAn Do ● Lead commercial sea kayaking and SUP trips on Maine’s coastal waters ● Lead overnight camping trips associated with these trips (new as of 2005) ● Lead trips with up to 12 people per guide What Sea Kayak Guides CAN’T Do ● Lead paddling trips on inland waters (by kayak, canoe, SUP or raft) ● Take clients fishing or hunting ● Lead trips that require another type of guide license What are the qualities that you most appreciated in guides you’ve encountered? ● Wilderness Guide Association’s Definition of a Guide A trained and experienced professional with a high level of nature awareness. A Wilderness Guide is competent to develop, organize, promote and guide activities: ● In a safe way ● In remote natural landscapes ● With a high level of self-sufficiency ● According the level of training, experience and legal competences. American Canoe Association ACA offers a 5-level certification system for coastal kayaking instructors that is internationally-recognized. Most experienced sea kayak guides and instructors in other states have some level of ACA-certification. First Aid Credentials ● Standard First Aid & CPR (required for Maine Guides) ● Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness First Aid ○ Strongly recommended for any guide leading clients into environments where medical help is not easily accessible. ○ Offered by NOLs, Wilderness Medical Associates, SOLO Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guide and Instructors (MASKGI) Non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to raising professional standards for those guiding and teaching sea kayaking and stand up paddle boarding on the coast of Maine. Members are sea kayak and stand up paddle board outfitters, guides, and instructors. maski.org Unique Characteristics of the Gulf of Maine: ● Cold waters ● Extreme tides ● Diverse bottom ● Freshwater outflow of large river systems Nautical Charts Like a map, but different in important ways Features include: ● Shoreline qualities (mud, beach, cliff, etc.) ● Obstructions to navigation (rocks, sand bars, whirlpools, shipwrecks, etc.) ● Aids to navigation (lighthouses, buoys, etc.) ● Water depths (soundings) ● Intertidal zone NEVER CALL A CHART A MAP Extract as much information as you can from your nautical chart about the area you’re paddling Find charts online at www.charts.noaa.gov Green = Intertidal Zone Identifying Chart Features Find the following on the Casco Bay Chart: 1. A dock or pier. 2. A beach. 3. An exposed rock. 4. An area with around 80 feet of depth. 5. A shipwreck. 6. A shoreline with cliffs 7. Two islands that are connected at low tide. Gridlines Longitude lines appear vertical Latitude lines appear horizontal (like a ladder) Use Nautical Miles for Speed & Distance 1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute mile Nautical miles are slightly longer 1 nautical mile per hour = 1 knot Example: “The wind is blowing 40 knots” Measuring Distance in Nautical Miles 1 minute of latitude = 1 nautical mile Latitude can be an easy way to measure distance on a chart Photo: sailingissues.com Green Cans - Red Nuns - Usually odd Usually even numbers numbers G “11” Fl G 4 sec BELL Green can number 11 flashes green every 4 seconds and has a bell Gp Oc(3) W 10s 15m 10M This lighthouse has a group occulting light in which a group of three eclipses repeat every 10 seconds; the light is white; the light is 15 meters high and is visible for 10 nautical miles Compass Rose The Three Elements of Sea Kayak Guiding GEAR ~ GROUP ~ ENVIRONMENT ● Kayak, paddle, PFD, sprayskirt ● Navigation equipment ● First Aid Supplies ● Camping Equipment Gear ● Appropriate clothing ● Hypothermia Kit ● Water & Food ● Communication devices (VHF, cell phone, flares) Who are you guiding? ● Skill level ● Medical history ● Goals Group ● Fears Are they… ● Well-fed? ● Excited to paddle? ● Well-rested? ● In good health? ● Wind direction and speed? ● Tides? ● Expected currents? ● Sea state ● Air & water temp Environment ● Wildlife? ● Boat traffic? ● Public access ● Areas with breaking waves? ● Other unique qualities of the environment? Risk Management & Guiding We cannot completely eliminate risk and create “safe” experiences for clients. Instead, our job as guides is to minimize risks and facilitate experiences with an acceptable level of risk. Tips: ● Avoid using the words “safe” and “unsafe” ● Be transparent with clients about risks ● Prioritize risks; focus on the big ones, not the minor ones. Group has all gear it needs in good GEAR condition ✔ ✔ Everyone is prepared, healthy and GROUP has adequate skills Somebody is feeling seasick ✔ and has difficulty paddling Conditions are appropriate for the group, with no changes in weather ENVIRONMENT ✔ or sea state forecasted ✔ RISK LEVEL Low Risk -- IDEAL TRIP! Low to Medium Risk Kayak was too small for a large GEAR person, leading to a capsize Capsized person becomes GROUP hypothermic 15 knot winds; breaking waves on all ENVIRONMENT nearby shorelines RISK LEVEL Very high risk GEAR PEOPLE ENVIRONMENT RISK LEVEL Very High Risk What are some risks you might encounter off the water? ● Tricky terrain (slipping on seaweed, etc.) ● Red tide ● Poison ivy ● Browntail moths ● Ticks ● Cooking accidents (cuts, burns, etc.) ● Heat stroke Ram Island Light Evaluating Incident Report #2 1. How did the nature of the gear in this situation contribute to the outcome? 2. How did the nature of the group in this situation contribute to the outcome? 3. How did the nature of the environment during this trip contribute to the outcome? #1 #2 Dead Reckoning 1. You’ve started paddling from the northern tip of Bangs Island at 9:15am and you’ve reached the southern end of Little Birch Island at 10:15. What is the approximate speed you’ve been paddling? 2. You left Eagle Island at 11am and it’s now 1:30pm. You estimate you’ve been paddling at a speed of 2 knots. Roughly how many miles have you paddled? Answers 1. You’ve traveled at roughly 1 knot 2. You’ve traveled roughly 5 nautical miles. Navigation The Art of Staying Found When Are Navigation Skills especially Important for Guides? Leading trips in unfamiliar areas Leading trips in fog, rain, at night or in other limited or areas with lots of islands visibility conditions and/or a complex coastline CORE NAVIGATION CONCEPTS & SKILLS Piloting and Navigation True and Magnetic Bearing, Course and Heading Dead reckoning Using a Range Triangulation Bearing, Course and Heading Course - the intended track you will cover when traveling from A to B Bearing - The calculation of the relationship between A and B expressed in degrees Heading - the angle your boat will be set (or pointed)in order to achieve your intended course adjusted for set and drift. Always track the four main ingredients of navigation Direction Speed Time Distance Aids to Navigation - ATON Visible - Buoys, Lighthouses, Towers, Docks and piers, Land contours, Shoreline features Auditory - Fog horns, Bells, Gongs, Auto traffic, Waves Sensory - Wind direction, current direction Always carry the key tools needed for navigation Nautical chart Compass Clock GPS Pay attention to navigational aids and geographic features when you’re paddling True and Magnetic The difference is expressed as Variation Check the compass rose to find the variation ● Adjusting for variation from Chart to Environment - True to magnetic - add ● Adjusting for variation from Environment to Chart - Magnetic to true - subtract If you’re paddling in the San Juans the variation will be east reverse your math Magenetic North vs. True North Compass = Magnetic Chart = True Compass Rose Not good at math? Use the Compass Rose Use any straight edge to read true and north at the same time. It’s easy to read backbearings this way too. Translating Between True & Magnetic Assume these bearings are for Casco Bay 1. 55°True = __° Magnetic 2. 245°Magnetic = __° True 3. 5° True = __° Magnetic Answers 1. 70° Magnetic 2. 230° True 3. 20° Magnetic Bearings Taking a bearing from the chart using a hand held compass as a protractor - calculating for variation Taking a bearing from a chart using parallel rules and compass rose - no need to calculate Taking a bearing from the shore or from your boat. (To be covered in person.) 3 steps to use your compass to take a Bearing on a Chart Step One SSTEP Place the edge of your base plate along The course you intend To do. Make sure the direction of travel Arrow is oriented properly. Step two Step Rotate the bezel so that the grid lines. Align with the grid lines on the chart Make sure that north aligns with north on your chart. Step three Read your direction Of travel at the arrow. Remember that you are using your compass as a plotter or protractor. Your finding will be a TRUE direction.