How to Navigate by Paddle-siting

April-May 2003

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Jacqueline Windh

Use your paddle to site from A to B. Jacqueline Windh graphic

In this era of modern technology, the GPS (Global Positioning System navigation unit) which relies on signals from satellites orbiting the earth, seems to have become a standard piece of equipment for many wilderness travelers, sea-kayakers included. But I don' t use one, and for the most part I don't even agree with using one. Let me explain why.

First of all, if your safety in the wilderness actually depends upon having a certain piece of equipment, then you need to carry a spare. A paddle is a necessary piece of equipment, therefore a spare paddle is standard safety equipment. A GPS unit can easily be lost or damaged by salt water, or the batteries may die at an inconvenient time. If the GPS is the main method of navigation that you use, then you must carry at least one spare unit. And with the threat of war upon us, it is possible that satellite signals may be scrambled for periods of time and GPS units may not be very accurate, in which case even a spare GPS will be no help.

Secondly, I think that having high-tech equipment can generate a false sense of security for travelers. People carrying equipment like cell phones or GPS may be more likely to travel routes that are beyond their knowledge, ability or experience level. They are more likely to get into trouble, and more likely to require rescue at taxpayers' expense.

Finally, carrying equipment like a GPS may allow for a certain laziness. Having one is great, as long as you also know how to navigate by other methods. Owning a GPS should not be a substitute for learning the navigation techniques that are fundamental to safe and responsible wilderness travel.

Navigation seems to be a stumbling block for a lot of kayakers. Picking the best course for an ocean crossing in a slow-moving kayak, with the wind pushing one way and a current perhaps pushing another way, can be very challenging!

I want to explain a navigational technique that I use regularly, even for short crossings. It's easy to teach, easy to use while paddling, extremely accurate - but incredibly underused by the paddling community! It is briefly mentioned in both John Dowd' s and David Burch's classic kayaking books but it deserves more elaboration.

The technique is called paddle-siting, or paddle-shaft navigation. It relies on some very simple premises: the shortest distance from A to B is a straight line, and two points define a straight line. When trying to get from A to B, if I can stay on the straight line between them then I am paddling the shortest, and most efficient distance. (Occasionally you may not want to travel the straight line in order to avoid boat channels or areas of turbulence but you can still break down the course you want to take into straight-line segments and use this technique).

Paddle-siting for navigation is very simple: if we are traveling on our course from A to B, we hold the shaft of the paddle snug against our body (to ensure that we are on the straight line), and point the rear blade of the paddle to point A, where we came from. The paddle shaft now marks the straight line of the course that we are actually traveling; the front blade points to where we are actually headed. If it is not pointing to B, where we want to go, then we are not on course, and we adjust the kayak bow to the right or left. We continue paddling along the adjusted heading, and a few minutes later repeat the siting, fine tuning our course as necessary.

This simple technique is very accurate. It helps for staying on course when crossing windy channels. It is even more useful for crossing current channels, where the current strength or even direction may change part-way through the crossing.

Using the paddle-siting technique, you just take your best guess at what the current is doing. It is usually easy to tell the current direction - consulting tide or current tables is your best bet, but you can also look at markers on the water, such as eddy lines behind floating buoys. The strength of the current may be harder to assess.

For example, in my diagram (see top of the page), as you cross a channel to a small island, you know that the current is pushing you to the right, so you must angle your boat at some unknown angle to the left. After a minute or two, do a paddle siting: point your rear blade at your launch site (remembering to keep the shaft tight against your body) and site along your front blade to see where you are actually headed. In this example, paddler 1 has overcorrected and is heading to the left of the island and should adjust course a bit to the right; paddler 2 is exactly on course,and paddler 3 is being swept downstream and must adjust course to the left.

The first significant crossing where I used this technique was my first solo open ocean crossing, paddling from Perth, Western Australia to Rottnest Island, 18 km offshore. I could just barely see the island from the parking lot at the top of the beach. I realized as I was loading up the boat, however, that I could not actually see the island from water level! I could use my compass to take a bearing to the island from the parking lot but, once on the water and out of sight of the island, how would I know if a current was sweeping me to the left or the right?

If you remember the concept of two points defining a straight line, there are many variations you can invent on the paddle- siting technique.

From the top of the beach I could see a small float about 500 metres out, and a much larger buoy four or five kilometres further offshore, that both lined up with my course to the island. From water-level, I could start by lining up the two buoys and know I was on course to the island. I soon passed the first buoy, but I could line that up behind me with the point on the beach that I launched from, and know that I was still traveling a straight line. When I passed the second buoy, I could line it up with my launching point behind me and trust my course, even though the island was still out of sight. By the time I was several kilometres past the second buoy, and nearing the halfway point of my journey, Rottnest Island was in sight. From here on I could paddle-site from the second buoy to the island, using the straight line of my paddle to correct for the mild current that was affecting me, and this is how I stayed on course for the final 10 km of the crossing.

I used the same technique for the return trip. I was thrilled to recognise, halfway across, two distinctive floats which showed that I was traveling within about 100 m of the same course I had paddled on my way out to the island! Paddle-siting, in spite of its simplicity, is an incredibly accurate method for maintaining course on crossings.

There are a number of great books that explain kayak navigation. For a general overview of navigation techniques I recommend the chapter on navigation in John Dowd's classic Sea Kayaking, A Manual for Long-Distance Touring (Greystone).

For more detailed information, David Burch's Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation (Globe Pequot Press) is the authority on all aspects of sea-kayak navigation. It includes chapters on chart-reading, compass use, how to locate yourself, and crossing currents. The revised edition contains an entire section on navigation with GPS. I personally find that, outside of foggy conditions, the most useful navigational techniques for the sea-kayaker are based on the concepts I have discussed above, of lining things up, and these are covered well in the two different sections that discuss 'using natural ranges'. Burch's book is very thorough, and possibly too technical for most people's level of interest. I do think that every kayaker should browse through it, though, and study the sections that are relevant to the type of paddling that they do.

© Jacqueline Windh is a writer and photographer living in Tofino, BC, and a frequent WaveLength contributor. www.windhphotos.com.