Trust your GPS

[piemma]

Came up Narragansett Bay last night about 9 in pea soup fog, rain and darkness. Zeroed in and put the bow on the "bread crumb trail".

First time for me in darkness, fog and rain all at the same time. a bit spooky at first but after 15 minutes or so I was right at home...still checking compass headings constantly but the GPS really does put you at ease.

Of course, there's always the floating telephone pole you can't see but....

[stripersnipr]

Have you ever suffered a dose of spatial disorientation and no matter what that GPS or compass say's your head and body say's no way? It's happened to me more than once, especially when the haze or fog blend the sea with the sky and you lose the horizon. I've been with people who've needed a lot of encouagement to overcome it and trust the navigational tools.

[MAC]

GPS is an awesome tool. And with the advent of WAAS it is even better than it was 8 or 9 years ago. Most units will store 500 waypoints and are accurate to within 3'.

The only thing I can stress to some of the newer users though is always carry a compass too. GPS can go down at the drop of a hat or rather the flip of a switch. It very seldom happens but better to be prepared just in case. Heavy cloud cover can make it difficult sometimes too. As the unit (most units) need 3 good signals from sattelites to triangulate your position.

[numbskull]

Fog and dark is a lethal combination without radar as well. GPS will get you home............ unless someone else crosses your path.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Fog and dark is a lethal combination without radar as well. GPS will get you home............ unless someone else crosses your path.

Especially if you get into the shipping lanes....

[piemma]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Fog and dark is a lethal combination without radar as well. GPS will get you home............ unless someone else crosses your path.

I don't have radar and that's what I worry about. I see stuff floating in the Bay all the time. 4x4, 6x6s telephone poles just junk. Joe P and I actually saw a partially submerged 8' pram in the middle of the Bay without a soul around one morning last year. You hit that baby at even 15kts you got problems

[Clammer]

WHAT PROBLEMS ??????????

YA JUST BOUNCE OFF ??????????

[parker23]

Electronics make a world of difference. This year I installed a C-120 display w/chartplotter and radar. Split screen radar and chartplotter w/ radar paint overlay. Very cool. I still have my chart and compass.

I have used radar for years while sailing. Totally different feel at 6 knots compared to 15 knots. I rarely increase speed over 15 knots at night in the bay. The best feature is being able to see the idiots flying blind at 30 knots, half in the bag.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by piemma

Came up Narragansett Bay last night about 9 in pea soup fog, rain and darkness. Zeroed in and put the bow on the "bread crumb trail".

First time for me in darkness, fog and rain all at the same time. a bit spooky at first but after 15 minutes or so I was right at home...still checking compass headings constantly but the GPS really does put you at ease.

Of course, there's always the floating telephone pole you can't see but....

Depending on how far down the Bay you were last night you may have driven right by Bryan & I around 9:00.

And yeah, I'll never forget that submerged 8' boat floating right in the middle of the Bay - just about an inch below the surface - waiting to eat someone's hull...

[pmueller]

GPS is a wonderful tool. In saying that, there have been times when there is no question a false sense of security. I know it sounds silly to say this but GPS only tells us what should be out there, not that random boater that going full throttle in arms length fog.

[Finaddict]

The GPS is great, split screen radar even better ... when I lived in Miami, we were out fishing and could track the thunderstorms on the radar so that we could fly right through them to safer fishing water and ultimately fish ... very handy ...

But I have to admit, one Columbus Day weekend several years ago, fishing my father's 21-cuddy cabin ... we had the bimini up with the side curtains ... real nice in the cold, wet, clammy weather ... it was 2 a.m., foggy as can be, raining like crazy and very high winds ... even with the compass and GPS had a tough time getting to my respective locations ... very disoriented for some reason, no idea why ... but could not get to my regular way points ...

... I think the high winds pushing us around made it slightly harder, as those curtains can seem like sails ... eventually I came across a fairly close way point, just dropped anchor, threw some eels over and feel asleep for a an hour or two ... except the fish were active so it was tough to rest ... wound up being a very productive morning, despite the fact I wasn't where I really wanted to be.

[Smokey14]

Originally Posted by stripersnipr

Have you ever suffered a dose of spatial disorientation and no matter what that GPS or compass say's your head and body say's no way? .

That's happened to me twice. I think it's worse when your in water that you know like the back of your hand. When I'm in Boston Harbor at night, even if I can only see the lights of one building I know were I am but when the fog rolls in you got nothing to go by. Then your mind starts telling you were to go. The GPS was right when you could see and it's right when you can't. And a compass is a must for back up. even if your going the wrong way at least your going in a straight line. have a chart and try to find a land mark. ie a beach, a buoy, look for sholes on the FF (shallow water = not a shipping lane).

[parker23]

I use my radar every time I am out. Interpreting the image is much easier on a bright clear day. The chart plotter split screen is a great tool. The most important tool is still the operator. Better to error on the side of caution.