One main key to a successful trip on the sea is preparation, doing this in the comfort of your home, being able to spread out with maps, charts and all the other gadgets will allow you to plan to the best of your ability without the stress out at sea. Remember you can access tidal information, maps and charts months before your trip, the only element we have to wait for is the unpredictable weather.
Many people I teach navigation to seem to get bogged down with unnecessary information. Ask yourself the question “What do I really need to know for this trip/expedition?” The answer maybe as simple as it was on my last sea kayak expedition to the Isle of Arran, in Scotland. Turn left and follow the coast, simple when circumnavigating an island.
However there may be certain information that you need to take into account such as speed, tides, tidal flows, weather especially wind that could account towards either a successful trip or epic!
Map or chart?
For most of the time I tend to use an ordnance survey map either 1:25,000 or 1:50,000, dependant on what type of detail I require. Maps for me provide detail on land features, clearly identify landing areas, tick off points, camp options, escape plans and good to plan logistics and pick up points.
What they do not provide is information on buoyage, overfalls and tidal streams. This is where charts have a distinct advantage. So when planning, use them both.
Distance /Time / Speed (not an exact science, we are human after all!!!!)
To calculate how long a journey is going to take and not worrying about tides and wind, you can simply measure the route and compare to the scale, I use a piece of string! The scale on a map is at the bottom and for a chart on the side, 1 minute = 1 nautical mile (2km).
Speed – an average speed for sea paddlers is 3knots (1 knot = 1 nautical mile).
Example: A journey of 12 nautical miles divide by 3 knots would take 4 hours.
This does not take into consideration exploring time, breaks, lunch, photo stops, this should be taken into account when putting a simple passage plan together. Add an hour for lunch and exploring etc and you will have a 5 hour trip. Work backwards then you will come up with the time you need to start your journey.
Weather
Wind is our main concern when planning a trip. Try to avoid head winds, this is hard work and very demoralising. As a rough guide on a beaufort scale of 4 you will be travelling at half the speed in a head wind. Tail winds ease the effort of your paddling but realistically only increase your overall speed by 0.5 – 1 knot.
Simple so far? – So what about these tides?
When gaining information on tides, head straight to the local shops for a tide table booklet, a pound well spent. It avoids the issue of working out secondary port data, which the sailing fraternity seem to relish!! Tide table booklets are simplistic, easy to use and give you local information without any lengthy calculations to perform.
Knowing what the tides are doing is useful when planning a route for choosing landing areas and tidal stream strengths at a given time.
Tidal movement
In most areas you paddle, tidal movement will have an influence on you. Paddling into a strong tidal stream can either mean paddling on the spot or in some cases going backwards!
Tidal stream information can be obtained from charts and is indicated by tidal diamond which then has a table giving you information on its direction, time and strength.
For sea paddlers we are mostly concerned with headlands or areas that the sea is squeezed through, such as islands. These areas usually create overfalls and rapid tidal movement. My choice would to either cross these areas in slack water or going with the tide.
Use of a compass
On coastal trips, I do carry a compass, but very rarely use it for taking a bearing unless there has been a remote change in visibility.
A compass for me is useful for measuring distance, either by its string or the ruler edge. An indication of distance travelled whilst on a journey is useful and can determine whether you are on schedule.
