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From: Tom Sult <tsult@mac.com>
To: "navlist@fer3.com" <navlist@fer3.com>
Sent: Sun, November 1, 2009 7:28:39 AM
Subject: [NavList 10367] Re: Dependence on GPS


I was in Europe earlier this year and for what ever reason my iPhone 
would not get a GPS lock. I got a message that I may not have an 
adaquite view of the sky. At the time I was on the summit of one of 
the tallest mountains in Slovenia. Seems like I should have had at 
least a reasonable view of the sky. I don't remember any large UFO's 
overhead.

I wonder if everyone's cell phones seaching for a cell could have been 
enough to "jam" the signal. Or maybe I spilled some jam on it.

Thomas A. Sult, MD
Sent from iPhone

On Nov 1, 2009, at 8:56, Fred Hebard <mbiew@comcast.net> wrote:

>
> I would expect GPS units in a wrist-watch or arm-band configuration
> would be less prone to "injury" while kayaking than deck-mounted
> units.  A cell phone or two with GPS should be sufficient electronic
> equipment for most sea kayakers, I would think.
>
> Fred
>
> On Oct 31, 2009, at 9:15 AM, Apache Runner wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Frank makes a good  point about unnecessarily exposing oneself to
>> risk and thereby endangering possible searcher-and-rescuers.
>> There is this notion of risk homeostasis.  Mountain climbers are
>> often accused of this.  It goes something like this:  "I got away
>> with X last time, therefore I can get away with it next time."
>> And then, they get nailed by putting themselves in some precarious
>> situation.  The flip side of the coin is someone who analyzes a
>> past outing for errors and corrects them.  I'm keenly aware of the
>> issues of putting SAR'ers in jeopardy.
>>
>> I was in close proximity to a sea kayaking tragedy.  On Columbus
>> Day weekend, 2003 (or 2004, I forget), I was kayaking in the fog
>> off of Cape Cod.  The cheapy compass I was using got jammed with
>> sea water, but I did have the good sense to wear a wetsuit - the
>> water temperature was 55 degrees F.  Two girls went out in sea
>> kayaks at exactly the same time as I was out, and they were maybe a
>> half mile from me.  I used the wind and waves as a natural compass
>> and hand-railed my way along the coast to get back home.  They got
>> lost in the fog, and there was a two day search and rescue.  Two
>> days later, they found the body of one of the girls.  The other
>> was never found.
>>
>> By next spring, I had a brand new kayak and when I was paddling, I
>> was about as tricked out as you could imagine.  Three compasses, a
>> nautical chart, a VHF transceiver, a GPS unit, flare gun, combat
>> knife (the kind SEALs use), you name it.
>>
>> Over time, I got more experience and learned that it actually is
>> important to unclutter the deck of the kayak - having lost a lot of
>> gear to waves, and also the junk gets in the way of rescues.    As
>> mentioned, I experienced two GPS failures in conditions where I
>> could've used them the most.
>>
>> My main kit now consists of a deck mounted compass, a hiker's
>> compass in my PFD, a chart if in unfamiliar waters, a flare gun and
>> flares, water, back-up food and protable VHF transceiver.  For
>> longer trips, there's the usual camping gear, and I probably throw
>> a GPS in a dry bag, but mainly as an afterthought.  In the fog,
>> I'll bring a portable fog-horn.
>>
>> I've participated in six or seven rescues over the past five years,
>> including 3 cases of helping motor-boaters who were lost in the fog
>> and even had GPS'es.  Of course, they also had a few cases of beer.
>>
>> The main gripe about GPS'es for me is in the vein of the Charlie
>> Brown comic story about Lucy and the Football.  Lucy convinces
>> Charlie Brown, against all experience, to once again charge and try
>> to kick the football, and she yanks it away as usual.  Last year,
>> I found myself again shelling out $200 for a spiffy GPS unit.  Now
>> my third -  thinking to myself "you're throwing away money...".
>>
>> This fall I'd given my students an exercise to walk from the chapel
>> of the college to a tall building about a mile away and try to
>> estimate the height of the steeple using the distance walked and
>> the angular height.  I wanted to check the accuracy of my dead
>> reckoning and brought out the $200 GPS unit to the college yard,
>> and lo-and-behold - no signal.    Lucy pulled the football away 
>> again.
>>
>> There is a definite sympathy to the issue of exposing would be
>> rescuers to unnecessary danger by taking imprudent risks, but my
>> own experience is that the GPS receivers end up being costly
>> unneeded baggage.  This is not a Luddite statement, I will
>> certainly carry a VHF any time I'm out on a kayak, but my
>> experience is that these tend to be more reliable and a much more
>> valuable piece of equipment than a GPS unit in terms of safety.
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>
>
> >